Baseline Evidence Paper

6.1The council has a Housing, Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy 2025-2030 in place.

6.2The strategy has five priorities:

1. Prevent homelessness and end rough sleeping
2. Meeting housing needs
3. Improving housing standards
4. Work to deliver action on climate change
5. Work in partnership to deliver regeneration and opportunities for our communities.

6.3The Key Action Plan that accompanies the strategy sets out the outcomes and actions to address these priorities in the five-year period of the strategy.

Housing supply

6.4The Chichester Local Plan 2021-2039 sets out that at least 11,484 dwellings per annum are required to be delivered across the plan period. This is to be delivered through a stepped requirement, with an annual housing requirement of 575 homes per year for the first five years of the plan period (2021/22-2029/30), rising to 701 dwellings per annum for the remainder of the plan period (2030/31-2038/39).

6.5Part of the housing requirement will be met through:

• 2,326 completions since 1 April 2021; and
• 5,257 commitments as at 31 January 2025. This includes planning permissions, allocations brought forward from the 2015 local plan, and extant allocations from the Site Allocation Development Plan Document 2014-2029 and ‘made’ Neighbourhood Plan allocations.

6.6This leaves a residual of 3,901 dwellings, which will be met through new strategic site allocations in Policy H2, windfall sites and subsequent development documents including the Southbourne Allocation Development Plan Document and sites allocated through neighbourhood plans.

6.7The council was proposing to undertake a Site Allocation DPD to meet the remainder of the need, and to pick up any unmet need from neighbourhood plans, however the preparation of this is not achievable by December 2026 (the deadline set by government), and this need will need to be dealt with through the Chichester Local Plan 2045.

6.8The most recent assessment of housing supply is at of 1 April 2025, considering the period 2025-2030. The annual requirement is currently 575 homes, although this was adjusted to take account of a 5% buffer added to this total, as required by the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). The adjustment had the effect of increasing the five year housing requirement to 3,019 net dwellings, equivalent to 604 dwellings per annum).

6.9As of July 2026, and in accordance with paragraph 78c) of the NPPF, a 20% buffer is now required to be added to the need calculation for housing land supply purposes. When applied to the current 2025-2030 supply data, this equates to a land supply of 4.52 years.

6.10The Five Year Housing Land Supply Position as at 1 April 2025 sets out full details of sites that have been included and the criteria for inclusion in the supply calculations. In summary, the current assessment of five-year housing land supply for the Chichester local plan area identifies a potential housing supply of 3,118 net dwellings over the period 2025-2030. This compares with an identified housing requirement, over 5 years of 3,019 net dwellings, resulting in a surplus of 99 net dwellings, equivalent to 5.16 years of housing supply.

6.11The Housing Land Supply Position can be found here: 5YHLS_Position_Statement_-_Chichester_Five_Year_Land_Supply_as_of_1st_April_25.pdf

Delivery on strategic housing allocations

6.12To achieve the levels of housing supply required to meet the housing requirement, the local plan identifies several strategic housing allocations, at a number of locations across the plan area.

6.13Table 3 sets out the strategic sites where progress has been made towards delivery.

Table 3: Progress on strategic sites

New Local Plan Baselining Map - Existing Allocations

Affordable housing

6.14The adopted local plan identifies a requirement for around 200 affordable social and affordable rented houses per annum for the plan area, to 2039. As the plan was only adopted in October 2025, there has not yet been a whole year’s worth of monitoring to establish whether this requirement is being met.

6.15The previous adopted plan set a target of 30% affordable homes to be delivered on residential schemes above specified size thresholds (11 dwellings in larger settlements and 6 dwellings in rural parishes). During 2024-2025, 133 net affordable dwellings were delivered, which represented 22.9% of total net completions, which was below the local plan target.

6.16The plan also set an overall target that 30% of total completions to 2029 should comprise affordable housing. In the plan period to 2025, since 1 April 2012, a net total of 2003 affordable dwellings had been completed, representing 29.68% of all net dwellings completed, in line with the local plan target of 30%. Table 4 sets out the gross affordable housing completions. These completions are set against the Chichester 2014-2029 plan target.

Table 4: Affordable housing completions 2012-2025

6.17The affordable housing delivered in 2024-2025 was delivered through a mix of Section 106 agreements, coupled with 100% affordable schemes led by Registered Providers.

House prices

6.18The average house price in Chichester in 2026 was £427,000, a reduction of 4.8% from April 2025. In comparison, across the South East, the average house price was £377,000, and nationally, £270,000^[11].

6.19The provisional average paid by first-time buyers in April 2026 was £336,000. Figure 7 shows the comparison paid by first-time buyers in Chichester compared with the South East and England.

6.20There is an affordability issue in Chichester however. The affordability ratio is calculated by dividing house prices by gross annual workplace-based earnings. In Chichester in 2025, house prices stood at 12.32 times median workplace earnings. A ratio of 12 or more is classified as one of the areas with the least affordable housing. Table 5 sets out median affordability for the period 2020-2025, and illustrates that whilst the area is one of the least affordable, the affordability ratio has slightly decreased in the last 2 years.

Table 5: Median affordability ratios for Chichester 2020-2025

Private rents

6.21Private rents have risen in Chichester. The average monthly private rent was £1,325 in May 2026, up from £1,285 in May 2025 (an increase of 3.1%). The average rental price in Chichester is very slightly below that of the South East and nationally^[12] (£1,418 and £1,383 respectively. Whilst it is more expensive to buy houses in Chichester, it is about average to rent a house.

Gypsies, travellers and travelling showpeople

6.22There are a large number of gypsies and travellers within the plan area, some of which constitute well established communities with extensive family ties. The council has also experienced considerable amounts of in-migration.

6.23Traveller pitches have tended to become clustered in particular parishes, namely Birdham, Funtington, Sidlesham and Westbourne (and this includes a large number of unauthorised pitches). There are two large public sites located within the plan area at Easthampnett and Westbourne. There is also a large travelling showpeople site in Southboune parish.

6.24The latest Gypsy and Traveller and Travelling Showpeople Accommodation Assessment (GTAA) was completed in 2022 to inform the adopted local plan. Tables 6 and 7 set out the need requirement for additional pitch provision and additional plot provision.

Table 6: Additional pitch provision required to accommodate gypsies and travellers

Table 7: Additional plot provision required to accommodate travelling showpeople

6.25The latest gypsy, traveller and travelling showpeople supply position is at July 2026, and brings together the level of need for the five year period 2027-2032, with the supply of pitches currently known to the council.

6.26With regards to gypsies and travellers, the position establishes that a net total of 47 pitches are needed for the period 2027-2032. This is set against the current supply of 18 pitches from windfall sites and 5 pitches from vacant pitches and consequently means that the council currently can demonstrate a 2.44 year supply of gypsy and traveller pitches.

6.27In terms of travelling showpeople, there is a need for 19 plots to be provided in the period 2027-2032. There is limited supply available, with potential for 1 plot at an intensification site, meaning that the council can currently demonstrate a 0.3 year supply of plots for travelling showpeople.

6.28The baselining map shows the current gypsy sites and areas for intensification.

New Local Plan Baselining Map - Current Gypsy Intensifications Sites and Areas