Here's how Chichester High Street has changed since 2020

Despite concerns that the pandemic was a death knell for hospitality, the number of restaurants, bars and cafes in Chichester actually increased by 13 per cent from 2020 to 2022 – over triple the national average.

In March 2020, our city was home to 92 bars, restaurants and cafes – but, by March 2022, there were 12 more.

Unlike hospitality, retail suffered over the last two years, with 16 shops closing in total – a decrease of 6 per cent. This is double the national average for Great Britain, which saw a 3 per cent decrease in retail shops.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, banks also suffered during this period, with a 6.2 per cent decrease in their number across the city, only slightly less than the 8.1 per cent decrease nationwide.

Other sectors also experienced a drastic change. As of 2022, there are nearly 10 per cent more beauty services like hairdressers and salons in the city, 6.7 per cent more fish and chip shops, nearly 15 per cent more tattoo and piercing parlours, and almost 20 per cent more supermarkets.

To find out more about how high streets across the UK have changed, use the BBC’s online postcode checker. The new tech draws on data contained in the Ordnance Survey’s points of interest mapping data in order to chart the full extent of Covid lockdowns and trading restrictions on the British retail landscape.

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