Historic city to get £300m retail-led scheme – finally

A £300m retail-led scheme in Chester city centre has been given the thumbs up by planners, years after it was first conceived.

The Chester Northgate Scheme will result in about 400,000sq ft of new retail, restaurant and leisure space and will be delivered in two construction phases with the first one expected to start in about 12 months.

Plans to regenerate the historic city centre were first mooted in 1991 and again in 2008 only to be dashed by the banking crisis. Investors are now being sought for the new scheme

There will be two restaurants in the current library building, a new market hall to replace the incumbent Chester Market, a six-screen cinema and a 167-bedroom four-star hotel and conference centre.

The project will require the demolition of the Crowne Plaza Hotel – to be replaced by the new hotel and other buildings on the site would be bulldozed in 2019 for the second phase to start.