Organised and Safer Streets

In 2019, Chichester BID launched a new street cleaning initiative to supplement the cleaning efforts provided by the District Council. While the council is responsible for keeping highways and public areas across the district clean and tidy from a litter picking perspective, the Chichester BID street cleaning team focus on deep-cleaning tasks such as heavy-duty pavement washing as well as chewing gum removal.

In association with the City Council, the BID team fund the installation and maintenance of floral and topiary displays throughout the city streets to create an appealing backdrop to showcase Chichester’s history and culture as well as the vast array of activities and retail experiences it has to offer.The displays are installed in May and should be at their best during the summer months.

Signage is a topic high on the agenda at Chichester BID. We have been collaborating with relevant local authorities on creating a preliminary proposal which very much puts the interests of local businesses at the heart. A steering group has been established with all three councils and Visit Chichester to coordinate a strategy to improve signposting in the city centre including multilayer mapping, an alternative to A-Boards and other more creative wayfinding options. The primary objective is to help visitors get to their chosen destination while also encouraging people to explore periphery streets where there is less footfall.

The BID installed 46 flagpoles in its first term and there is an annual programme running from May to Remembrance Sunday flying the insignia of the Roman legion (May), a Summer city visitor promotion (June-August), and the national flags of our international visitors and students (September to November). This programme is supplemented by Summer Bunting.

Since June 2018, Chichester BID has been delivering the BID Ranger programme with match funding from the City Council to restore some order to our streets. The BID rangers are the eyes and ears of the city, providing a reassuring presence to deter anti-social behaviour and disorderly conduct. The Rangers are often the first to respond to low level crime reported by businesses. As of March 2019, nearly £2500 worth of concealed goods have been returned to shop owners and problems experienced with pedlars, buskers and the homeless have been calmed.

Rangers also offer information and directions to residents and visitors to the city.

All street rangers are professionally trained with relevant experience. They are easy to spot in their Chichester BID Rangers uniform and are positioned throughout the city centre on Fridays – Sundays from 11am – 4pm, throughout the year. Meet the Rangers team here.

ChiBAC (Chichester Businesses Against Crime) is a crime reduction scheme. The scheme aims to deter crime and provide support to BID Levy Payers.

Working in partnership with Sussex Police Prevention, the scheme has a radio channel as well as a secure website and app with galleries of prevalent shoplifters and those on pub bans. Businesses can use these channels to report all incidents directly to the police. As well as providing a direct line to the police, the radio channel can also be used to communicate with fellow businesses to alert each other of any potential threats or anti-social behaviour.

ChiBAC is also linked to the CCTV unit in Chichester so if a suspected shoplifter is reported, they can be found on CCTV within seconds and monitored until a police officer arrives.