bognor regis travel news

'Heartbreaking' - Bognor Regis caravan park completely flooded

• Bognor Regis
• West Sussex
• Monday 30 October 2023 at 6:51pm

Drone footage shows the extent of flooding at the Riverside Caravan Centre in Bognor Regis

People in Bognor Regis are clearing up after torrential rainfall flooded homes and businesses over the weekend.

Nearly a month's worth of rain fell in a matter of hours. Among the worst affected was the Riverside Caravan Centre in the north of the town, leaving residents devastated.

"It's the worst we've ever seen it," caravan owners, Terry and Mo, told ITV Meridian, "We're on the top field so we're okay, but it's been really heartbreaking for people who've lost most of their stuff."

"Some people have just bought their vans this year but the site has been amazing, doing everything they can to help."

Dave Highstead owns a caravan on the middle field and wasn't so lucky.

"It's waist height so about three foot. As you go down the field there's a lot of people worse off than us"

Next door to the park, firefighters, and the Environment Agency worked through the night to pump water out of an electrical sub station which provides power to 30,000 homes and the local hospital.

In Bognor tonight, the A29 Shripney remains closed with warnings of further rain to come later in the coming days.

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Recap after Bognor Regis trains cancelled due to lorry crashing onto railway

Those living in the area were evacuated due to a suspected gas leak

• Updated 20:51, 25 JUN 2023

A lorry overturned in Bognor Regis resulting in a suspected gas leak, as well as affecting Sussex rail services for most of today (Sunday). Longford Road was closed following the incident that saw the lorry involved crash through a section of boundary fencing backing onto the Bognor Regis railway.

Disruption to Southern rail services lasted until 8pm, with lines due to reopen at 7pm. Trains were unable to call at Bognor Regis, with customers affected urged to not travel.

For live updates on this ongoing situation, follow our live blog below.

• Alternative travel options 17:26
• All you need to know 11:11
• Disruption now expected until 4pm 09:45

Check before you travel warning

Passengers have been advised not to travel but if you need to make a journey, you should allow an extra 45 minutes and check if your route has been affected.

You can check your journey using the National Rail Enquiries real-time Journey Planner

Alternative travel options

While there are no rail replacement buses, Southern has advised tickets will be accepted on the following for no extra cost:

• Any alternative Southern or Thameslink service via any reasonable route
• Stagecoach 700 services between Bognor Regis, Chichester and Littlehampton.

Disruption expected until 8pm

Even though lines could reopen at 7pm, Southern Rail has warned that services are expected to be disrupted until 8pm today.

Passengers have been advised not to travel and if they do so, to allow at least an extra 45 minutes to complete their journey.

Line estimated to reopen at 7pm

Here is the latest update posted on the Southern rail website:

Network Rail response teams, emergency services and specialist engineers are on site, and are working to remove the lorry safely. The lorry is now upright and has been moved away and the next step is to have the site and equipment checked for any damage. The latest estimate for the line to reopen was 7pm, further updates will be provided once available.

Longford Road to reopen by 4pm

Work to remove overturned lorry to begin, disruption until 8pm.

Here is the latest update from Southern Rail:

For journeys to/from Bognor Regis, we would strongly advise that you do not travel. Unfortunately lines are not expected to reopen until at least 7pm, and alternative journey options are very limited. Southern have not been able to source any rail replacement buses.

Fire crews remain on the scene

All you need to know.

• A lorry overturned early this morning along Longford Road and crashed through a section of boundary fencing backing onto the Bognor Regis railway
• Whilst the lorry isn't blocking the line, it is blocking access to signalling equipment
• A telegraph pole has also been damaged which risks falling if the lorry is moved
• No trains are currently able to serve Bognor Regis, with disruption expected until 4pm
• Longford Road is closed between Linden Road and the A29 (Chichester Road Roundabout) with members of the public being asked to avoid the area.
• West Sussex Fire & Rescue Service is on the scene dealing with a suspected gas leak caused by the earlier crash.

Longford Road remains closed

According to travel news provider Inrix, Longford Road is closed between Linden Road and the A29 (Chichester Road Roundabout) - see the map below.

Disruption now expected until 4pm

Tickets will be accepted on the following for no extra cost:

• Stagecoach Buses 700 services between Bognor Regis, Chichester and Littlehampton.

You can check if your journey will be affected using a live route map here.

'Please stay away from the area'

West Sussex Fire & Rescue Service crews are on the scene along Longford Road. They are working with engineers to isolate the gas before moving the overturned lorry.

The area is likely to remain closed for several hours. Members of the public are asked to avoid the area, and those living in the vicinity are asked to keep doors and windows closed.

Route affected - disruption until 12pm

• Between Bognor Regis and Barnham / Littlehampton / London Victoria

No trains are currently able to run to/from Bognor Regis. Services will terminate and restart at either Chichester or Barnham instead.

Southern Rail customers affected are advised to delay any travel until all lines have reopened. If you do travel now, you'll need to use an alternative route and allow at least an extra 45 minutes to complete your journey. An alternative route map can be found here.

• Bognor Regis
• IYA Alert County
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Next Year, Brits Will Fly Abroad. For Now, It’s Bognor Bingo.

With flying discouraged, vacation spots that had been fading and unfashionable are having a moment.

The Waterloo Square Bowling Club in Bognor Regis. The town earned the title of worst U.K. seaside resort in a 2019 consumer survey. Credit... Andrew Testa for The New York Times

Supported by

By David Segal

• Published June 26, 2021 Updated June 28, 2021

BOGNOR REGIS, England — Little has changed in the 40 years that Jean Sheppard has been calling numbers at Crown Bingo here in the heart of Bognor Regis, one of Britain’s oldest seaside resort towns, about 60 miles south of London. The regulars still line up before the doors open at 11 a.m., hoping to nab their upholstered seat of choice in a converted cinema built in the ’30s.

When the games begin, there are no distractions.

“We had an elderly lady here once whose family came to tell her that her husband had passed away,” Ms. Sheppard recalled recently. “And this woman said, ‘Well, there’s nothing I can do for him now,’ and kept right on playing.”

The other constant over the years is the decline of Bognor Regis. Like most of the country’s seaside resorts, the town’s heyday in the ’50s and ’60s is the stuff of dim memories. Bognor and its many rival destinations — Brighton, Hastings, Margate, Skegness, Blackpool and others — once thronged with summer travelers who packed the beaches, seafood shacks and amusement arcades in search of a good time and, for those lucky enough to encounter a cloudless sky, a tan.

Then in the 1970s came the rise of cheap jet travel and overseas package tours. For the same price as a trip here, a family could fly to the beaches of Spain, where blazing sunshine was essentially guaranteed. The resort towns of Britain went into an economic free fall from which they have never recovered.

“Pubs have shut down, theaters have shut down, lots of buildings were knocked down,” said Ms. Sheppard, speaking after her shift on Sunday evening. “There’s been talk about regeneration for years, but nobody seems to know how to do it.”

Now, the limitations imposed by the pandemic are succeeding where all else has failed — at least for the moment. Government-imposed air travel restrictions and warnings have curbed the national appetite for overseas trips. Brits are still allowed to fly to Spain, and elsewhere in Europe, but unless you’re heading to Gibraltar — where infection rates are low — you must quarantine for 10 days after returning home and pay for two Covid-19 tests.

This past week, the British health secretary, Matt Hancock, said the policy would soon be revisited and liberalized. That good news was offset by Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany and Prime Minister Emmanuel Macron of France, who on Thursday urged all countries in the European Union to require British travelers to quarantine upon arrival.

So towns like Bognor Regis are getting a second look. There were more than 180 new players last week at Crown Bingo, said Jenny Barrett, the assistant manager. And for the first time in decades, hotels here are reporting occupancy rates well above 90 percent.

“This weekend we’re at 95 percent,” said André Gonçalves, a manager at the Beachcroft Hotel. “And our prices are up about 20 to 30 percent.”

The owner of the mini golf course right next to the beach-side promenade, Paul Tiernan, is relishing the payoff from a renovation during the height of the pandemic. He refurbished and cleaned the whole course, in part because during lockdown there was nothing else to do. Lately, on weekends there has been a waiting line that extends around the corner and down the street.

“British seasides are having a massive renaissance, everywhere you go,” he said. “Everyone is just filling their boots.”

Mr. Tiernan sat in a chair near the edge of the first hole of his course, directly in the line of fire of any overzealous putters. He moved to Bognor Regis 50 years ago, as a child, which makes him just old enough to have glimpsed the last vestiges of the town’s halcyon days.

“There was a pier over there,” he said, pointing across the street. “Honest to God, it was beautiful. Right at the end there was a pavilion. And there was a theater there.”

Today, the pier is short and looks hazardous. Across a different street stands an empty lot with nothing but debris from a building that burned down four years ago under what Mr. Tiernan called dubious circumstances.

It’s all a long slide from the days when Bognor was prestigious enough to serve as a place for King George V, Queen Elizabeth’s grandfather, to convalesce after lung surgery in 1929. The royal connection was memorialized when “Regis,” Latin for “of the King,” was added to the town’s name. But its most famous link to the monarchy is the story — surely as false as it is amusing — that his last words were an alliterative, impolite put-down of Bognor, uttered after aides suggested that he’d soon be well enough to return. (Polite version: “I don’t want to go to Bognor.”)

James Joyce left behind kinder impressions after a stay here in 1923. “The weather is very fine and the country here restful,” he wrote to a patron. Joyce scholars believe he picked up the improbable name of the lead character of “Finnegans Wake,” Humphrey Chimpden Earwicker, from a nearby cemetery.

The flow of out-of-towners picked up when entrepreneur Billy Butlin opened his second Butlin’s Holiday Camp here in 1960, bringing his vision of a family vacation, filled with vigorous activities and all-inclusive buffets, to the south of the country. Today, the Butlin’s here is one of only three originals still in operation, and it is curiously walled off from the rest of town. A fence stands between the ocean and the Butlin’s campus, which features a gleaming, massive structure that looks like a circus tent from the future.

The logic of a beachside holiday camp with little access to the beach, designed around indoor amusements, seems baffling. Until it starts raining, which it did often last weekend. Bognor boasts that it’s the sunniest place in the United Kingdom, a title claimed by other towns as well. Even when it’s sunny, though, the beach here is not exactly inviting. It’s made of small stones, which are comfortable to lie atop only if you bring a futon.

The water rarely gets much above 60 degrees, a temperature described by the National Center for Cold Water Safety as “very dangerous.”

“We all have wet suits,” said Sara Poffenberger, a Brit who was toweling off with her son and grandson. “But lots of British people will swim without wet suits and tell you the water is boiling.”

The beaches here helped Bognor Regis earn the title of worst U.K. seaside resort in a 2019 survey of 3,000 holidaymakers. Bognor and the fellow bottom dweller Clacton-on-Sea received low ratings for their “attractions, scenery, peace and quiet and value for the money,” the publication found.

Reviews like this explain why even optimists believe Bognor’s boomlet is unlikely to last. Business owners here understand that they are banking the upsides of what could most charitably be described as exceptional circumstances. Someday soon, normal will return.

“Next year, every man and his dog will go abroad,” Mr. Tiernan said, sitting at his mini golf course. “But next year is next year, so I’m enjoying the moment.”

David Segal is a Business section reporter based in London. More about David Segal

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• Ancton (1.79mi)
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• Burndell (2.49mi)
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• Horsemere Green (2.95mi)
• Atherington (2.99mi)
• Barnham (3.1mi)
• Brookpits (3.17mi)
• Colworth (3.21mi)
• Elbridge (3.21mi)
• Rose Green (3.26mi)
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• Woodgate (3.38mi)

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London travel news LIVE: Multiple train lines disrupted after damage to overhead wires near Shepherd's Bush

LIVE – Updated at 20:10

Three different train lines have been disrupted because of damage to the overhead electric wires between Shepherd’s Bush and Watford Junction.

Trains running between these stations may be cancelled, delayed or terminated and started back from Shepherd's Bush.

The operators affected are Avanti West Coast, London Northwestern Railway and Southern, with disruption expected until the end of the day.

It comes after emergency services had to respond to reports a person had been struck by a train between Kingston and Teddington.

The incident meant all lines in the area had to be closed, as power had to be shut to allow emergency workers access to the railway, but these have now re-opened and South Western Railway trains are now running as normal.

Meanwhile, there was significant congestion to traffic in central London, with at least one major road closed, after multiple horses bolted through Aldwych .

This has now cleared up, with traffic monitoring site Inrix no longer reporting any resulting congestion.

Follow latest updates below...

Southern trains not calling at three London stations:

Southern trains which would run between East Croydon and Watford Junction or Hemmel Hempstead will instead be revised to run between East Croydon and Shepherd's Bush.

They are not calling at:

Wembley Central

Harrow & Wealdstone

Watford Junction

You should expect your journey to be up to 45 minutes longer than usual.

This is because of the damage to the overhead power lines north of Shepherds Bush.

Live coverage ends

Thank you for joining us for today’s coverage of London travel news.

We will be back tomorrow with all the latest developments affecting commuters.

Overground disruption now resolved

Earlier disruption on the Overground has now been resolved.

Passengers had earlier been warned of delays on the Richmond / Clapham Junction to Stratford route due to a signalling failure.

Disruption on Overground expected until 5pm

Overground services between Richmond / Clapham Junction and Stratford will be disrupted until at least 5pm.

National Rail says this is due to an earlier signalling fault at Stratford.

London Overground services to / from Stratford may be cancelled, delayed by up to 15 minutes or revised.

No service on Bakerloo this weekend

As a reminder, there will be no service on the Bakerloo Line this weekend (April 27 and 28).

TfL says the lack of service will affect the entire line.

Lines to Surbiton no longer blocked

We told you earlier about how a points failure between Woking and Weybridge blocked all lines towards Surbiton, disrupting multiple South Western Railway trains.

Lines have now re-opened and trains are running are running as normal.

London Overground delays now minor

The delays between Stratford to Richmond and Clapham Junction (due  to an earlier signal failure at Camden Road) are now minor - this disruption was severe before.

Good service on the rest of the line.

Shepherds Bush disruption now expected until end of day

The disruption affecting Avanti, London Northwestern Railway, and Southern train services this afternoon is now expected to last until the end of today.

Damage to the overhead electric wires between Milton Keynes Central and Watford Junction / Shepherds Bush means trains running between these stations may be cancelled, delayed by up to 20 minutes, or revised, says National Rail.

There are fewer trains running to Euston as a result of the disruption.

Disruption to London Overground expected until 3pm

A signalling fault at Stratford means London Overground services are expected to be disrupted until 3pm.

Services between Richmond/Clapham and Stratford are affected, and may be cancelled, delayed or revised, says National Rail.

TfL is currently reporting “severe” delays.

Congestion on M25 near Epsom clearing up

We told you earlier about how a lane had to be shut on the M25 clockwise - between J8 (Reigate / Redhill) and J9 (Leatherhead / Epsom) for a vehicle to be revovered.

The congestion caused by this is now clearing up, with normal traffic conditions expected soon.

Serious crash on Upper Richmond Road

The A205 Upper Richmond Road has been closed both ways between Milton Road and Waitrose because of a serious crash.

It has caused heavy congestion to Roehampton Lane back past Barnes Common, and diverting through Mortlake between Barnes Bridge and Chalkers Corner.

This has caused a detour for several buses - number 33, 337 and 493.

London Overground now delayed instead of suspended

There are currently severe delays between Stratford to Richmond and Clapham Junction due to a signal failure at Camden Road.

Earlier, it was suspended between Wandsworth Road and Clapham Junciton (due to an obstruction on track at Clapham Junction).

Lane shut on M25 near Epsom

A lane has been closed on the M25 clockwise - between J8 (Reigate / Redhill) and J9 (Leatherhead / Epsom).

This is for vehicle recovery.

Traffic-monitoring site Inrix is showing congestion in the area but nothing severe yet.

M25 near Enfield no longer delayed

We told you earlier about two-mile tailbacks - from J24 A111 Stagg Hill (Potters Bar) to J23 A1M (South Mimms) - caused by a stalled lorry.

Lanes had re-opened before 10am but disruption was still in place for a little under an hour.

This is no longer the case, with Inrix reporting clear roads.

Severe delays to London Overground

There are currently severe delays between Stratford to Richmond and Clapham Junction due to a signal failure at Camden Road - good service on the rest of the line.

Northern line no longer delayed

The Northern line has returned to running a good service.

Buckingham Palace Road no longer closed but traffic still delayed

We told you earlier about how Buckingham Palace Road was closed amid the chaos caused by horses bolting through central London .

The road has seemingly re-opened, according to traffic monitoring site Inrix, but there is still a lot of congestion to roads in the area.

Minor delays to Northern line

There are currently minor delays between High Barnet and Camden Town southbound only due to train cancellations - good service on the rest of the line.

Trains to Alexandra Palace delayed

Great Northern trains between Potters Bar and Alexandra Palace are currently disrupted because of a points failure.

Trains could be delayed or cancelled until at lest 11am.

London Waterloo train disruption expected until the end of the day now

Multple South Western Railway trains are delayed and cancelled after reports a person being struck by a train between Kingston and Teddington earlier this morning.

The disruption caused by this was expected to last until 10am but National Rail has now said it will likely be the case for the rest of the day.

Buckingham Palace Road closed amid chaos caused by horses bolting through central London

The road is closed along the A3214 Buckingham Palace Road Southbound between A302 Victoria Street and Grosvenor Gardens / Lower Belgrave Street.

Traffic monitoring site Inrix says this is because of an “emergency services incident”.

This is likely referring to at least two horses bolting through central London, with one appearing to be covered in blood on Wednesday morning.

One soldier has been injured in the incident after a spooked horse hit a number of vehicles, the Telegraph reports.

Emergency services were spotted on Buckingham Palace Road in Victoria.

The soldier was reportedly lying in the street receiving help near the Clermont Hotel.

Read more about the horce incident here .

Two-mile tailbacks on M25 after stalled car

Traffic is queuing for two miles on the M25 anti-clockwise - from J24 A111 Stagg Hill (Potters Bar) to J23 A1M (South Mimms).

This is because of disruption caused by a stalled car.

All lanes have reopened but delays are still in place.

All lines to Surbiton blocked

A points failure between Woking and Weybridge has blocked all lines towrds Surbiton.

South Western Railways services running to and from these stations may be cancelled, delayed by up to 20 minutes or revised.

The route affected is between London Waterloo and Weybridge / Woking / Alton / Basingstoke.

Disruption is affected until at least 12pm.

Major disruption to trains from London to Birmingham New Street

Trains are facing up to one-hour delays after emergency services had to deal with an incident at Birmingham New Street.

Lines have re-opened but disruption is expected until at least 12pm.

The following routes are affected:

• Avanti West Coast between Edinburgh / Manchester Piccadilly / Lancaster/ Shrewsbury / Wolverhampton and London Euston, and between Crewe and Birmingham New Street
• CrossCountry between York / Leeds and Plymouth, and between Manchester Piccadilly and Bournemouth / Paignton, and between Nottingham / Leicester and Birmingham New Street, and between Edinburgh / Stansted Airport / Manchester Piccadilly and Bristol Temple Meads
• London Northwestern Railway between Liverpool Lime Street / Birmingham New Street and London Euston
• Transport for Wales between Holyhead / Chester / Aberystwyth and Birmingham International
• West Midlands Railway between Rugeley Trent Valley and Birmingham International, and between Great Malvern and Birmingham New Street, and between Lichfield Trent Valley and Bromsgrove, and between Four Oaks and Redditch, and between Wolverhampton and Walsall

Jubilee line no longer delayed

The Jubilee line has returned to running a good service.

London Overground no longer suspend

The London Overground has returned to running a good service.

South Western Railway lines to Waterloo re-open but disruption remains

South Western Railway train lines between Wimbledon and Teddington have re-opened, after a person was reportedly struck by a train this morning.

But disruption is still expected to remain until at least 10am with trins cncelled, delayed or revised.

Minor delays to Jubilee line

There are currently mior delays between Finchley Road and Stanmore northbound only due to an earlier faulty train at Bond Street - good service on the rest of the line.

London Overground part suspended

There is currently no service between Wandsworth Road and Clapham Junciton due to an obstruction on track at Clapham Junction - good service on the rest of the line.

Part closure to the Tram for the last time

Today is the last day that part of the Tram is shut as part of a planned closure which has been in place since April 29.

There is no service between Wellesley Road / George Street and Beckenham Junction / Elmers End / New Addington.

Eastbound trams will operate from Wimbledon to Wellesley Road, and westbound trams will operate from George Street to Wimbledon.

Delays to multiple train lines because of damage to the overhead electric wires near Shepherds Bush

Damage to the overhead electric wires between Shepherds Bush and Watford Junction means trains running between these stations may be cancelled, delayed or terminated at and started back from Shepherd's Bush.

Southern trains will not call at:

Avanti West Coast and London Northwestern Railway services are also affected.

This disruption is expected until the end of the day.

Disruption to Southern trains serving London Victoria

Southern trains which usually call at London Victoria may be delayed or revised because of overrunning engineering works which has blocked all lines between Barnham and Horsham.

Trains which usually run between Bognor Regis, or Southampton Central and London Victoria will instead divert to run via Hove / Brighton.

And trains which usually run between Portsmouth and London Victoria will instead terminate and restart from Barnham.

This disruption is expected until at least 7.30am.

South Western Railway trains to Waterloo cancelled

All lines are blocked, after National Rail recieved reports that a person has been struck by a train between Wimbldon and Teddington.

The track has had to be switched off so emergency services can access it, meaning trains serving stations between Kingston and Teddington may be cancelled, delayed or revised.

London Waterloo to Teddington via Richmond services will be cancelled

London Waterloo to Strawberry Hill via Kingston services will be cancelled

London Waterloo to Shepperton services will be cancelled

This disruption is expected to last until at least 10am.

Good morning

Good morning and welcome to The Evening Standard’s live travel blog.

Stay with us for updates throughout the day.