Council continuing to support Midhurst, one year after Angel Inn fire, councillor says

The fire took place on March 15 and raged for several hours, as fire and rescue teams from Chichester and beyond battled to save the historic building.

When the flames finally died down, the 400-year-old coaching inn was largely destroyed, with just the frontage standing.

The fire itself was hard on enough on residents and business owners used to the character and charm it bought to Midhurst, but the months to follow would prove even more challenging.

While council officers worked to shore up the historic frontage and preserve what they could of the now-ruined building, North Street – one of Midhurst’s most important thoroughfares – was closed, seemingly indefinitely.

It didn’t reopen until June 23, following months of petitioning and protests by residents and local business owners, all of whom were losing vital custom thanks to the disruption.

Although the road has now been open for some time, The Angel Inn remains something of a ruin, and many businesses are still fighting to regain the momentum they lost during those vital Summer months.

Speaking to Sussex World, Cllr Harsha Desai, Cabinet Member for Growth and Place at Chichester District Council, said Local Authorities are doing everything they can to support those still impacted by the aftermath of the fire.

“We know how much this dreadful event impacted on the local community and businesses, and so we made sure that significant resources were directed at the town, including a package of support of over £300,000, as well as business support on the ground and through marketing activities,” she said.

Since then, the council has focused on the creation and maintenance of a Midhurst Recovery Group designed to issue grants to town centre businesses and provide retail coaching to those in need she said. This is alongside an events programme intended to draw visitors back into the town and encourage trade. The details are still being hashed out, she told Sussex World, but the full programme is due to be delivered by July and customers-to-be can look forward to ‘the very best’ musicians, entertainers, magicians and artists.

Cllr Harsha Desai added that Chichester District Council has also been working with local groups like Midhurst Vision Partnership to support a number of projects in the area.

"One of these is the Grange green walkway where we plan to introduce interpretive signs with a map and information about the town and provide further planting and benches to encourage footfall to Midhurst,” she said. “The Midhurst Vision Partnership has also benefitted from funds from the government’s UK Shared Prosperity Fund, which we successfully bid for. Alongside this we successfully applied for funding from government to introduce a Changing Places disabled toilet facility in Midhurst, and work has started on this project. Evidence from areas where there are Changing Places toilet facilities demonstrates that footfall increases.

“Local residents and businesses have been resilient throughout and they have been committed to helping the town bounce back as quickly as possible. We will continue to champion the town, and we are confident that it will continue to go from strength to strength.”