Doing the round: on site with HQ

The waiting is not quite over but after ten years without new speculative office space in Chester city centre, the excitement is palpable as Pochin (Contractors), part of Cheshire-based Pochin's plc, makes good headway on the £65m HQ for Liberty Properties. Located on the site of the former Cheshire Constabulary Headquarters, the distinctively circular, 250,000 sq ft scheme will comprise 80,000 sq ft of offices, 35 apartments overlooking the Roodee racecourse, a four-star hotel and several restaurants.

The envelope of the building will use glass and natural stone cladding and the roofs standing seam zinc. John Latham, contracts manager of Pochin Contractors, comments: "Work is progressing well; the twin concrete basement is almost up to ground level, creating an underground car park over two levels. We have commenced the construction of the steel frame, which will be built over a 26-week period, and are working towards a completion date of summer 2009."

Click on the first gallery below to see the progress so far, and the second for artist's impressions of the finished building. Photographs by Trevor Palin.