Council to unveil latest Northgate plans
Cheshire West & Cheshire Council has invited businesses to discuss the latest attempt at a viable masterplan for the Northgate Development project in Chester.
The major retail project in Chester city centre has been discussed for more than a decade but not delivered.
The Q&A session, named the Future for Chester, will be held at the University of Chester on Thursday 17 January from 8am until 10:30am.
The plan has been drawn up internally without a developer, instead using a team of advisers: commercial agents DTZ; architects ACME; cost consultants Davis Langdon; WSP on transport, archaeology and structures. Members of the client and consultant team will be present to discuss any issues.
AECOM have been appointed by Cheshire West & Chester Council to develop a 15 year transport strategy for Chester, and suggestions of opportunities relating to travel and transport in the Chester Travel to Work area are now being invited as part of the scheme.
The council says the development will create 1,600 jobs and generate an annual spend of £143m and additional rates of around £8m.
The plans include:
- Range of retail units, large number of restaurants, multi-screen cinema
- Replacement ground level market at "a key location for customers arriving by car, bus or on foot, closely linked to the new theatre-library"
- New and refurbished car parking for 1,000 cars
- New "open setting for refurbished Town Hall, together with new 'courtyard' open spaces within scheme and comprehensive approach to re-design and use of Town Hall Square"
- Return to former street pattern of Northgate area; improved linkages to rest of city, redevelopment of 14/20 Watergate Street
In February 2012, CWAC ended a 12-year agreement with ING Real Estate after it felt there "was little chance of progress with the arrangement".
You can register for tickets here.
