A riverside pub will soon take delivery of a barge dubbed the ‘ultimate floating beer garden’.

The 75-foot long open air barge will be permanently moored next to the Boathouse Inn at The Groves with room for up to 60 diners, drinkers and shipmates.

Accessible via a gang plank, it will feature a painted blue hull and ship decking with fixed booth seating astern and bow plus free-flow seating in the middle.

A computer generated image of what the barge will look like when moored alongside The Boathouse Inn in Chester

Brewery JW Lees, who gained planning permission for the craft in 2013, say the boat will arrive by crane in April and be fitted out the following month to become ‘Chester’s only permanent drinking venue on the river’.

JW Lees says the Boathouse has become so busy during peak times that the business required an innovative way to solve the problem that matched its nautical themed outdoor area and complemented its unique position on the River Dee.

‘Captain’ Philip Murray of the Boathouse said: “In May we will have a fantastic new menu and hopefully loads of hot and sunny weather, the barge will give more customers the opportunity to enjoy the unbeatable views we have over the river.

“The name of the barge is still undecided so we would like our customers and readers of the Chester Chronicle to help us decide by sending their ideas to @jwleesboathouse #namethebarge. Whoever comes up with the best idea can name the barge and join us at the launch party.”

The under-construction barge that will be permanently moored outside The Boathouse Inn in Chester

Built at Burscough Boats, the barge will weigh in at over 19 tonnes. It is so large that it cannot be launched at the Boathouse but will be craned into the River Dee up-stream and floated down to sit alongside the beach hut terrace at the pub.

The current outdoor area at the Boathouse will also receive a make-over ensuring it is ‘ship shape and Bristol fashion’, ready for the launch.

A licensing application has been submitted covering the barge along with a proposed variation to the original planning consent that it would allow it to be rotated 180 degrees so the bow faces upstream ‘to reduce and better manage’ the possible build up of debris.

The barge concept has had its detractors.

John Davies, vice president and a former captain of the Royal Chester Rowing Club and a governor at The King’s School, told Cheshire West and Chester Council’s planning committee back in 2013: “I wish to object to this proposal on grounds the mooring of the proposed barge will constitute a real hazard to the navigation on this part of the river for all the local rowing clubs but the King’s School and the Royal Chester Rowing Clubs in particular.”

The barge would obscure visibility and may force racing boats into the centre of the river with the potential for collisions with large pleasure craft such as the Lady Diana and Mark Twain.

The Lady Diana showboat is returned to the River Dee by owners ChesterBoat, following it's biennial clean
The Lady Diana showboat

Ward Cllr Samantha Dixon agreed: “This application is tantamount to an al fresco dining area in the middle of a motorway.”

However, planning officer Nick Howard, who recommended approval, said there were a number of pontoons up and downstream of the site and the barge “would not add a further obstruction” as long as vessels were not permitted to moor up to the structure.

Councillors backed the scheme, with nine votes in favour and one against.

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