Join our summer part in the city

As I write this, the city is basking in beautiful June sunshine and is looking rather colourful and vibrant with the bunting, flower displays and flags. It makes me proud to be part of an organisation where we can help make a difference to the visual landscape of the city.

Chichester, even on its own without any adornments, really is a visually exciting city. We should not take it for granted at all. Not many cities can boast the abundance of culture, shopping, leisure and great eateries within such a small area as we can. Perhaps, with a prolonged absence from the city through the pandemic, we should look at our city anew and appreciate what we do have rather than notice its flaws. And flaws it may well have, for instance the shop vacancy rate is running higher than normal meaning at eye and street level, the city can sometimes look less than perfect. However, that’s to be expected given the pain the whole retail sector has been through recently. Encouragingly this is an improving picture as we see new, creative, entrepreneurial businesses enter the city and take advantage of falling rents and overhead costs. Despite all this, the city has retained its allure through these most difficult times and I want to thank the city’s enduring businesses for being at the forefront of making this happen.

Here at Chichester BID we work closely alongside all the businesses in the city centre and I have to say that the ingenuity and entrepreneurialism shown by them as we have emerged from lockdown has been very inspirational. Colour, vibrancy, energy and a sense of a bustling, active city have been a joy to experience post lockdown. Thank you again for bringing our city to life!

With this inspirational backdrop, the work we do at Chichester

BID in promoting the city and its constituent parts is a real joy. Our #Rediscoverchichester competition has unearthed some wonderful, secret places within our city so we know a number of you out there have also found a new found love of Chichester in recent times.

The eclectic and diverse mix of our independent retailers is also something to be treasured, nurtured and encouraged. It brings life and creativity to the city. To celebrate this, on National Independence

Day in early July we are launching an online Independent Business Directory – available to be viewed on our website chichesterbid.co.uk.

And lastly, we want to celebrate the summer. Come and join us at our Summer Party in the City on August 26, 3pm till 7pm. A feast of offers, entertainment and fun is guaranteed – all played out in front of the beautiful backdrop of our stunning city. Please join us and show some support for your city centre!