Agenda item

The committee will receive a presentation on Chichester Vision from Mr Oates.

The Chairman introduced Mr Oates who gave a presentation on the Chichester Vision project.

The Chichester Vision project is the collaborative work of a number of partners who are pulling together ideas to address ways to ensure Chichester reaches its potential as a visitor destination, shopping destination, business centre and cultural heritage city. There are six main areas of consideration:

·       Economy

·       Culture

·       Heritage

·       Environment

·       Technology

·       Planning

Participation workshops have taken place with residents, business owners and students to gather opinion on the following areas:

·       Business

·       Ease of access

·       Visiting the city

·       Shopping

·       Chichester as a place to live

A physical audit has been carried out to assess the visitor experience, how the city is built and the cultural and heritage assets on offer.

Mr Oates outlined some of the projects main considerations:

·       Ensuring all demographics are served and consider the City is ‘their’s

·       Integrating and keeping students from the university and the college

·       Visitor economy and night-time economy

·       Large brands being unable to secure suitable property in the city centre and having to locate on the outskirts of the city

·       Development opportunities

·       The potentially large number of new homes in the district which will require additional facilities

·       Chichester as a retail destination and shopping ‘experience’ including issues such as the integration of the cultural attractions, areas to meet and the potential for outdoor café options in the city centre

·       Traffic, public realm, pedestrian access and street furniture

·       The impact of buskers and peddlers

·       The recent introduction of regular markets

·       Business Improvement District (BID), Chichester Festival Theatre (CFT), Pallant House Gallery (PHG), The Novium Museum, Chichester Cathedral and Goodwood running large events which attract visitors from out of the area who are not integrated into the city centre

The following ideas are being discussed:

·       Calming the City Centre traffic and giving more priority to pedestrians

·       Shared space and outside events to encourage additional visitors

·       Improved signage

·       Attracting new hotels and amenities to the city

·       Night time economy including later shopping hours, provision of a concert hall, nightclub, a comedy or live music venue, outdoor performance space, later dining opportunities and associated licensing hours

·       Development opportunities at Northgate and Eastgate

·       Changes to the Northgate gyratory to better link CFT and Oaklands Park with the rest of the city

·       New business sectors

·       Encouraging high end financial firms to relocate

·       Building a centre for wider professional services (if mega speed broadband can be offered)

Opportunities to create business, leisure, outdoor, retail areas and accommodation at the Southern Gateway are also being considered, covering the following sites:

·       The bus station

·       The bus depot

·       Basin Road car park

·       The law court

·       The Canal

·       The Police sports field

·       Surplus land at Chichester High School for Boys

·       The Royal Mail depot

The committee made the following comments which were answered by officers:

·       Retaining students in the city is a big issue as the degrees on offer at the university do not suit the jobs on offer in the city. The university should consider offering itself as a satellite location to other local universities. In many cases students do not stay in the location they study. There are a large number of music students in the city who would benefit from a performance venue which in turn would enhance the evening economy.

·       The railway barrier discourages visitors due to prolonged waiting times. If the right facilities are on offer and it is worth visiting people will still travel to the Canal Basin (potentially many on foot).

·       Roads and pavements need improving. WSCC are in the process of creating a transport plan to inform the Southern Gateway Masterplan.

·       A flyover located by the railway to join Basin Road could solve many travel problems. WSCC have considered this suggestion but early indications suggest it would not be feasible due to cost and physical site limitations.

·       Have Public Space Protection Orders been launched to prevent peddlers staying in one fixed place? Official signage has been in place for approximately three weeks in St Martins/East Street, the Cross and Crane Street/North Street and written warnings have been issued.

·       Has enhancing Priory Park been considered? Not specifically although open spaces are being considered for their evening and tourist potential.

·       Parks should provide some space for those who visit for tranquillity. Various open space functions will be considered.

·       Is there legislation to prevent odour pollution in the city? Odour pollution is part of the statutory nuisance legislation and all complaints are investigated.

·       A good cycling network would encourage commuters and tourists to visit the city. This is being considered.

Mr Barrow explained that he is in the process of reviewing some Byelaws and agreed to let Mr Oates comment on the drafts.

Mr Oates explained that the consultation draft vision will be considered this week by the Steering Group (chaired by Mr Dignum). Once approved the draft vision will be taken to Cabinet and then put out for public consultation in early 2017.

Mr Foord agreed to speak with the Planning department to encourage a similar presentation to the Planning Committee.