VIDEO: Chichester the best place in the south-east? Of course, it is!

The Sunday Times Best Places To Live list, sponsored by Halifax, has proclaimed Chichester, the best place to live in the south-east (thetimes.co.uk/bestplacestolive). With the huge caveat that living anywhere isn’t particularly easy for so many different reasons right now, plenty of people – that huge caveat notwithstanding – will probably greet this declaration with an “Obvs, innit.” We could have told The Sunday Times exactly that. In fact, arguably The Sunday Times have underplayed it. Think of the huge wealth of arts and culture in Chichester, and the south-east is probably the starting point if we are going down the best-ofs route. Let’s not be churlish. Any acclamation is great news, and this is sure to be a big boost to Chichester economically at a time when Chichester certainly isn’t exempt from the struggles pretty everyone is facing everywhere. The other day it struck me that I have never seen so many empty shops in the city. This accolade will help the city, and that is a wonderful thought.

The Sunday Times judges praised Chichester for its mix of history and modern culture, its excellent schools, convenient transport connections, proximity to the South Downs National Park and shopping that meets most budgets. They said: “Chichester has both class and a heart. The beautiful historic town has welcomed the highest number of Ukrainian refugees per head in the country. It has good schools and transport links but it’s the easy access to both the South Downs and Chichester Harbour plus a healthy dose of culture from the Festival Theatre and Pallant Gallery that elevate it far above the south coast sprawl.”

And how right they are. And if those words make us stop and think, then that’s another great favour they do us. Think about what is here, and Chichester is in a class of its own. The late Duke of Richmond, back in the 1990s, used to talk of Chichester’s great cultural assets as being gems that needed to be turned into a necklace, and he was right. But goodness, how those gems sparkle. Year after year we get world-class drama at Chichester Festival Theatre, a venue which magnificently navigated the pandemic with a mix of optimism, resilience and resolve that should have been the envy of venues up and down the land. The point is that it is a venue which has always punched above its weight. Let’s remember how little unknown Chichester with not much previous theatre history plucked Laurence Olivier out of the artistic firmament to be its very first artistic director. I remember some years ago someone put that into context for me, saying it was likely suddenly announcing Tom Cruise. OK, that was a few years ago. Who would be the equivalent now? The point is that we are talking massive, massive star.

Since then we have also gained Pallant House Gallery which has in just a few short decades forged a national, indeed international reputation. Again, a case of humble Chichester beginnings leading to a global perspective. Also new(ish) is the Festival of Chichester, set up 11 years ago through this newspaper and now an essential summer focus, a genuine celebration of the sheer pleasure of being in Chichester. But of course, it’s not all new. Chichester Cathedral goes back not far off a thousand years – so many successive centuries of focus and worship. It’s mind-boggling. Chichester stands in its shadow, and what a wonderful shadow to stand in, warm, nurturing, healing and encouraging. Put it all together, and of course, Chichester is the best place to live in the south-east. Won’t The Sunday Times please now acknowledge that it’s actually the best in the country?