Why is there no nightclub in Chichester?

In the column, 'The View from V2', Duncan's message is clear — it is time to bring nightclubs back to the city.

He writes: "‘Let’s Dance,’ sang David Bowie. You’d have a job to in Chichester, love. Why doesn’t the city have a nightclub? The-powers-that-be seem happy to bask in the kudos of having both a first-class college and university on the doorstep, and yet they fail to offer students and late-night ravers a dedicated venue.

"Chichester is growing. Not a week goes by without someone in this newspaper objecting to more house building. I sympathise, but people need to live somewhere and more houses will be built.

"Many of these homes will include children. As teenagers they will, not unreasonably, want some decent nightlife. Currently they would be sorely disappointed.

"Anyone fancying a dance after dark currently has to schlep to Portsmouth or Worthing, or to that fine south-coast institution in Bognor Regis that is Sheiks."

Duncan recalls the last time there was a nightclub in Chichester was Thursdays in Drayton Lane which sadly shut in 2015.

Then there was a local businessman who made plans for a 'nightclub-style' venue in the early 2000s, he said.

"Opposition was vociferous, especially from those who seem to oppose anything remotely progressive in Chichester. The plans were predictably quashed.

"It can sometimes feel that obstructing change or progress is in the DNA of some of the city’s decision makers.

"I accept there can be concerns about living near a nightclub, but other towns and cities – including those not dissimilar to Chichester – seem to manage to include one in their night-time hospitality offering, so why not here?

"It’s perverse that a city that is rightly proud of its college and university seems unwilling or unable to properly cater for its student population and younger residents.

"Going to a local nightclub with your mates is a rite of passage, as is waiting for your cab to turn up to go home, having chilli and garlic sauce on your kebab, and waking up with a stonking hangover. But not in Chichester.

"I have no skin in this game. I am past this kind of carousing. Give me a decent pint in my local or a bottle of red wine and a takeaway. My days of strutting my stuff on the dancefloor are thankfully over, but at least I had the opportunity.

"Let’s start the debate – would you be prepared to back a nightclub in Chichester? Where could it be based?

"Our younger generation have missed out on so much during the Covid years. Isn’t it time to do something for them and to fulfil this long-overdue need?"

What do you think? Get in touch: [email protected]