Misplaced Pages

Chichester District
Non-metropolitan district
Chichester Cathedral and Guildhall
Chichester shown within West Sussex
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Constituent country	England
Region	South East England
Non-metropolitan county	West Sussex
Status	Non-metropolitan district
Admin HQ	Chichester
Incorporated	1 April 1974
Government
• Type	Non-metropolitan district council
• Body	Chichester District Council
• MPs	Jess Brown-Fuller Andrew Griffith John Milne
Area
• Total	303.60 sq mi (786.32 km)
• Rank	42nd (of 296)
Population
• Total	126,103
• Rank	189th (of 296)
• Density	420/sq mi (160/km)
Ethnicity (2021)
• Ethnic groups	List 95.4% White 1.7% Asian 1.6% Mixed 0.6% Black 0.5% other
Religion (2021)
• Religion	List 53.1% Christianity 38.7% no religion 6.2% not stated 0.6% Islam 0.5% other 0.5% Buddhism 0.3% Hinduism 0.2% Judaism 0.1% Sikhism
Time zone	UTC0 (GMT)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+1 (BST)

Chichester is a local government district in West Sussex, England. It is named after the city of Chichester, which is its largest settlement and where the council is based. The district includes the towns of Midhurst, Petworth and Selsey and surrounding rural areas, including many villages. The district includes part of the South Downs National Park, and Chichester Harbour is a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. At the 2021 census the district had a population of 124,531.

The district is on the coast, facing the English Channel. The neighbouring districts are Arun, Horsham, Waverley, East Hampshire and Havant.

History

Chichester itself had been an ancient borough, which additionally held city status from 1075 when the Diocese of Chichester moved its seat from Selsey to Chichester.

The modern district was formed on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972 as one of seven districts within West Sussex. The new district covered the whole area of three former districts and parts of a fourth, which were all abolished at the same time:

• Chichester Municipal Borough (city)
• Chichester Rural District (except 13 parishes which went to Arun)
• Midhurst Rural District
• Petworth Rural District

The new district was named Chichester, after its largest settlement. The medieval territory of the Rape of Chichester had also covered much of the area of the new district. A successor parish was established covering the former borough of Chichester, and Chichester's city status passed to the new parish rather than the wider district. As such, Chichester City Council is a parish council, whilst Chichester District Council has greater powers and covers the much larger area of Chichester District.

Governance

Chichester District Council
Type
Type	Non-metropolitan district
History
Founded	1 April 1974
Leadership
Chair	Clare Apel, Liberal Democrat since 17 May 2023
Leader	Adrian Moss, Liberal Democrat since 17 May 2023
Chief Executive	Diane Shepherd since 2012
Structure
Seats	36 councillors
Political groups	Administration (25)   Liberal Democrats (25) Other parties (11)   Conservative (5)   Local Alliance (4)   Green (2)
Length of term	4 years
Elections
Voting system	First-past-the-post
Last election	4 May 2023
Next election	6 May 2027
Meeting place
East Pallant House, 1 East Pallant, Chichester, PO19 1TY
Website
www.chichester.gov.uk

Chichester District Council provides district-level services. County-level services are provided by West Sussex County Council. The whole district is also covered by civil parishes, which form a third tier of local government.

In the parts of the district within the South Downs National Park, town planning is the responsibility of the South Downs National Park Authority. The district council appoints one of its councillors to serve on the 27-person National Park Authority.

Political control

The council has been under Liberal Democrat majority control since the 2023 election.

The first elections to the council were held in 1973, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until the new arrangements came into effect on 1 April 1974. Political control of the council since 1974 has been as follows:

Leadership

The leaders of the council since 1999 have been:

Composition

Following the 2023 election, the composition of the council was:

The Local Alliance and Greens sit together as a group, which forms the council's largest opposition group. The next election is due in 2027.

Elections

Since the last boundary changes in 2019 the council has comprised 36 councillors representing 21 wards, with each ward electing one, two or three councillors. Elections are held every four years.

Councillors and wards

List of Chichester district councillors by ward:

Premises

The council is based at East Pallant House, on East Pallant in the centre of Chichester. The oldest part of the building was originally a large house, which had subsequently served as the headquarters of the old Chichester Rural District Council prior to the 1974 reorganisation. Large modern extensions have since been added to the building.

Geography

Chichester District occupies the western part of West Sussex, bordering on Hampshire to the west and Surrey to the north. The districts of Arun and Horsham abut to the east; the English Channel to the south. The district is divided by the South Downs escarpment, with the northern part being in the Weald, composed of a mixture of sandstone ridges and low-lying clays known as the Western Weald. To the south the dip slope of the downs falls gently to a flat coastal plain and the sea. The Western Weald is drained by the River Arun and its tributaries including the rivers Lox, Kird and especially the River Rother and its tributaries the River Lod and the Haslingbourne Stream. On the northern boundary Blackdown is the highest point in Sussex, while further east around Loxwood the land is low and quite flat. The south of the district has many permeable chalk and gravel areas and is drained by two winterbournes, the River Lavant and River Ems, which are usually dry in the summer. The large inlet known as Chichester Harbour and the headland of Selsey Bill are conspicuous features of the coast.

The district, apart from the few main roads, is generally rural in character, as can be seen by the number of villages within it. Apart from the coastal strip there are few main roads, and the erstwhile railways which once served Midhurst have long been closed.

Civil parishes

There are 67 civil parishes in Chichester District. The parish of Chichester holds city status, allowing the parish council to call itself a city council. The parish councils for Midhurst, Petworth and Selsey have each declared their parishes to be towns, allowing them to take the style "town council". Some of the smaller parishes have a parish meeting rather than a parish council.

Landmarks

Apart from the geographical landmarks Chichester District contains architectural and cultural places including Chichester Cathedral, Chichester Festival Theatre, The Novium and Pallant House Gallery in the city. Stately homes open to the public include Petworth House and Uppark, both National Trust properties, Goodwood House and Stansted Park. West Dean College is open at certain times of the year. There is horse racing at Goodwood Racecourse, the Goodwood Festival of Speed at Goodwood House, and the Goodwood Revival at Goodwood Motor Racing Circuit. Cowdray House is a ruined Tudor mansion near Midhurst. Fishbourne Roman Palace lies west of Chichester city centre. To the north of the city are Weald and Downland Open Air Museum and Halnaker Windmill. There are gardens open to the public at Woolbeding and Pound Commons and West Dean College.

Economy

West Sussex County Council and Chichester District Council are major employers in Chichester, along with Rolls-Royce Motor Cars assembly plant at nearby Westhampnett. Boatbuilding is an important industry along the coast. Many people from the northern parts of the district commute to work in London, using the A3 road or the railways from Portsmouth to London Waterloo station and Littlehampton to London Victoria station. Fertile soils on the coastal plain are used for arable farming and intensive vegetable production, the latter employing many migrant workers from Eastern Europe. High sunlight levels and a mild climate also make the coastal region suitable for glasshouse growing. A fertile strip of land on the north side of the River Rother is also used for vegetable growing, but most of the area north of the Downs is of low agricultural value and there are large areas of forest and pasture, interspersed with arable cropping.

Football clubs

• Bosham F.C.
• Chichester City F.C.
• Midhurst & Easebourne F.C.
• Selsey F.C.

References

1. ^ UK Census (2021). "2021 Census Area Profile – Chichester Local Authority (E07000225)". Nomis. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 5 January 2024.
2. Report of the Commissioners Appointed to Inquire into the Municipal Corporations in England and Wales: Appendix 2. 1835. p. 715. Retrieved 27 January 2024.
3. Kelly, S.E. (1994). Hobbs, Mary (ed.). Chichester Cathedral: An Historic Survey. Chichester: Phillimore. pp. 1–10. ISBN 0-85033-924-3.
4. "The English Non-metropolitan Districts (Definition) Order 1972", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 1972/2039, retrieved 31 May 2023
5. "The English Non-metropolitan Districts (Names) Order 1973", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 1973/551, retrieved 31 May 2023
6. ^ "No. 46255". The London Gazette. 4 April 1974. p. 4401.
7. "Council minutes, 17 May 2023". Chichester District Council. Retrieved 8 October 2023.
8. Stephenson, Jo (7 March 2012). "Shepherd moves up to chief". Local Government Chronicle. Retrieved 8 October 2023.
9. "Local Government Act 1972", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 1972 c. 70, retrieved 31 May 2023
10. "Election Maps". Ordnance Survey. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
11. "Members". South Downs National Park Authority. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
12. Dunn, Karen (18 May 2023). "New Lib Dem leader at Chichester District Council outlines his administration's priorities". Sussex World. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
13. "Compositions calculator". The Elections Centre. Retrieved 9 September 2022.
14. Colin Rallings; Michael Thrasher (June 2015). "Chichester District Council Election Results 1973-2011" (PDF). The Elections Centre, Plymouth University.
15. "Chichester". BBC News Online. Retrieved 7 February 2010.
16. "Council minutes". Chichester District Council. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
17. "Local elections 2023: live council results for England". The Guardian.
18. "Your councillors by party". Chichester District Council. Retrieved 27 January 2024.
19. "The Chichester (Electoral Changes) Order 2017", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 2017/475, retrieved 27 January 2024
20. "Your councillors". Chichester District Council. Retrieved 7 September 2019.
21. "Declaration of Result of Poll: Chichester District Council Election of a District Councillor for Chichester East Ward on Thursday 24 June 2021".
22. Historic England. "East Pallant House (Chichester Rural District Council Offices) (Grade II) (1026811)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 27 January 2024.
23. "Chichester". Office for National Statistics.
24. "Chichester". Ordnance Survey.
25. "Parish and town council addresses". Chichester District Council. Retrieved 27 January 2024.

v t e Districts of South East England
Berkshire	Bracknell Forest Reading Slough West Berkshire Windsor and Maidenhead Wokingham
Buckinghamshire	Buckinghamshire Milton Keynes
East Sussex	Brighton and Hove Eastbourne Hastings Lewes Rother Wealden
Hampshire	Basingstoke and Deane East Hampshire Eastleigh Fareham Gosport Hart Havant New Forest Portsmouth Rushmoor Southampton Test Valley Winchester
Isle of Wight	Isle of Wight
Kent	Ashford Canterbury Dartford Dover Folkestone and Hythe Gravesham Maidstone Medway Sevenoaks Swale Thanet Tonbridge and Malling Tunbridge Wells
Oxfordshire	Cherwell Oxford South Oxfordshire Vale of White Horse West Oxfordshire
Surrey	Elmbridge Epsom and Ewell Guildford Mole Valley Reigate and Banstead Runnymede Spelthorne Surrey Heath Tandridge Waverley Woking
West Sussex	Adur Arun Chichester Crawley Horsham Mid Sussex Worthing

50°50′13″N 0°46′48″W / 50.837°N 0.780°W / 50.837; -0.780

• Chichester District
• Districts of England established in 1974
• Non-metropolitan districts of West Sussex