Chester Office Foyer Festival; Liverpool Vision board games

How did it come to this, Chester?

Occasionally, when witty surveyors and cynical journalists suggest empty office buildings should be used for alternative activities such as student canteens or art galleries it is usually a joke. And a sign the surveyor was not instructed on that building, the journalist denied an interview with the developer.

Chester Literature Festival, 3-18 October, appears to have taken the joke seriously. The culturally infertile city has resorted to using a series of bars, hotels, university lecture theatres and the Bank of America auditorium at its base (not even empty) on Chester Business Park for festival venues.

The council is putting its hat in the ring for the replica of the Rose theatre should the Royal Shakespeare Company choose to head north. The RSC players will have to travel elsewhere on a night off if they want a cinema, any other performing arts venue, concert hall,…

  • News that Martin Wright, development director of Liverpool Vision, retired at the end of September and has come back into the office on a temporary contract in a part-time capacity, has re-ignited speculation over a reshuffle at the top of the city's economic development agency. When chief executive Jim Gill agreed to take the tiller at Vision he did so on a short-term basis, and exclaimed that he 'would be surprised' if he was there in a year's time – he said that about 18 months ago. Some fresh blood is not so much needed as expected according to Gill's own word.

Your Comments

Read our comments policy

Is there any other city in Europe which would apply to build over a Roman Amphitheatre? Ok the Chester planners backed off from that one but where’s the theatre, where’s the concert hall,where’s the enthusiasm ??

By OW

Related Articles

Sign up to receive the Place Daily Briefing

Join more than 13,000 property professionals and receive your free daily round-up of built environment news direct to your inbox

Subscribe

Join more than 13,000 property professionals and sign up to receive your free daily round-up of built environment news direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you are agreeing to our Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.

"*" indicates required fields

Your Job Field*
Other regional Publications - select below