Chester ‘could do better’ says report as city loses out on urban award

Nov 23 2009 by David Holmes, Chester Chronicle

CHESTER has lost out to Scarborough for the Great Town title at the 2010 Urbanism Awards.

Chester was one of the areas which had been short-listed by the Academy of Urbanism along with Cambridge and Scarborough.

The winner was finally revealed on Friday following a vote among all 360 academicians based on assessment visits to each short-listed location.

Chester received encouraging words of praise and was described as “one of most distinctive and characterful centres in the UK” with its mock Tudor buildings and “a good standard of new buildings”. But the conclusion is the city “perhaps has not yet achieved its full impact”.

The report says the city is taking steps to stop stalled developments, like the Northgate Centre, holding the city back.

It says there is more hotel investment in Chester than any other historic city and that strong retail brands are being attracted.

However, the overall picture presented is mixed. The report says the city is “holding its own” in weekend breaks, but business visitors are down.

It adds: “While there is quite a lot to see and do that is free, Chester does not offer as much as Bath or York to attract the repeat visitor. As it is quite small it also offers relatively little to appeal to young people.”

The assessment says the range and quality of the shopping is high, but the city is still vulnerable to its dependence on luxury retailing, and could suffer in a prolonged recession.

And academy’s judges said there were “big issues” in relation to the Cathedral Quarter, with its “poorly maintained” stock of Georgian houses.

“Similarly Chester Castle does not function as a visitor attraction, and needs to make the most of its extensive waterfront,” added the report.