CWAC names agent for Northgate retail

JLL has been appointed by Cheshire West & Chester Council as retail development manager and retail agent on the £300m Northgate scheme.

JLL will work alongside the council's development manager Rivington Land to define the retail aspect of the Chester city centre scheme. Rivington and designer ACME are currently putting together a hybrid planning application which the council hopes will be approved by autumn 2015.

As agent, JLL's target is to secure a department store anchor and other key retail pre-lettings.

The Northgate masterplan is for a site next to the town hall and includes a department store, multiplex-cinema, market hall, multi-storey car park, food court and redeveloped public realm.

Damian Sumner, head of retail agency at JLL in London, said: "Today we are determined to help deliver a scheme of the quality and scale that is required to consolidate the city's position within the UK's retail hierarchy.

"With its heritage and culture, Chester is special and – like Cambridge, Oxford and Bath – can attract top retailers into the city centre."