Greenlight for £300m Chester Northgate transformation

A £300m plan to create 500,000 sq ft of retail, restaurant and leisure space in Chester has been given the go-ahead.

Cheshire West and Chester Council has given unanimous approval to proposals that will see the city’s Northgate area completely transformed across two phases of construction.

Beginning in Autumn 2017, phase one will include the construction of a six-screen cinema with over 715 seats to be operated by Picturehouse, along with a ground-floor foyer and café bar opening onto nearby Hunter Street.

Further, a modern market hall will replace the existing Chester Market, while a new four-star hotel with 167 bedrooms and a conference centre will replace the current Crowne Plaza hotel.

The development of restaurants at the Chester Library building on Northgate Street will be prioritised to help provide a pre-theatre dining offer for the city’s new Storyhouse cultural centre.

In 2019, the old hotel and Forum shopping centre, along with several other buildings, will be knocked down to allow the development’s second phase to get underway.

Phase two will chiefly comprise the main retail offer and a department store.

Cheshire West and Chester Council’s Cabinet Member for Economic Development and Infrastructure, Cllr Brian Clarke, said: “The development of Northgate has been a long held ambition.

“When it became clear that the private sector was not going to deliver what the city needed, the Council took control with the view to progressing proposals to a stage where the private sector is willing to invest. Obtaining planning consent is a major component.”

He added: “This proposal delivers a new development that will feel like Chester and not just like any other city.”

The authority’s Shadow Cabinet Member for Communities and Wellbeing, Cllr Stuart Parker, commented: “Northgate is the most significant regeneration opportunity to impact on Chester in many decades.

“It will transform the city from its present state of retail and leisure decline. Granting consent today will send a powerful message that Chester is open for business in a truly spectacular style.”

The whole development is due for completion in 2021.