District Dispatch - 30 May 2022

As I mentioned last week, there are lots of events taking place and many are listed on our What's On calendar. 

I'm also pleased to say that there are still many events to look forward to over the coming weeks and months.

On Friday 10 June we can look forward to the 'Carnival of Lights' event. An impressive display of willow lanterns will parade through Chichester city centre, culminating in a fiesta themed evening at the Chichester Canal Basin. This is one of four headline 'Ignite' events in the Culture Spark calendar.

The festivities will begin at 5pm in Priory Park in Chichester with a placard making workshop and whale storytelling show for children and the lantern parade will start at this point at 6pm. The theme of the parade is environmental sustainability. More than 1,000 people from across the district have been involved in creating the lanterns which have been decorated with illustrations of flowers, animals and wildlife to reflect the local environment. Following the event, the lanterns will return to their hometowns in the district to be featured in local parades and exhibitions, such as Petworth's Fete on 9 July. To find out more, please visit The Great Sussex Way - Culture Spark 2022 (opens new window).

A few weeks ago, we talked about our role in the Community Safety Partnership. One of the latest projects to be launched by the Police and Crime Commissioner, one of our partners, is a new app, which is aimed at helping people if they feel unsafe outside of their home. If you are feeling unsafe, 'Safe Space Sussex' shows you the nearest registered safe space where you can go to feel more comfortable, and a friendly face will help you to contact someone you know. For more information or to register your business as a safe space, please visit: Safe Space Sussex (opens new window).

I also want to encourage you to nominate your favourite family business in the district as part of a national campaign which is being run by ShopAppy at: ShopAppy (opens new window) . The deadline for nominations is 12 June. We have partnered with ShopAppy to support local businesses and encourage people to shop locally. The council is paying for local businesses to join the platform until March 2023, using a government grant. The ShopAppy website has already launched in Chichester and will soon launch in East Wittering in June, closely followed by Midhurst, Selsey and Petworth in the months ahead.

Through ShopAppy, local independent businesses promote their goods and services, sell online, and even encourage people to click and collect. It means if shoppers are going to make a purchase online, they can make that purchase from an independent business within our district and know that the money they have spent will go back into the local economy. We hope this will give a welcome boost to our local businesses and encourage people to shop locally. To find out more, please visit ShopAppy (opens new window) or if you own a business and want to join, please email jane@shopappy.com.

Finally, those of you who are signed up to our monthly email newsletter will know that it has a new look and a new name - initiatives+. To celebrate this, we are giving away prizes that have kindly been donated to us by our partners. All subscribers will automatically be entered to win prizes from Everyone Active and Chichester Festival Theatre - starting with a year's fitness membership at Westgate Leisure Centre. The newsletter contains the latest updates from across the district, including events, community news and details of new schemes that the council is running. To sign up and enter, please visit news alerts.

Best Wishes

Cllr Eileen Lintill

Leader of Chichester District Council