But after several years of hard work and a lottery grant of £220,000, that dream can now become a reality.

And the cherry on top is that works for a multi-use games area is soon to get underway which will lie next to the community centre at Bracklesham Park.

The games area will include an adventure park, basketball court and football area. Excitement within the village grows about the community centre, with building works to begin this time next year.

"This is absolutely fantastic news for the community," said Mr Thomas, of Bracklesham.
"The Bracklesham Bay Community Association (BBCA) was formed for this very purpose. We are extremely grateful to the Big Lottery Fund for giving us the grant and want to thank them for all their support."

Mr Thomas had formed a residents' association for Bracklesham in 1996. This was transformed into the BBCA in 2003, with the sole aim of getting a community centre for the area.

He believed when more building works began in the area during the nineties that a centre would be needed to cater for everybody.

The lottery money will be used along with the '106 agreement' - money donated by builders to Chichester District Council (CDC).
Builders developing houses in Bracklesham must donate money to the council which must be used for recreational and leisure purposes.

Patrick Sanford, vice chairman of the BBCA, said: "There's been many years of fighting for this.
"We would like to thank the national lottery and a big thank you must go to the community.
"More money would be needed for the upkeep of the centre. Nothing's built yet but we are now a lot closer."

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