North Bersted

Modern residential development on Bognor's northern edge, with the retail park, newer housing estates, and the site of the notable Iron Age warrior burial.

North Bersted is the northern part of the Bognor Regis built-up area, largely developed from the 1990s onwards on former agricultural land. The area is centred on Rowan Way and the developments around it, with modern housing estates of a type familiar across southern England: detached and semi-detached houses with driveways and small gardens on curving estate roads. The Bognor Regis Retail Park is located here, providing out-of-town shopping with large-format stores, a supermarket, and associated parking that draws shoppers from across the wider area. The A259 Felpham relief road runs through, connecting the town to the wider road network and easing traffic through the centre. North Bersted has grown rapidly in the past three decades, and the housing stock is predominantly modern, built to contemporary specifications. The area was historically open farmland belonging to the parish of Bersted, and archaeological excavation ahead of development uncovered significant Iron Age remains, including the burial of a warrior with a decorated bronze helmet that attracted national attention. The Bersted warrior find is held by the Novium Museum in Chichester. A local primary school serves the new housing, and there are small neighbourhood shops, but most residents rely on the retail park or the town centre for their main shopping needs. The character is suburban and modern, without the historic interest of the older parts of Bognor, but it provides the newer housing stock that the town needs and that many buyers prefer for its energy efficiency and low maintenance requirements.