Chichester
§ This page gives an overview of the Chichester local authority district, bringing together key facts, maps, and data to help you quickly understand the area. This is one of 361 LAD profiles on Baseview.
Overview ⁞ Chichester district in West Sussex includes a historic cathedral city, coastline, and rolling countryside. Chichester itself has a Roman street plan, a striking cathedral, and a busy cultural scene. The district includes Chichester Harbour, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, with tidal creeks, sailing, and birdlife, as well as the sandy beaches of the Witterings. Inland, the South Downs provide hills, trails, and historic sites such as Goodwood Estate. Villages and farmland spread across the landscape, making it both maritime and rural in character.
Chichester Boundary Map
This map shows the official boundary of the Chichester local authority district, based on the latest geographic data published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). It provides a clear view of the district’s extent and helps you understand how the area fits within the wider regional and national landscape.
Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2025. Source: Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
The administrative boundary of Chichester can also be viewed on OpenStreetMap: District Boundary of Chichester.
Key Facts about Chichester
What region is Chichester in? Chichester is in the South East of England, a region within the UK.
What county is Chichester in? Chichester is located in the county of West Sussex.
Is Chichester a city? Yes, Chichester is a city. Chichester holds official city status as one of the 76 designated cities in the UK.
Who governs Chichester? The local authority for this district is: Chichester District Council - responsible for district-level services. Since West Sussex is a two-tier area, county-level services are handled by: West Sussex County Council.
▶ Official website of Chichester District Council 🔗 chichester.gov.uk
Which police force covers Chichester? Policing in Chichester is provided by Sussex Police 🔗 sussex.police.uk, which serves 13 local authority districts: Adur ⁞ Arun ⁞ Brighton and Hove ⁞ Chichester ⁞ Crawley ⁞ Eastbourne ⁞ Hastings ⁞ Horsham ⁞ Lewes ⁞ Mid Sussex ⁞ Rother ⁞ Wealden ⁞ Worthing.
Constituencies in Chichester
Chichester is divided into 2 parliamentary constituencies, listed below in alphabetical order.
A constituency is a specific geographical area that elects one Member of Parliament (MP) to represent them in the House of Commons. The United Kingdom is divided into 650 parliamentary constituencies. We have this list page for easy browsing of all UK parliamentary constituencies: List of Constituencies.
Wards in Chichester
Chichester is divided into 21 wards, listed below in alphabetical order.
- Chichester Central
- Chichester East
- Chichester North
- Chichester South
- Chichester West
- Easebourne
- Fernhurst
- Fittleworth
- Goodwood
- Harbour Villages
- Harting
- Lavant
- Loxwood
- Midhurst
- North Mundham & Tangmere
- Petworth
- Selsey South
- Sidlesham with Selsey North
- Southbourne
- The Witterings
- Westbourne
In the UK, a ward is a subdivision of a local authority area, used mainly for electoral and statistical purposes. Defined by the ONS, wards represent the primary unit for local elections, each returning one or more councillors to the local council. Wards are also used as a key geography for presenting population and census data. We have this list page for easy browsing of all electoral wards: List of all Electoral Wards in the UK.
Parishes in Chichester
Chichester is fully parished: 67 civil parishes, listed A-Z below.
- Appledram
- Barlavington
- Bepton
- Bignor
- Birdham
- Bosham
- Boxgrove
- Bury
- Chichester
- Chidham and Hambrook
- Cocking
- Compton
- Donnington
- Duncton
- Earnley
- Eartham
- Easebourne
- East Dean
- East Lavington
- East Wittering
- Ebernoe
- Elsted and Treyford
- Fernhurst
- Fishbourne
- Fittleworth
- Funtington
- Graffham
- Harting
- Heyshott
- Hunston
- Kirdford
- Lavant
- Linch
- Linchmere
- Lodsworth
- Loxwood
- Lurgashall
- Marden
- Midhurst
- Milland
- North Mundham
- Northchapel
- Oving
- Petworth
- Plaistow
- Rogate
- Selsey
- Sidlesham
- Singleton
- Southbourne
- Stedham with Iping
- Stopham
- Stoughton
- Sutton
- Tangmere
- Tillington
- Trotton with Chithurst
- Upwaltham
- West Dean
- West Itchenor
- West Lavington
- West Thorney
- West Wittering
- Westbourne
- Westhampnett
- Wisborough Green
- Woolbeding with Redford
A civil parish is the lowest tier of local government in England, used for villages, small towns, and suburbs. They have their own local authority, either a parish council or a parish meeting, which provides local services like managing parks, allotments, and streetlights, and represents the community's views to larger councils.
We have this list page for easy browsing of all parishes: List of Civil Parishes in England and Wales.
Post Towns in Chichester
Below is a list of post towns in Chichester, grouped by postcode area:
- GU ▸ Midhurst (GU29) ⁞ Petworth (GU28)
- PO ▸ Chichester (PO18 / PO19 / PO20) ⁞ Emsworth (PO10)
The UK postal hierarchy begins with broad postcode areas (such as “CB” or “M”), which are divided into smaller postcode districts (such as “CB8” or “M1”) to support accurate mail routing. Each postal address is anchored by a designated post town, the official locality name used in the UK postcode system, which operates independently from Local Authority Districts —the administrative boundaries used for council tax and local government services. Because they serve different purposes, a property’s postal address and its local authority district do not always align exactly.
Built-up Areas in Chichester
Chichester covers 63 built-up areas, listed below in alphabetical order.
- Almodington
- Birdham
- Bosham
- Bury (Chichester) *
- Chichester
- Chithurst
- Cocking
- Durfold Wood *
- Easebourne
- East Harting
- East Wittering
- Emsworth *
- Fernhurst
- Fishbourne (Chichester)
- Fittleworth
- Funtington
- Graffham
- Hambrook (Chichester)
- Hambrook and Nutbourne
- Hammer *
- Haslemere *
- Henley Common
- Highleigh
- Hill Brow and Rake *
- Hunston
- Ifold
- Keynor Estate
- Kingsley Green
- Kirdford
- Liphook *
- Lodsworth
- Loxwood
- Mid Lavant
- Midhurst
- Newpound Common
- North Mundham
- Northchapel
- Norton (Arun) *
- Petworth
- Plaistow
- Rogate
- Rowlands Castle *
- Runcton
- Selsey
- Shipton Green
- Shopwyke
- Singleton
- South Harting
- Southbourne
- Stedham
- Street End
- Sutton (Chichester)
- Tangmere
- Terwick Common
- Watersfield *
- West Dean (Chichester)
- West Itchenor
- West Thorney
- West Wittering
- Westbourne *
- Westhampnett
- Wheatsheaf Common *
- Wisborough Green
In the UK, a Built-up Area (BUA) is a continuous urban area of at least 20 hectares (0.2 km²), defined by the ONS as land where buildings are generally no more than 200 metres apart, such as towns, cities, or large villages. (Note: A BUA name marked with an asterisk (*) indicates that the area is situated partly in the district of Chichester.)
We have this list page for easy browsing of all built-up areas: List of all Built-up Areas in GB.
Railway Stations in Chichester
Chichester is served by a number of National Rail stations, providing rail connections to nearby towns, cities, and destinations across Great Britain. The railway stations listed below are located within the Chichester Local Authority District and are grouped by train operating company for clarity.
- Govia Thameslink Railway (Southern) ▸ Chichester (PO19 8DL) ⁞ Southbourne (PO10 8LE) ⁞ Bosham (PO18 8NG) ⁞ Fishbourne (Sussex) (PO19 3QH) ⁞ Nutbourne (PO18 8SH)
This is a district-level view only. For a complete list of all National Rail stations across Great Britain, see the UK National Rail Stations Directory.
Chichester compared with other districts in the UK
This section shows how Chichester compares with other local authority districts in the UK, using a variety of measures and rankings.
Chichester has 21 electoral wards.
Chichester has a population of 128,934 (2024 mid-year estimate by ONS)
Population and Migration Trends in Chichester
This chart shows the population trend for Chichester from 2015 to 2024. It provides a quick overview of whether the local authority is growing, stable, or declining over time, and helps set context for the migration patterns shown below.
Population change is influenced by natural change (births minus deaths) and migration. The net migration chart below focuses on migration, separating internal migration (moves within the UK) from international migration (moves to and from abroad). Positive values indicate net inflows, while negative values indicate net outflows. The rate labels (per 1,000 residents) help compare migration intensity across years, even when the population size changes.
More local statistics and data for Chichester can be found on the ONS statistics for Chichester.