| Littlehampton | |
  Littlehampton shown within West Sussex |
|
| Population | 25,593 |
|---|---|
| OS grid reference | |
| District | Arun |
| Shire county | West Sussex |
| Region | South East |
| Constituent country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Littlehampton |
| Dialling code | 01903 |
| Police | Sussex |
| Fire | West Sussex |
| Ambulance | South East Coast |
| UK Parliament | Bognor Regis and Littlehampton |
| European Parliament | South East England |
| List of places: UK • England • West Sussex | |
Littlehampton is a seaside resort town in the Arun District of West Sussex, England.The parish covers an area of 11.35 km² (4 sq mi) and has a population of 25,593 persons (2001 census). It is located on the east bank at the mouth of the River Arun. As with other larger communities along the West Sussex coast, the conurbation includes other settlements: Wick in the north west; Lyminster to the north; East Preston, Rustington and Angmering to the east. Wick and Toddington became part of the town in 1901. Littlehampton lies within the constituency of Bognor Regis and Littlehampton, the MP for which is Nick Gibb Conservative. The town newspaper is the Littlehampton Gazette.
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Local Economy
The headquarters of The Body Shop is located in Littlehampton. Local company, Dando Drilling International Ltd. has been exporting drilling rigs from Littlehampton since 1867. Van Heyningen Brothers (VHB) salad growers were a major employer in the town from 1964-2003. Much of the local economy comprises smaller companies with fewer than ten employees, however, recently Sainsbury's has moved into the town centre and the local authority is actively seeking to promote and expand business opportunities to create a framework for growing the area's smaller businesses. There has been a trend towards more self employment in the area.
East Beach Café
Littlehampton has received a great deal of publicity [1] as the home of the East Beach Cafe, a new building on the seafront designed by Heatherwick Studio.
The building is a fully welded monocoque structure which Heatherwick describes as being like a piece of driftwood swept up onto the beach. It was built in Littlehampton, with steelwork by Littlehampton Welding Ltd and site work by Langridge Developments, another local firm. It was commissioned and is owned by Littlehampton residents Jane Wood and Sophie Murray. The restaurant serves local food with an accent on fish and enjoys spectacular views out to sea, and has been met with mixed opinions from local residents.
Transport
Littlehampton is situated on the A259, close to the main A27 south coast trunk road, as well as the two main north-south roads, the A24 and A29. Stagecoach operate the '700 Coastliner' service in the town, providing four services an hour to Brighton, two services an hour to Arundel and two services an hour to Portsmouth. Stagecoach also serve the town with the number 9 service, running hourly from Littlehampton to the Holmbush Centre via Angmering, Worthing and Shoreham-by-Sea. More recently meanwhile, Compass Travel have introduced the 'Littlehampton Town Bus'. Officially known as the number 12 service, it provides travel between Littlehampton, Rustington and Wick, replacing the former Stagecoach 702 service that was axed, much to the disapproval of local residents[2] Trains services from Littlehampton railway station are all provided by Southern, with direct services to London Victoria, Gatwick Airport, East Croydon, Bognor Regis, Chichester and Portsmouth. Gatwick Airport is around an hour away to the north, with the port of Dover and the Channel Tunnel being situated about three hours to the east. Portsmouth Harbour is around one hour away to the west.
Churches and Cemeteries
St Mary's is the Anglican parish church while St Catherine's is the principal Catholic church. In the cemetery, which is on the northern side of the town, lies the grave of Katherine O'Shea ("Kitty O'Shea") (1845-1921), the wife of Charles Stewart Parnell. Littlehampton is also home to many other churches, including St. James the great and All Saints in Wick. These churches have a medium sized congegration.
Arts and Culture
The comedy Open All Hours was based on a shop in Norfolk Road near to where Ronnie Barker lived[3].
Other notable alumni include writer Stuart Millard. The town has appeared on ITV1 with Roy Shepherd (of Littlehampton) presenting the geology of the local area with Charlie Dimmock. An important annual event is the parade and mammoth bonfire organised by the Bonfire Society. Littlehampton supports a wide range of performance groups including the Musical Comedy Society and Players Operatic Society who perform regularly throughout the year. It also holds a very popular 'Last Night of the Proms' concert performed annually by the Littlehampton Concert Band [4].
Sport
Littlehampton is also host to Littlehampton Rugby Club who train every Wednesday at the community school. The club is renowned for its involvement within the town including the carnival, Bonfire night, Dragon Boat racing and other charitable events.
Littlehampton is the home of Littlehampton, Clapham and Patching Cricket Club, there is also a marina and golf club.
Twinning
Littlehampton is currently twinned with:
Durmersheim, Germany
Chennevières-sur-Marne, France
Dikhil, Djibouti
External links
References
- ^ Fresh seafood served here. The Observer (2007-06-10). Retrieved on 2008-01-04.
- ^ New Number 12 has been well received.. Littlehampton Gazette (2007-11-15). Retrieved on 2008-01-04.
- ^ History of Littlehampton. Visit Littlehampton (2008-01-04). Retrieved on 2008-01-04.
- ^ http://www.littlehampton-concertband.co.uk/
