Signage appears for Chichester's new indoor food market - and it's appropriately spooky

The signage, which on unit 33-34 North Street, the former site of Closs and Hamblin, features ghostly teddy bears sampling wine, eating noodles, browsing a menu and sipping coffee, and advertises a new outlet called ‘The Ghost at The Feast’.

It’s the same site currently earmarked for use as an indoor food market featuring 11 carefully curated small and micro-businesses. Documents submitted alongside the project’s planning application refer to the food market as ‘FEAST’, so it seems the project – which is well supported by locals – may have undergone a name change.

The signage also refers customers to an Instagram account – @theghostatthefeastchi – which confirms it’s a ‘new food hall coming to Chichester’, featuring street food-style eateries and craft drinks. It’s organised by the team responsible for HEIST. Market, a similar initiative in St-Leonards-on-Sea, well known for its trendy cocktail bars, artisan street food and gourmet coffee spots.

design statement attached to the planning application lays out the team’s hope that the food market will contribute to Chichester’s night time economy, giving customers in the 20-40 age bracket a valuable new spot to hang out and socialise.

"There is a need for a safe, enticing, diverse and appealing evening and night-time offer where people can find a range of activities,” the statement says. “The ability to have later opening and licencing hours for venues is incredibly important to give them the flexibility to put on special events and during holidays. This is especially important for the 20-40 year old age groups, where there is a limited offer and the city centre loses out to surrounding locations.”

With plans approved in July, the food market’s future is shaping up as Chichester comes under fire for a so-called ‘fun deficit.’ A local prankster made national headlines after poking fun at a lack of activities for young people with a series of satirical signs, prompting BBC Radio 2 presenter Jeremy Vine to interview students, city councillor Richard Plowman, and MP Jessica Brown Fuller, about the city’s paucity of nightlife in a radio show earlier this week.