£38m Chester city centre residential scheme given green light

Chester-based luxury housing developer, Blueoak Estates, has been granted approval to build a £38m scheme in the city centre which would create 176 apartments.

The development will regenerate Chester’s Tower House and Charterhall House, also known as the ‘Lloyds Buildings’.

The the 1970s seven-storey and four-storey buildings in the Chester City Gateway Quarter have been abandoned for several years.

A first for Chester, the scheme will bring to market the city’s first ever build-to-rent development.

All units will be fully furnished and will be available for first lettings in the first quarter of 2026.

The developement will benefit from a number of high end resident amenities including gym, a shared workspace area and a cinema room, as well as secure onsite parking.

Located between Hoole and Chester city centre, the site is a stone’s throw from Chester train station, offering excellent network and transport links, both locally and further afield.

Blueoak managing director, Iain MacLean, said: “We’re incredibly pleased to see planning granted and this scheme will mark our largest project to date.

“As a business whose roots lay in Chester, it’s wonderful to be able to continue to make a positive impact on the city, once again taking an unloved and abandoned building and breathing new life into it for a new generation.”

He added: “This is also important to the local economy, marking the first build to rent development, creating a new investment proposition for those from within the city, and further beyond.

“Chester is currently enjoying a far-reaching city centre renaissance that’s seeing an influx of people choosing the conurbation as its home, and enjoying the many cultural, leisure and sporting highlights on the doorstep.

“This development supports this emerging trend, providing quality city centre living.”

Under the 20-month build programme, the framework and integrity of both buildings will be retained in full rather than demolish and rebuild.

A highly sustainable development, all properties will achieve an EPC B minimum rating, incorporating MEV air extract and KURS systems, with the addition of solar panels across the roof.