IAN HART: Much to be positive about in Worthing

Okay, there will always be the occasional blip – ongoing pub and bank closures spring to mind.

But, as I’ve previously stated, pubs close because people don’t use them, pure and simple.

And perhaps in their defence, ‘use it or lose it’ could also be applied to Lloyds Bank’s closure of its Arundel branch.

I’ve been told that fewer than 35 customers actively used the branch for their accounts, and with those kind of figures you can’t really argue with the closure.

I can’t believe it was the same case with Broadwater branch, but that’s another story.

But enough of the negativity – immediately, one positive springs to mind, and is perhaps something that has almost gone under the radar to a degree, and that’s the mayoral year of Michael Donin.

In our sometimes quaint old town, the mayoralty is almost like that of the classic Marmite – some have been loved, others not so much, but I cannot think of one negative aspect of Michael’s tenure so far.

Everyone I have spoken to, right across the local demographic, has nothing but praise for the job he’s doing – although to be fair I didn’t expect anything else.

Elsewhere it appears that the almost 30-year wait for a cinema complex might finally be over, as I understand that plans to develop the old police station site, and neighbouring areas, in Union Place with both retail and food units as well as a multi-screen cinema.

It does throw up the question bearing in mind how long the police have been gone from there, and how much time has been spent chasing the impossible dream at Teville Gate?

Staying on a positive note, I’m led to believe that this school of thought is again gathering momentum, that the owners of the bus garage would not be against speaking to their counterparts at Teville Gate about effectively swapping sites, and using the far more attractive seafront location for a new state-of-the-art development, and relocating the bus depot next to the railway station, where it should have been put years ago!

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