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.

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.

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.

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:

Party in control		Years
	No overall control	1974–1976
	Conservative	1976–1995
	No overall control	1995–1999
	Conservative	1999–2004
	No overall control	2004–2006
	Conservative	2006–2019
	No overall control	2019–2019
	Conservative	2019–2020
	No overall control	2020–2023
	Liberal Democrats	2023–present

The leaders of the council since 1999 have been:

Councillor	Party		From	To
Jane Chevis		Conservative	1999	2002
Janet Duncton		Conservative	2002	2005
Andrew Smith		Liberal Democrats	2005	2006
Myles Cullen		Conservative	2006	2011
Heather Caird		Conservative	2011	10 May 2015
Tony Dignum		Conservative	19 May 2015	21 May 2019
Eileen Lintill		Conservative	21 May 2019	7 May 2023
Adrian Moss		Liberal Democrats	17 May 2023

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

Party		Councillors
	Liberal Democrats	25
	Conservative	5
	Local Alliance	4
	Green	2
Total		36

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.

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.

List of Chichester district councillors by ward:

Ward		Councillor	Elected	Notes
	Chichester West	Clare Apel	1999	Member of Chichester City Council
	The Witterings	Iain Ballantyne	2023
	Southbourne	Tracie Bangert	2019	Cabinet Member for Communities and Wellbeing
	Harbour Villages	Richard Bates	2023
	North Mundham and Tangmere	David Betts	2023	Cabinet Member for Housing and Revenues and Benefits
	Selsey South	Steve Boulcott	2023
	Chichester East	Bill Brisbane	2021	Cabinet Member for Planning Elected following a by-election held in June 2021
	Westbourne	Roy Briscoe	2019
	Lavant	Joseph Brookes-Harmer	2023
	Chichester North	Jonathan Brown	2023	Deputy Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Environmental Strategy Previously represented Southbourne (2015–2023)
	Midhurst	Jess Brown-Fuller	2023	Cabinet Member for Culture and Events Member of Parliament for Chichester (since July 2024)
	Fernhurst	Brett Elise Burkhart	2023
	Midhurst	Hannah Burton	2023
	Chichester East	Rhys Chant	2023	Member of Chichester City Council
	The Witterings	Mark Chilton	2023	Cabinet Member for Finance, Corporate Services and Chichester Contract Services
	Chichester North	Maureen Corfield	2023	Member of Chichester City Council
	Fittleworth	John Cross	2023
	Petworth	Harsha Desai	2023	Cabinet Member for Growth and Place
	Loxwood	Gareth Evans	2019
	The Witterings	Elizabeth Hamilton	2019	Previously represented Easebourne (2007–2015) and West Wittering (2015–2019)
	North Mundham and Tangmere	Charlie Hastain	2023
	Southbourne	Oona Hickson	2023
	Easebourne	Francis Hobbs	2015
	Sidlesham with Selsey North	Donna Johnson	2019	Member of West Sussex County Council
	Harbour Villages	Stephen Johnson	2023
	Selsey South	Timothy Johnson	2019
	Harbour Villages	Adrian Moss	2019	Leader of the Council Previously represented Fishbourne (2003–2011; 2018–2019)
	Fernhurst	Eleanora Newbery	2023
	Harting	Tim O'Kelly	2023
	Goodwood	Henry Potter	2019	Previously represented Boxgrove (2007–2019)
	Chichester West	Sarah Quail	2023	Member of Chichester City Council
	Chichester South	Sarah Sharp	2019	Member of West Sussex County Council
	Loxwood	Charles Todhunter	2023
	Chichester Central	James Vivian	2023	Member of Chichester City Council
	Sidlesham with Selsey North	Val Weller	2023
	Chichester South	Tim Young	2023

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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