Blue sky thinking

Feb 1 2008 by Barry Ellams, Chester Chronicle

Everyone wants the best for Chester – and most agree that the city’s future is in its past. BARRY ELLAMS reviws how its current state and future prospects make the city a melting pot of passions, projects and policies.

QUARRELLING is a timeless Cestrian trait. Romans, Jacobeans, Tudors have all squabbled among themselves, yet delivered a worthwhile legacy to the following generations.

History has bestowed a Roman amphitheatre, Jacobean Rows, world-famous walls and a cathedral upon Chester.

A zoo, university, racecourse and restaurants are relative newcomers but add to the city’s unique blend of heritage, tourism, leisure and trade.

Chester is often referred to as:

A Tourist City

An Historic City

A Cultural City

A Shopping City

A Restaurant City

A Learning City

Over the last five decades applications approved by the planning authority have by and large come within the umbrella of these themes.

Cestrians are renowned for keeping a watchful eye on planning applications that don’t subscribe to Chester Plc, ‘The Glass Slug’ being a recent outcast.

Cestrians are all too aware that culture and history are mutually exclusive. A Roman city – yet it’s cultural offering has suffered with the closure of The Gateway and The Odeon. Only on completion of a successful performing arts centre will Chester have a chance of becoming ‘must see’.

Christine Russell MP has warned that a cultural foil to the retail offer is absolutely vital.

She said: “I think it is so important that all local authorities pay as much attention to what happens in their towns and cities after 5pm as they do between 9am and 5pm.”

Mill Hotel owner Gordon Vickers has often criticised Chester’s lack of ambition in promoting its Roman identity to visitors. He has frequently called for the financing of weekly Roman parades to broadcast the city’s ancient history and attract visitors.

If the city’s heritage is to have a legacy then the private sector has to be ambitious. The Grosvenor hotel recently invested £3m in its refurbished Westminster Suite.

The hotel is leading the big push to capitalise on the lucrative business tourism market.

Managing director Jonathan Slater said: “The UK conference market is becoming more competitive than ever and we believe in taking a pro-active approach to this fast-moving sector.”

Associate directors Welland Lister, Gary Carter, Ken Roscoe and Isobel Grey are two months away from launching Oddfellows – a £3.25m hotel, private members lounge, bar and restaurant on Lower Bridge Street

Isobel Grey remarked: “Oddfellows marks a huge investment into Chester’s hospitality economy.”

Chester’s student explosion hasn’t gone unnoticed.

The university has 7,840 attending the Chester campus, a significant contributor to the local economy and a potent regeneration asset.

Liverpool and Manchester city planners have turned to their student populations to transform the image of their cities and students will have a huge part to play in the cultural renaissance of Chester.

Chester’s most unprompted success story is the proliferation of quality restaurants. Food and drink is a home-grown revolution and local obsession with websites such as Chester@Large are devoted to it.

The Restaurant Association of Chester and Cheshire has been set up to harness the interest in the industry and enhance quality and customer service.

The last decade has seen high-profile campaigns make Chester a more distinctive product to visitors with race days and festivals.

But Chester has never got over the perception that it is disjointed. A new initiative, Chester Renaissance, is designed to pull all assets together and create the impression to visitors that Chester works as a collective – like York.