Funding to help Chicester Council explore possible new project to support high street

Wednesday, 3 November 2021 06:00

By RNHJourno

Leading councillors at Chichester District Council have agreed to release funding to explore the possibility of a new project to support the high street in Chichester city centre.

The council has been allocated £70,000 from the Business Rates Pool by West Sussex County Council to establish an ‘innovative high street project’.

A list of ideas was put together and considered by the council’s Economic Development Panel in September. The panel’s favoured scheme was to use the funds for a feasibility study to explore the potential of a project to bring new destination markets to the Cattle Market and / or the Little London car park locations. This could also include a possible covered area which could be used all year round. The study will also look into the idea of a series of lockable pods that can be used flexibly for different events and in different locations.

If the feasibility study identifies a deliverable project, any remaining funds will be directed towards the associated costs.

“Supporting our high streets is a key priority for the council and we wanted to come up with something different that would help bring people to the city centre and support shops there,” says Councillor Tony Dignum, the council’s

Cabinet Member for Growth and Regeneration. “We know that the city has suffered a lot since the pandemic struck, and so we hope that, if found to be feasible, this project will really boost the city centre and bring something different to the city. The ideas also link to our events and markets strategy, which found that people want more and more varied markets in Chichester.

“At the moment, we are in the very early stages of assessing the project, which will include consulting with stakeholders such as adjacent retailers and occupiers, and the Chichester Business Improvement District (BID). We will also keep people updated as work progresses.”

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