New group set up to support Chichester city centre’s recovery

As part of the Chichester Vision, a special group will be established by Chichester District Council bringing together key retailers, businesses and partners to ensure priorities reflect what businesses in the area need.

The council’s cabinet has also agreed that supporting the visions for East Wittering and Bracklesham, Midhurst, Petworth and Selsey was vitally important, with feedback from these groups used to reinvigorate action plans and support given to these areas.

Martyn Bell, Cabinet Member for Property, Growth and Regeneration, said: “Supporting the high street is one of the key objectives of our economic development strategy and is a key action within the proposed COVID-19 recovery plan.

“Following the coronavirus crisis, this work has now become more important than ever. Our high streets were already experiencing an extremely challenging environment pre-pandemic, and this has been exacerbated by coronavirus, and so we must do all that we can to support our businesses and high streets on their road to recovery.

“We have already been working to support our high street businesses as they reopen and ensuring measures are put in place to enable visitors and businesses to follow the latest Government guidance. As part of this work, we are pleased that there is some funding available to us to enable temporary changes to the high street to be made.”

The high street recovery and transformation group aims to:

• Deliver targeted support programmes to retail businesses and other businesses seeking to locate in the district’s town centres

• Work with the Chichester BID and other organisations across the district to proactively support businesses that can contribute to a more diversified offer

• To support and develop the evening and night-time economy offer

• To support transformation of the high street

• Engage with the Government’s high street task force to utilise their emerging support

• To work with the Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) to develop ‘safer cities’.

Brendon Cook, chair of Chichester BID, said: “Chichester’s businesses are currently facing the biggest challenge they have ever, and probably will ever, experience, and we all need to work together to help our High Street pull through the crisis. We look forward to being part of the High Street Recovery and Transformation Group and working on projects that ensure that Chichester continues to be a successful and safe place for people to shop, dine and do business in.”

Dianne Lambdin, of Chichester Chamber of Commerce and Industry, will be participating in this work to ensure chamber members’ views are represented on the group.

She said: “Finding practical solutions are essential to help sustain the business community and this needs to be inclusive of the many industry sectors that exist within the city. The chamber are also looking at how we can bring all the businesses together through networking and social media as exemplified by their recent initiative with #lovechibiz which has already been adopted by many local businesses.”

More information about the different vision projects can be found online.

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