Council leader Mike Jones laid down the gauntlet for Chester Cathedral to pull in 1m visitors per year when he attended a dinner celebrating the opening of its new Cathedral at Height attraction.

Cllr Jones, who enjoyed the new tour of the tower prior to Saturday’s official opening, committed £1.4m of council money to help Cathedral at Height become a reality.

Speaking at a gala dinner in the Chapter House of the cathedral, he said: “It is a tremendous experience. It’s an asset that’s going to be so important in attracting visitors to this city.”

He acknowledged criticism over the decision to use council taxpayers’ money to fund a church but explained that he saw the cathedral as a catalyst for growth.

Addressing the cathedral’s own aim to lure 750,000 visitors per year in future, he commented: “I hope you are going to be more challenging to yourselves and instead of saying three-quarters of a million visitors, I would like to see you go for 1m visitors per year over the next few years. If you do that I think you will pull more people into our shops, more people into our restaurants and more people into your own commercial activities like your restaurant.”

Cllr Jones welcomed the arrival of Peter Howell-Jones, Vice Dean of Chester Cathedral, two years ago, which he said marked “a sea change” in partnership working.

In his introductory remarks, the Vice Dean had told the 70-strong group of clergymen, politicians and business leaders, that he wanted the cathedral to attract 750,000 annual visitors as it did 10 years ago before a compulsory entrance charge was introduced leading numbers to slump to 60,000. That charge was scrapped 12 months ago which resulted in 207,000 visitors last year, expected to rise to 270,000 in 2014.

There is a specific charge for the Cathedral at Height tour, which is £8 for adults and £6 for children. For more details, vist

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