Listed Chester building gets residential conversion

Architect AHR has showcased the first of its designs for Chester Northgate ahead of further public consultation, which gets under way this week.

Work has started at Chester's listed shot tower and former leadworks, with main contractor CPUK delivering a restoration and development of 78 homes.

Cheshire West & Chester chief executive Andrew Lewis has promised the vision for the £60m first phase of Chester Northgate will not be presented "on a take-it-or-leave-it basis" once a fresh consultation on the scheme launches next month.

Pochin’s has secured a £15.7m contract with developer Belong to build a dementia care village on City Road in Chester, set to open in spring 2020.

Vinci has been chosen ahead of rival contractor Laing O’Rourke as preferred bidder for the £60m first phase of Chester Northgate, set to start on site next year.

Cheshire West & Chester Council has agreed to provide £6m of funding to get the first phase of Chester’s £300m Northgate project under way, due to start on site next year.

Care home developer and operator New Care, part of the McGoff Group, has completed an £8m refinancing deal with Yorkshire Bank to support its recently-opened £15m scheme in Chester.

The £300m Chester retail and leisure scheme is to welcome Spanish chef Omar Allibhoy’s Tapas Revolution, as Cheshire West & Chester Council confirmed that the public inquiry into the use of compulsory purchase powers for the scheme will begin on 7 February.

A student accommodation block on a gateway site in Chester has been approved after a planning appeal, with an independent inspector stating Cheshire West & Chester Council had made “vague, generalised or inaccurate assertions” when it rejected the scheme last April.