ONE of England’s largest villages has been working on spicing up its reputation.

Lancing is the biggest village in Sussex, and one of the largest in the UK.

But its Parish Council is not impressed with a lack of visitors to their spacious seaside spot.

So they have taken it upon themselves to design new lamppost banners with Lancing-on-Sea written across them - adding the ‘on-sea’ to make the village sound more attractive.

The design features a colourful picture of blue sky, village buildings and the South Downs by the sea.

If accepted, they will be used as signs from the A259, South Street and Grinstead Lane to attract visitors into the centre.

The initial plan was to have bunting hanging across roads but this was “too complicated to overcome” according to a council spokesman.

Dan Allday, 33, has lived in Lancing nearly all his life said he is not against the council, but feels it needs to make sure as many people as possible have had a say before final decisions are made.

He said: “I personally don’t like the sound of the suggested new name, also as the town next door has ‘by-sea’ in its name. We can be our own place and not have to copy our neighbours.

“Also having a promotional name for our village that is different from what people have on their address seems nonsensical unless the intention would be to eventually change that as well.

“Something people should also consider.”

The idea for the lamppost banners was thought up by the Lancing Parish Council-led Lancing Vision Group.

It has been working on ways to help promote Lancing village centre as a place to visit following a consultation that was carried out in 2017.

The group discussed other town brands to establish what was liked and disliked until it found the chosen designer, who is described as having “a good understanding of what the group was trying to achieve”.

Councillor Gloria Eveleigh, chairwoman of Lancing Parish Council said: “This council is dedicated to listening to and acting on the community’s wishes.

“The Lancing Vision Group is trying to fulfill the results of the consultation by following through the suggested ways to improve the village.”

The design will be “future proof” if accepted, according the council, and could be used for history or nature trail leaflets.

The council is still open to suggestions and encourages comments to be sent into: admin@lancingparishcouncil.gov.uk or via its Facebook page.