Wilkinson store set to open in Bognor Regis

The fast-growing chain is looking at the town as a location for one of its new stores.

A spokesman said: "Bognor is definitely a town which is a site of interest for us. But nothing definite is confirmed yet about discussions over a new store there.

"We have a lot of agents going round the country all the time looking at possible sites. Bognor is one of those."

The most obvious place for a Wilkinson store is the former Woolworths outlet in London Road which, with its 2,401sq m of floorspace, is the largest in the precinct.

That has been empty since last December after the famous retailer went into administration.

The prospect of Wilkinson opening anywhere in the town centre has been welcomed by Bognor Regis Chamber of Commerce secretary Stephanie Bayley.

She said: "It would be good if Wilkinson was to come here because it would be likely to fill the big hole where Woolworths used to be.

"It's almost a like-for-like replacement and a lot of people would welcome it.

"If Wilkinson did come here, it would encourage more people to shop in the town centre and also to spend longer looking around, which would benefit the other shops.

"Another major retailer in the town could also mean others would want to move into some of the other empty shops we have in the town centre."

Wilkinson, nicknamed Wilko's, prides itself on being a family-owned and family-focused company. Founded in 1930, it has 323 High Street stores around the country.

They sell a mixture of furniture, toys and games, home and baby, DIY and car and electrical products.

The nearest Wilkinson to Bognor is located at Havant. Others are in Waterlooville, Worthing and Portsmouth.

ATTEMPT TO CONVERT WOOLWORTHS SITE FAILS

An attempt to create turn the former Woolworths in Bognor Regis into a Fairtrade-style centre has failed.

Town resident John Beer has admitted defeat in his bid to use the largest retail premises in the London Road precinct for the innovative purpose.

He was forced to abandon the venture after his bank refused his request for a three-figure overdraft to cover his expenses during the 12 weeks when his application for European Union funding for his venture was being considered.

Mr Beer said the rejection was a hurdle too far.

He had overcome the personal hostility which greeted the Observer's reporting of his plans.

But the bank's attitude could not shrugged off. "I cannot understand this arbitrary rejection by my bank," he said.

"It proves to me they, in common with all the UK banks, will not support small-business entrepreneurs."

The plan by Mr Beer, of Park Road, was to obtain United Nations and EU grants to enable governments, particularly in African nations, to send workers to Bognor to be trained as retailers.

They would use the former Woolworths to sell goods from their native countries. Each country would be allocated a space inside the building to use as their own shop.