How can Chester improve?

How can Chester improve?

A city of "immense and unrealised potential" but trying to be "too many things to too many people"

The Urban Land Institute have come up with 10 big ideas which they think will make the city more attractive for locals, businesses and visitors these include the redevelopment of Chester Castle into a multi-use facility (hotel, arts centre , exhibition space); conversion of the upper floors of The Rows into boutique city centre hotel and development of the River Dee banks and canal ‘to re-invigorate’ the current leisure experience.

 The ten big ideas are; -

·         Further improve Chester’s public realm

Providing an enhanced ‘sense of place’, further improvement to Chester’s public realm will focus on the most attractive urban assets of Chester.

Striking urban spaces such as squares and terraces could be gradually created and used for various activities such as open-air cafes and street performances.

·         The River Dee and the Canal

Chester should consider using the Dee River banks to refresh and reinvigorate the current leisure experience, making use of the available assets and creating a vibrant focus of activity.

The southern embankments could also be a potential location for a state-of-the-art conference facility – creating the need for a new bridge that could become an attraction like other such bridges elsewhere.

·         Reintroducing cultural centre in Chester’s city centre

Re-establishing itself as a centre of cultural tourism, Chester should consider the need to reinstate a theatre or cultural centre. Since the closing of the Gateway Theatre (2007) and the Odeon Cinema (2006), a theatre was high on the list of many people’s priorities.

The panel warned that several major centres are already struggling in Liverpool and therefore recommends a multi-functional centre for arts and culture instead. Alternatively, the provision of a small theatre venue through refurbishment of an existing property. There are examples of successful smaller speciality theatres in the UK, such as the Almedia in North London.

·         Conference/performing art/exhibition facility

To secure Chester’s position as a ‘boutique’ destination appropriate venues are required. The panel explores the idea of a multi-purpose conference/performing art/exhibition facility.

Such facility would be used for:- business, entertainment, cultural activities, exhibitions and performances. This would optimise investment and operating costs. Potential city centre locations should be contemplated; one such option would be to use the Castle for this purpose.

·         Biodome (Zoo extension)

Chester zoo has been planning to create a new extension that could become a phenomenal new tourism attraction likely to generate huge visitation. Alongside ideas to link Chester and its zoo the Biodome would help build local innovation capability related to environmental sciences.

The panel recommends that the Biodome development is wholeheartedly sponsored by the public authorities.

·         Chester History Experience Centre

A Chester History Experience Centre would not be a museum but a true ‘experience’ where visitors would enjoy learning about Chester and its history in an entertaining and interactive manner.

The panel suggests using the Roman Amphitheatre and the Dee House as the ‘containers’ for this Experience Centre, combining outdoor and indoor spaces. The panel proposes digging under Dee House to expose additional Roman remains and using the resulting ‘undercroft’ space as part of the facility.

·         Chester Port

The panel recommends using the canal and what is left of Chester’s old harbour infrastructure to create a new leisure experience at the northwest side of the city – thus bringing into value assets currently neglected.

Aside from creating a new centre of activity, this intervention will also generate activity between the centre and the port. However, the challenges confronting this ‘Big Idea’ are mainly the investment costs and the scarcity of land available.

·         Hotel at The Rows

Using the currently underutilised and mostly vacant upper floors of the Rows for a high-end, ‘boutique’ city centre hotel has been proposed by the panel – and to explore the potential for other uses of the upper floors such as residential, office incubators and artist studios.

The objective of these proposals is to re-create the vibrant mixed-use fabric that the Rows used to be not so long ago. Examples of similar strategies have been used elsewhere, like in Annapolis and Istanbul. You may check into one building and stay in another – but each will be unique in its heritage, story and ambiance.

·         Underground car-parks

Eventually, extensive underground parking will become essential to pedestrians. The panel recommends that this facility should be able to accommodate a minimum of about 2000 cars (on 2 or 3 levels).

If enough underground parking is provided, it will be possible to eliminate the several current car parks and replace them with better buildings, such as the public venues (theatre, conference facility proposed above).

·         Redevelop Chester Castle

Lastly the panel recommends redeveloping Chester Castle into a multi-use facility that could accommodate a hotel, arts centre, Chester experience or exhibition space.

The complexity of the building will require careful assessment of the existing fabric and its potential reutilisation. The panel firmly believe that this idea is detrimental to Chester’s desired positioning in the tourism sector.