Key achievements from the past year highlighted by district council
Published 12:00 on 20 Jul 2026
Supporting people experiencing homelessness, projects to help attract investment and growth in the district and continuing to support people experiencing issues connected to the cost-of-living crisis have been highlighted as part of a review of Chichester District Councils work over the past year.
At a Full Council meeting on Tuesday 14 July councillors officially received the Annual Report for the year 2025 2026 which outlines the councils progress on key areas.
Our aim is to be a proactive, forward-thinking council that creates opportunities by supporting the economic growth, wellbeing, and cultural life of the communities of Chichester District, while leading on carbon reduction and the restoration of nature, says Councillor Adrian Moss, Leader of Chichester District Council. Huge amounts of work go on each year to support our communities, from helping people access housing to supporting our businesses through inward investment and regeneration projects to initiatives set up to protect and enhance our environment.
As a council we provide more than 80 different services every single day, and we are proud to serve our communities. We also work with some amazing partners and other organisations and I would like to thank everyone in the district who works hard to make a positive difference to their local community.
A key project under the councils Decent Homes For All priority has been to increase the amount of short stay accommodation available to support those residents in the district who are experiencing homelessness. A former student accommodation building in Chichester is now being brought back into use to provide 50 units of temporary accommodation and it is hoped that the accommodation will be ready some time during the autumn of this year.
Another key project has been to communicate the major changes contained within the Renters Rights Act, to help ensure that both tenants and landlords were aware of how the various changes will affect them. The council put in place a campaign to help direct people to the latest information ahead of the law coming into force at the beginning of May.
The Chichester Local Plan 2021-2039 was found sound by the Planning Inspectorate and adopted by the Council last August. The Local Plan provides policies that help to meet housing need, protect the environment, seek better quality design, and give greater control over where development is built.
As part of its work to create a Thriving Economy, the council has been working on the delivery of its Regeneration Strategy which sets out a series of actions to help attract investment and business to the district, enhance employment opportunities, infrastructure development, and sustainability. This has included a Place Identity and Branding exercise to help give Chichester a clear, compelling, and consistent place narrative and brand when promoting the area outside of the district.
In addition, the council continues to provide an events programme to help increase city centre footfall and support businesses. Events have included the Christmas programme, as well as the return of the free laser light shows at Chichester Canal Basin which were attended by thousands of people.
As part of its Healthy and Vibrant Communities priority, the council used its surplus from the 2025 2026 budget to increase its grant funding. As a result 63 successful projects received a share of the £365,000 that was allocated.
The Councils Supporting You Team helped more than 2,000 residents, providing them with assistance to resolve financial and debt issues. The Wellbeing Team also helped more than 1,100 residents in the district to make healthy lifestyle changes. The councils Social Prescribing Team works with GP surgeries in the district to support people who have non-medical issues that are affecting their health. Over the past year they have supported 800 people (including 50 young people) to access support in their community.
Chichester District Council also led a procurement programme for leisure and active wellbeing contract which went up for renewal at the end of last year. New contractor More Leisure was selected for the next contract and became responsible for managing the districts three leisure centres and active communities programme on 1 May 2026. As part of the contract Chichester District Council set aside £8 million to carry out improvements and bring forward new opportunities across all three sites.
Under the councils Protected and Recovering Environment priority, a major undertaking was introducing the new food waste collection service as required by the government.
The council also adopted a refreshed Climate Emergency Action Plan. Under the plan, more than 13,700 trees have been planted through the Tree Chichester District scheme, a new climate change website has been launched, and several successful Carbon Literacy training courses have been held for residents. This year, homeowners, landlords and tenants will be supported to make home improvements to drive down energy bills and carbon emissions.
The full Annual Report is now available to read at www.chichester.gov.uk/corporat... under Performance Information.