Something for everyone at Hotham Park

Something for all ages has been lined up to make the event on bank holiday Monday (May 4) a success.

Between 10am and 4pm, a full programme of activities will feature music, food, face painting, demonstrations, rides and entertainers.

The cause of the celebration is the park's restoration thanks to a 2.2m Heritage Lottery Fund grant.

Money was also put in by Arun District Council, SITA, Bognor Regis Town Council and Hotham Park Heritage Trust.

Paul Wotherspoon, Arun's head of environmental services, said: "The restoration of Hotham Park was an ambitious and exciting project, which forms a critical and symbolic piece of the jigsaw to regenerate Bognor. The impact of this work for residents and on tourism cannot be overestimated. It is the jewel in Bognor's crown.

"This celebratory day is free to all and I urge anybody who has not yet visited the park to come along on the day to see and, above all enjoy, what has been achieved."

Work to the park has been extensive and took years to plan. A principal part of the programme was the inclusion of the former Rainbow's End theme park, which closed in 1997, into the main park.

A new conservation area with a lake has been created as part of this work along with an events area.

The park's two-storey Lodge has been restored to provide offices for the council and the trust.

The boating lake, between Mediterranean and winter-themed gardens, was brought back into use last summer.

Meanwhile the clock tower and its 200-year-old timepiece have been restored to enable it to survive for the next two centuries.

Michelle Davies, the head of the Heritage Lottery Fund in the south east, said parks were as important today as they had ever been.

"We're proud to have helped to support the restoration of this gem of a park," she stated. "Spring is in the air and with it comes a bright new future for this special place."

Hotham Park was formally named and opened to the public on May 23, 1947.

It used to be the private grounds of the owner of the large home, now Hotham Park House, built by Sir Richard Hotham, which had been variously known as Chapel House, Bersted Lodge and Aldwick Manor.

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