Life in Chichester 'barely worth living' according to The Times — we couldn't disagree more

An article with the headline 'Paradise? Life here is barely worth living' appeared in The Times' Saturday edition as well as appearing online.

Shocking a number of readers, not only did the article misspell the city's nickname 'Chai', it showed data from the Office for National Statistics to assert that Chichester residents have the country's lowest 'life satisfaction'.

When asked on a scale from one to ten: "Overall, how satisfied are you with life nowadays?"

Chichester scored a meagre 6.82/10 on average.

Many disagree with the ONS survey's findings - but said Chichester residents feel they have been dealt a bad hand when it comes to damage to the environment and, in particular, overdevelopment.

Celebrated novelist and Chichester resident Kate Mosse said it was a 'shock' when the results of the survey came out, "It's not what anyone feels."

She told The Times, 'they must have got it wrong' and speaking to this newspaper, Kate said the city 'has everything'

"[Chichester] is not a place for one type of person. There is genuinely something for everybody.

"The seaside, the [South] Downs. It's got beaches, marshlands, ancient forests, world-beating theatre, art galleries, museums, the canal, it's got bowling, cinemas, the cathedral, an amazing library and several beautiful free green spaces within the city.

"It is one of the places that for all of us who are Chichester born and bred, or Chichester by adoption, we feel really passionate about."

Town crier and former mayor Richard Ploughman has also been flying the city's flag for years.

He said: "Chichester is still a fantastic place to live but there is a need to sort out some issues.

"The community is excellent and we saw that throughout the pandemic. We have got the harbour, we have got the national park to the north and the city has fantastic history."

But why did the survey come to such a bleak conclusion?