A £1.5m project to improve Chester city centre has won an award from a planning body.

The Chester City Centre Streetscape Enhancements initiative was carried out between 1998 and 2000 with funding from the city council, the Heritage Lottery Fund and private sponsors.

The project involved the enhancement of Eastgate Street, Bridge Street and Watergate Street. Wider York stone pavements and re-aligned granite sett carriageways were introduced, with an architectural lighting scheme serving the Rows.

Now the scheme has gained a commendation in the category of Best Urban Design Project in this year's Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) Regional Planning Achievement Awards.

The commendation was awarded to council officers by the President of the RTPI at a meeting at the Centre for the Understanding of the Built Environment (CUBE) in Manchester on Wednesday.

The judging panel considered that the public consultation process and the methods behind the design of the scheme were both thorough and effective.

The lighting of the Rows and the re-surfacing of Eastgate Street, Bridge Street and Watergate Street were described as typifying good urban design.

Overall, the Streetscape Enhancements were praised as an example of 'good practice' for other historic towns to follow.

Paul Hartley, Chester City Council's design and conservation officer, welcomed the RTPI  award and said: 'The impact of the project has made a vital contribution to the character of the city centre.

'It has enriched the special townscape qualities of the historic core and, by improving conditions for pedestrians, made it safer and more attractive to all people who live, shop, visit or work in Chester.

'The project has succeeded in reinforcing Chester's local distinctiveness and strengthened  those unique qualities of place which are essential to ensure future economic vitality and viability.'