Manhood Peninsula ‘left to fend for itself’

Earlier this month, Chichester District Council launched a High Street recovery group as part of the Chichester Vision, bringing together retailers and businesses from across the city to work out what was needed to recover from the pandemic.

At a meeting of the full council on Tuesday (July 21), Tim Johnson (Local Alliance, Selsey South) said the peninsula – which relies heavily on leisure and tourism – needed its own group.

Mr Johnson said the peninsula had ‘suffered badly’ during lockdown and residents he had spoken to welcomed the idea of its own recovery group.

Reminding members that Chichester was a district and not just a city, Mr Johnson said: “It’s important to realise that, rightly or wrongly, people feel they are forgotten.”

There was no support for the idea from the Conservatives.

Susan Taylor, cabinet member for planning, who lives on the peninsula, said she knew that one of the parish councils wanted nothing to do with the idea.

Calling it a ‘duplication of resources’ given that there is already a Vision for Selsey, she added: “We all want our communities to recover as quickly as possible from the recent lockdown but the best way to go about it is to focus on the needs of our respective communities and implement the plans that are achievable.”

Mr Johnson’s suggestion was rejected by 19 votes to 15.

Following the meeting, Donna Johnson, (Local Alliance, Sidlesham with Selsey South) said relying on recovery being delivered via the visions was ‘not good enough’.

She added: “Our businesses need targeted, specific help now – they don’t have the luxury of waiting for the culmination of the visions.

“At the very least, the peninsula’s town and parish councils should have been consulted about this; they would then have had an opportunity to speak with their business owners.

“The perception amongst many residents on the peninsula is that we are marginalised.

“More than ever there needs to be collegiate working between everyone and I’m particularly disappointed, therefore that, yet again, council has taken a Chichester-centric view and the peninsula has effectively been left to fend for itself.”

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