Chichester Community Development Trust

The official launch of the Graylinwell Chapel project

Graylingwell Chapel is a Grade II listed building once part of the former Graylingwell Hospital in Chichester. The former mental health facility was closed in 2001, and since then the 38 acres of the site has been redeveloped into a new residential community with a mixture of social and private housing. The chapel lies at the heart of the development, and thanks to the hard work of the Chichester Community Development Trust (CCDT), it is now a thriving community space.

CCDT, led by Clare de Bathe, is a charity and company limited by guarantee, which was established in 2009 as a requirement of the sale of the Graylingwell Hospital to Linden Homes and Affinity Sutton. CCDT has engaged with different stakeholders on behalf of the community during planning and negotiating for community buildings and the development of a sustainable community. I first filmed with CCDT as part of the Empowering Design Practice project, led by the Open University and Glass-House Community Led Design.

This film is from the official launch of the project in 2019 before building work began, with the Graylingwell chapel due to open in early 2021.