Chromatin remodelling plays an essential role in development, for instance by controlling gene expression during cell differentiation. Mutations of chromatin remodellers are often implicated in developmental diseases such as CHARGE syndrome, in which a heterozygous mutation of the chromatin remodeller CHD7 is the major driver of the disease. To investigate the role of Chd7 during brain development, we used a dorsal telencephalon-specific Chd7 loss-of-function mouse model and discovered Chd7 acts as a multi-lineage coordinator. Histological analysis of Chd7 mutant mice shows that upon ablation of Chd7, the hippocampus displays a patterning defect. Subsequent integrative analysis of single-cell RNA and ATAC sequencing as well as histological data of the developing mouse brain suggests that Chd7 is essential for the migration, differentiation and maturation of multiple cell lineages during hippocampal development. In absence of Chd7, we found clear alterations in lineage differentiation trajectories. Importance of Chd7 for forebrain development is further underlined by its expression and functional role in Cajal-Retzius neurons, a small, transient population of cells which orchestrate the spatial organisation of the cortex and hippocampus. Altogether, we propose a mechanism where Chd7 shapes the chromatin landscape to allow for coordinated activation and subsequent fine-tuning of lineage-specific gene expression programs during cell differentiation. Our data point out an emerging role of Chd7 as a central chromatin coordinator of multiple lineages during neurodevelopment. This novel concept of a chromatin remodeller acting as a pivotal hub in organogenesis provides new insights into the essential role of chromatin remodelling in development and disease.