Don't think a Chester thread has been started so thought I would add my own.

First off is the biggest development Chester has seen in years. The Northgate development. In conjuction with Chester City Council, ING real estate and London & Amsterdam architects , at a cost of 250 million pounds, they hope to recreate a new quarter for the heart of Chester City Centre. The development will include a new performing arts centre, new library which will move from its current location about 100 yards up the road, 440 square foot of retail space, 150,000 square foot department store which has been confirmed as house of fraser, 3 large flagship stores yet too be confirmed, 60 new shops, 652 space multistorey car park, and 111 residential apartments. They hope to complete the scheme by 2010.

AS IT LOOKS TODAY

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a343/alan_povey/ChesterForum1.jpg

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a343/alan_povey/ChesterForum2.jpg

TOMORROW?

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a343/alan_povey/img4a.jpg

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a343/alan_povey/img2a.jpg

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a343/alan_povey/img3a.jpg

Going on from this is the development of the new council offices on the Gorse Stacks car park next to the ring road. The current offices are based in the proposed Northgate development, and they don't fit into the plans it has been decided a new location is needed. Described by many as a Giant glass slug, and even Prince Charles has raised his concerns, the new which offices will be financed as part of the Northgate development, will cover approximatly 8500 square metres, and include a super bus stop and improved pedestrian and traffic movement. Planning permission has been granted for this and construction should begin October 2006 for completion in May 2008.

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a343/alan_povey/CouncilOffices4.jpg

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a343/alan_povey/CouncilOffices3.jpg

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a343/alan_povey/CouncilOffices2.jpg

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a343/alan_povey/CouncilOffices1.jpg

I grew up not far from Chester, really nice place, the tudor/mock tudor rows with the 1st floor walkways are great, although too many chavs hang around. How likely is the 'giant slug' proposal? I think it's terrible, it dominates the area and is is just plain ugly IMO, which is a shame because Chester can do a lot better. The Northgate plans are OK, bringing back streets to this area is good, possibly a bit on the bland side but not too bad.

Chester has really cleaned up its act in the last couple of years, the chavs though they are still around, have been replaced by young money people, and now the city has a university it is getting a young, hip feel to it all the time. The tudor buildings and rows still attract tourists from around the world and the racecourse too is looking good these days. 1 million has been spent mondernising the main stand a holiday inn has been added to the site. In regards to the council offices, it is looking like going ahead. The land is currently a car park the surfaces are hideous to drive on and as the council don't look like investing on improvements then expect the "slug" anytime soon. In regards to the Northgate, I am quite excited by this. The current building, particuarly the market is hideous, so this can only be a benefit when complete. In my opinion the mock ups don't do the development justice.

The public enquiry into the Northgate Compulsory purche orders begins at 10.00 am on Tuesday 25th October 2005 and is scheduled to last for 3 weeks. I hope it goes through, the existing council offices are an eyesore and incredibly shite to work in (guess where im writing this from...)...I think the Gorse Stacks offices will be certainly an improvement, the design is geared to be unobtrusive and is designed by Ian Simpson!

The public enquiry into the Northgate Compulsory purche orders begins at 10.00 am on Tuesday 25th October 2005 and is scheduled to last for 3 weeks. I hope it goes through, the existing council offices are an eyesore and incredibly shite to work in (guess where im writing this from...)...I think the Gorse Stacks offices will be certainly an improvement, the design is geared to be unobtrusive and is designed by Ian Simpson!

I found this on the chester.gov.uk website in regards to the above comments:

In order to allow the Northgate Development to proceed, the Council has applied to the First Secretary of State to confirm the Chester City Council (Northgate Development) Compulsory Purchase Order 2004 and for consent to close and replace the existing market under Section 75 of the Chester Corporation Act 1929. In addition, the developer, ING Real Estate has applied to the First Secretary of State to confirm the proposed Road Closures under Section 247 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990.

As a result of the objections received to all three applications, the First Secretary of State has appointed an Inspector to hold a public inquiry to consider all the objections. This will commence at 10.00 am on Tuesday 25th October 2005 and is scheduled to last for 3 weeks. The venue is Regus House, Herons Way, Chester Business Park, Chester CH4 9QR.

for info



http://tinypic.com/eq5ctc.jpg

sjwmoore as you work for the council, is any news in regards to what will be going on the old Cheshire Constabulary site and also any further news concerning the Northgate arena?

alan-
I cant tell you offhand (despite being in the Planning Dept!), but ill find out, ive done a few maps of the arena site over the last weeks (I work in GIS)

alan-
I cant tell you offhand (despite being in the Planning Dept!), but ill find out, ive done a few maps of the arena site over the last weeks (I work in GIS)

Good to see things moving with the arena then. Let me know how things go and reveal some of those maps when they become available, Thanks.

....and if you are opening the files I'd be interested to know whether there had been any applications submitted as part of the "Railway Developments Brief".

This city is going places....

....and if you are opening the files I'd be interested to know whether there had been any applications submitted as part of the "Railway Developments Brief".

This city is going places....

Check out the Chester council website for a brief explanation Station Brief (http://www.chester.gov.uk/main.asp?page=1800) and this from the local newspaper more info. (http://iccheshireonline.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/chesterchronicle/tm_objectid=16249184%26method=full%26siteid=50020-name_page.html)

i live under half an hour from chester. its an absolute pleasure living so close to two great english cities, Liverpool and Chester.

Chester is too busy for my liking. You can barely move in the city centre. The Park and Rides are useful, but the buses that run them are crap and out of date, nowhere near as good as the York one. I also dont like how they built a 60's shopping centre and then hooked it onto the city wall :(
I like Chester Zoo though! :D

Alan – Thanks for your reply.

SJWMoore - Where did you find the CCC development map? I’ve scoured the website but cannot locate it. Thanks for your help.

what i found out-

Site 19. The old police hq, there is a planning application in to demolish the building and redevelop to form Offices/Hotel/Restaurant and residential. If planning give the ok it is anticipated work will start in Jan06 and finish in Aug 08. There is some resistance to the application from local groups who do not like the design. There are images of the proposed scheme in Dev reception.

Site 31 The Northgate arena, possible demolition and relocation and a major hotel coming early days yet. NO PLANNING APPLICATION RECIEVED TO DATE. Still talking may not happen.

Chris- the map isnt on any website, its only internal so far! Converted GIS map for planners to jpeg, its my job

Ah...I see...sorry. I was interested in particular as to what is being built on site 24 and if there had been an interest in the area around West Street (its ripe for redevelopment).

For you info. (and to be transparent), even though I am Geneva based, I work quite a bit in property in the UK and have been working in Chester since 1995. Its a great place and I am convinced will get better still.

ill investigate site 24 when the opportunity arises!

Some nice developments for Chester. I don't like those new council offices though. Look ugly and out of place with their surroundings.

Objections, Responses and Negotiation Situation at 17.10.05. Click the link and open in Acrobat. Certain business' against Northgate development.
Chester Council (http://www.chester.gov.uk/northgate/news.htm)

It would be a real shame if they did get rid of the Northgate Arena and replace it with the hotel (Hilton's been rumoured has it not?). It's bad enough that so many retailers are relocating to the dog end that is Sealand Road, which I think is where it's been suggested the replacement Arena is built. Not only is the Arena great for taking the nipper swimming on a Saturday morning, it's also handy for parking when you want to nip into town!

I can't really understand the logic of redeveloping the arena site as a hotel as there's fuck all else round there.

I can see why they would want to redevelop the arena as the design is a real eyesore, built during the seventies. The facilities compared to most arenas are vey poor, and plus the Chester Jets basketball team play there, and as one of the best if not the best team in the BBL, they deserve a better place to call home. The problem with the current area is lack of space and unfortunately I don't see how they could build a larger arena with the required facilities. You are right in saying that the Hilton hotel group have shown interest, but so to has Walmart.

I don't mind the design too much. Compared to a lot of 70s architecture it's really not that bad. OK, I can see the argument for something a bit more up to date, and having a decent arena for the Jets makes sense.

There's plenty of land around the area if you take into account all the car parking space and it's not beyond the wit of man to think creatively about the space as it is. I also think there are better locations for a major hotel.

i fully support the need for an upgrade at the station tho. the station building and the immediate environs really let the city down. It could be great around there if redeveloped properly. There are some fantactic old streets and coupled with the new developments, it is beginning to improve.

I found some images in regard to the old Cheshire Police HQ's on Grosvenor Road. The plan is to probably build a multi use facility, including restaurants, office space and apartments.

SITE AS IT LOOKS NOW

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a343/alan_povey/OldpoliceHQ.jpg

DEVELOPMENT PLANS

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a343/alan_povey/PoliceHQ3.jpg

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a343/alan_povey/PoliceHQ2.jpg

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a343/alan_povey/PolichHQ1.jpg

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a343/alan_povey/PoliceHQ4.jpg

Looks nice :)

Yes, that looks pretty good. Would have nice views of the Roodee.

Not sure how successful a restaurant would be there as it's pretty cut off from the rest of the town centre. Not much passing trade.

Nice design there, how likely is this?

Yes, that looks pretty good. Would have nice views of the Roodee.

Not sure how successful a restaurant would be there as it's pretty cut off from the rest of the town centre. Not much passing trade.

Don't forget Papparazi is just across the road and this seems rather popular.

I don't know how definite a restaurant is however, it is just something I read in the local press a couple of months ago when the plans were originally released.

Nice design there, how likely is this?

Here is a link to the developers website. It has information on other developments throughout the country. They recently became official sponsors of Swansea City's new stadium and have office's in Chester, London and Swansea. There however does not seem to be any definite time scale available.

Liberty Properties (http://www.libertyplc.co.uk/index.html)

Liberty Properties Plc are delighted to announce their appointment as preferred developers of the former Cheshire Constabulary Headquarters located in one of Chesters most prominent locations.

Liberty Properties Plc were selected after a lengthy tender process involving up to 20 potential developers.

Liberty Properties Plc have a current development programme valued in excess of £100 million, and have considerable experience of developing within Chester, having already developed over 150,000 sqft of commercial accommodation and 50,000 sqft of retail floor space in the city.

Liberty Properties Plc and Cheshire Constabulary will now work closely together to promote the scheme and progress matters in detail with Chester City Council.

Looks like they'll be looking for planning permission for this over the coming months

The Mall have also applied for permission recently to extend the Grosvenor across Pepper Street to replace Habitat and Multiyork. From the back, it seems like a great idea, because that whole area round Albion Street is a complete mess. It'll also incorporate a footbridge across Pepper Street from the precinct, which seems like a good idea, because it'll stop all those people from nearly getting run over trying to cross! But the design is just horrendously bland - I mean almost offensive in its non-entity status. There's an image here (PDF file so can't link directly - http://www.ukplanning.com/chester/doc/Page-5?page=5&extension=.pdf&wmTransparency=0&wmLocation=0&id=2275171&location=VOLUME1&contentType=application%2Fpdf&wmName=&pageCount=19) and it's just rubbish. The retention of the Multiyork facade is just appalling tokenism, and it looks dwarfed and ignored. Judging by the plans on the planning site, I don't think it will even be the main entrance to the Mall - just to a couple of units. It seems like a desperate attempt to rush something through before the Northgate development comes in and shifts the city's shopping centre of gravity.

And as a regular user of the station, anything to improve it would be great. Particularly if they get rid of that bastard floor that becomes a lawsuit waiting to happen whenever it rains! Has anyone seen the improvements in the new "Home Zone" between the station and the canal, by the way? It's really made what used to be a pretty manky area quite attractive and pleasant - especially the new park.