£1m refurbishment of Newgate Street car park in Chester

Feb 15 2010 Chester Chronicle

CHESTER’S biggest shopping centre has unveiled the result of a £1million refurbishment of its Newgate Street car park.

Following enhanced CCTV surveillance, improved lighting, fire and security systems, the new car park is now one of the safest 24-hour public car parks in the city.

The major programme of improvements by the Grosvenor Shopping Centre have been in direct response to customer feedback and include refurbished and rebranded lifts, the introduction of family parking spaces and additional disabled parking.

Energy-efficient lighting systems have also been installed, along with clearer pedestrian walkways at all levels and brighter car park lobbies featuring retailer’s logos.

“The results speak for themselves – our visitors are already appreciating the improvements,” said Grosvenor Shopping Centre Manager, Julie Webb.

“As well as producing a brighter, cleaner and safer environment for shoppers and their families, the newly replaced lifts ensure access to our centre has been improved 100%.“

Local schools are also being invited to play their part in brightening up the car park with a competition led by local artist, Russell Kirk. The competition, which is being launched this month, will invite local schools to produce their own Chester-themed drawings to be in with a chance of having them displayed on the walls of the ramp sections of the car park in 2010.

The winning schools will then take part in artist led workshops at their school where the drawings will be developed into full-size designs and stencils to be painted on-site in the car park in April.

Julie Webb added: “We’re thrilled to offer local school children the chance to add the final touches to the improvements to the car park. The competition not only offers the perfect opportunity for schoolchildren to provide something unique to Chester but also allows Grosvenor Shopping Centre the chance to get the local community involved in the design element of the project while enhancing the overall ambience within the centre.

“Whether it’s Chester Zoo animals, historical links such as the Romans or famous people from Chester, we’re interested in conveying what local children most associate with the city. The new designs will also serve an important purpose in adding interest to the car parking area as well as encouraging pedestrians to use the designated walk way when moving around the car park.”

The competition will be open to schools in the shopping centre catchment area, including Cheshire, North Wales and the Wirral.