Chester Civic Trust awards city buildings at honour’s ceremony

Mar 6 2009 by Mark Dowling, Chester Chronicle

Chester Civic Trust awards city buildings at honour’s ceremony

Chester’s landmark buildings old and new have come under the expert eye of Chester Civic Trust. MARK DOWLING reports

CHESTER Civic Trust has been showcasing the good, the bad and the ugly of the city in its own honours list for 2009.

Members nominated a variety of buildings and notable architecture for inclusion in the list, which aims to recognise the best of the recent changes in the city’s environment.

Sights deemed worthy of praise included the new owners and trainers Pavilion on Chester Racecourse, described as “a well-designed, low- profile building”, and the Jack Wills shopfront in Eastgate Street, which is “attractively retaining a traditional style at street and Row levels”.

Areas which drew more criticism than praise were the new HQ building, described as “simply too big”, and the railway station concourse, “in a modern, angular style which conflicts with that of the original buildings”.

The chairman of the Chester Civic Trust’s judging committee, Stephen Langtree, was happy with the final selection.

He said: “We try to be positive overall, we really want to draw attention to the commended buildings in the list.”