Importance of shopping locally to support local businesses
As the lead-up to Christmas approaches, Chichester District Council would like to remind residents of the events, markets, and opportunities for shopping locally for gifts on their doorstep.
Councillor Tony Dignum, the council’s Cabinet Member for Growth, Place and Regeneration said: “While everyone is facing rising costs and difficult times at the moment, it’s still really important to highlight the value in shopping locally.
“From using local markets and food producers or making the most of festive visitor attractions like the returning Christmas Market, to searching for unique gifts from independent shops, it’s important that residents continue to ‘shop local, visit local, and support local’ this Christmas.
“Our high streets in Chichester, East Wittering, Midhurst, Petworth and Selsey, have plenty of shopping opportunities on offer. And while you’re there, you can also enjoy the wide selection of cafes and restaurants to make your visit a more special experience.
“I’m pleased to say that we will also be running some special parking offers. We have done this in order to support businesses and residents and to encourage people into Chichester city centre this festive season.”
Shopping locally with parking in December and ShopAppy website
- Select two hours and get a third free in all council-owned car parks across the district (except Avenue De Chartres and Westgate car parks) during December when using the MiPermit app www.chichester.gov.uk/mipermit.
- Free parking after 4pm in the Avenue de Chartres car park in Chichester for the Christmas lights switch-on event on 26th November and late-night shopping in Chichester on 15th and 22nd December.
For more information to help with shopping locally this festive period, people can also visit the ShopAppy website which lists details of local shops and businesses, some of which offer online shopping and ‘click and collect’ services to make shopping more accessible and easier.
Towns across the district which are signed up to ShopAppy have their own information on the website and are listed below:
- Chichester – www.shopappy.com/chichester
- East Wittering – www.shopappy.com/eastwittering
- Midhurst – www.shopappy.com/midhurst
- Petworth – www.shopappy.com/petworth
- Selsey – www.shopappy.com/selsey
Festive shopping opportunity with the Chichester Christmas Market
The council is also looking forward to welcoming back the Chichester Christmas Market, which will run during December. The regular Chichester Farmers’ Markets and city centre Wednesday and Saturday markets will also be taking place in the run up to Christmas.
These markets provide an extra festive opportunity for shopping locally locally this Christmas and support businesses in the district. For more information including dates and locations, please visit www.chichesterchristmasmarket.co.uk and www.chichester.gov.uk/generalmarkets.
Festive events and activities across Chichester this December
Alongside opportunities for shopping locally, the district is also home to attractions and arts, culture and heritage organisations. To help plan days out and visits during what is for many a busy time and to enjoy more of what the district has to offer, residents can visit The Great Sussex Way’s website which has more details on attractions and sites to take in over the Christmas period, visit www.thegreatsussexway.org
The city, towns and villages across the district are organising festive events too. For the best way to keep track of all that is happening over Christmas residents can view the council’s ‘What’s On’ calendar at www.chichester.gov.uk/whatson. The Chichester BID also has a calendar of events that are taking place in Chichester city centre, which can be found at www.chichesterbid.co.uk.
To help encourage people to support local businesses in the district the council has also created personalised gift tags and wrapping paper designs for the city and the towns of the district. These can be downloaded to print out at home by visiting www.chichester.gov.uk/countdowntochristmas.
Residents who use social media can also show their support for local business on Facebook and Twitter by adding a campaign frame to their profile picture. Information on how to do this can be found at www.chichester.gov.uk/countdowntochristmas.
