New lease paves way for Butlins investment

The secretary of state for communities and local government, Hazel Blears, has backed a new lease agreed between Butlins and its site owner, Arun District Council.

The verdict has been announced six months after the company and the council agreed the 125-year deal. This means that the lease can now take effect to enable Butlins' parent company, Bourne Leisure, to pump millions of pounds into the business.

The first sign of the impact of the lease can be seen at the holiday centre. The way is being cleared in anticipation of a 16m 200-bedroom hotel being built, subject to planning permission, for next summer.

Further substantial investment is likely over the next five years as Butlins sweeps away all its outdated chalets in favour of modern hotel accommodation. Arun's leader, Cllr Gill Brown, said the government's acceptance of the lease was good news for Bognor.

"It has taken months and months for the them to come to that decision but finally they have.

"It's fantastic news and provides further evidence of the substantial private investment as a result of which Bognor will be regenerated," she stated.

The financial worth of the new lease has not been revealed but it is known a value of 2m was placed on the 58-acre seafront location of Butlins in October 2006 by a firm of chartered surveyors, Humberts. It has also been subject to the approval of the district valuer who decided how much Butlins should pay for the agreement.

The new lease replaces the original 99 year agreement which enabled Butlins to open in 1960. Bourne Leisure wanted a longer term to enable it to justify the amount of money being put into the site.