Teenager's park campaign pays off

Hotham Park has now fully reopened after the £2.2m restoration

A man who started a campaign for the restoration of a West Sussex park has seen the project completed.

Adam Cunard was 14 when he contacted BBC South Today to complain about Hotham Park, in Bognor Regis.

Seven years on, he is a town councillor and a £2.2m restoration has been undertaken by Arun District Council, funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund.

"It is really nice to be able to walk round the park again and see it in a lot better condition," he said.

When the campaign started in 2002, an area called Rainbow's End, which once housed a small zoo, had been derelict for years.

"Lots of people in Bognor have fond memories of the area," said Mr Cunard.

"It was a nice attraction but then it closed and there was a question mark over whether building work would take place there.

"I was very sad to see this happen because I had good memories of the area and wanted to see something done with the park."

Railway extended

Rainbow's End has now been restored to parkland, with a pond and wildlife area.

The boating lake has also been reopened and a miniature railway extended.

"It is really nice that something has actually happened instead of just talking," said Mr Cunard.

"People are very pleased to see the park back in use."

The finishing touch to the restoration was a new set of gates at the London Road entrance, designed by students from Bognor Regis Community College.

"The restoration has been a huge undertaking but the hard work has paid off," said Arun councillor Paul Wotherspoon.

"We now have a green haven in the middle of the town of which we can all be very proud."