Bognor Regis capital of commerce decision due

The fate of the Enterprise@Bognor Regis project will be decided on Tuesday (June 14).

A sub-committee of the Coast to Capital local enterprise partnership board will consider the merits of the enterprise zone scheme.

The Bognor proposal is up against keen competition from rival bids based around Croydon and Crawley.

Only one of them can be put forward to the government to be considered for formal enterprise zone status.

Sub-committee member Iain Shepherd said: “I’m very much behind Bognor’s bid.

“It’s the best bid and the most worthy one.”

But he stressed the decision about which bid would succeed would be based on a transparent scoring method against the government’s criteria for the ability of the zones to promote jobs and growth.

The sub-committee’s decision will be emailed to the main board members of Coast to Capital for confirmation.

Their opinions will be sought before the June 30 deadline for submission to business secretary Vince Cable.

He is expected to announce his chosen schemes by the end of July.