Welcome to the Hillier Garden Centre Chichester consultation website
This website provides information about our plans to deliver a modernised enhanced garden centre, improve customer experience, and facilitate better access.
The proposed expansion would include the demolition and redevelopment of the Hillier Garden Centre Chichester to provide a greater range of goods and services for our customers as well as a new community space including a restaurant.
The plans would also enhance the garden centre’s current contribution to the local economy, creating jobs, apprenticeships and training programmes.
About Hillier
Hillier is one of the UK’s leading horticultural businesses, with more than 160 years and six generations of Hillier growing knowledge. As a loyal brand, building long lasting relationships with communities based on trust and respect is one of Hillier’s core principles.
The site
Map to show location of Hillier Garden Centre, Chichester (click to enlarge)
The proposed expansion site is located at, and adjacent to, the existing Hillier Garden Centre, to the west of Fishbourne, Chichester. The existing garden centre fronts the A259, with excellent connections to the Chichester Bypass and the A27. It benefits from easy public transport access to both Chichester and Portsmouth. If approved, the plans would mean residents will no longer have to travel to Havant or Bognor Regis for their wider garden centre needs.
The proposals
Computer Generated Image (CGI) to show how the new centre could look (click to enlarge)
The proposals would include the demolition and redevelopment of the Hillier Garden Centre Chichester to create a larger, bespoke, garden centre alongside car parking, access and servicing arrangements. The development would deliver a high quality centre that aligns with Hillier’s environmental policy and provides a much needed expanded service offer to the community.
An illustrative image and layout plan is included on this page to show how the proposed development could look.
Illustrative layout to show how the development could come forward (click to enlarge)
Benefits
The plans would deliver a range of benefits to the community and the economy, creating a significant number of jobs on-site, and further down the supply chain, as well as social value schemes.
Hillier has pledged to provide apprenticeships, training programmes and skills exchanges to the local community.
The plans would expand the current services and the range of goods available, making the centre more attractive as both a retail and leisure destination. In addition, this could include EV charging points, a community space and a restaurant.
Ecology and environment
As an environmentally conscious company, the new enhanced centre will have sustainability at the forefront of its design, including a focus on carbon reduction, significant commitments to biodiversity and wildlife preservation measures.
The ecology of the site has been assessed and we have undertaken a comprehensive Preliminary Ecology Appraisal and Biodiversity Net Gain Assessment to ensure any environmental or ecological considerations have been addressed.
Highways, access and parking
The entrance to the site will be redesigned to separate pedestrian access from commercial and customer traffic. This will improve the safety of the site and overcome the current conflict experienced at the existing site access.
The plans would also deliver an increase in parking availability to meet customer needs.