Leading Spanish chef Omar Allibhoy wants to open one of his ‘Tapas Revolution’ restaurants in the first phase of the council-led £300m Chester Northgate Development.

He has agreed to take a 3,000 sq ft unit next to the proposed food hall and market under the planned six-screen Picturehouse cinema as part of the city centre regeneration.

The restaurant would face onto a new public square opposite Hunter’s Walk – the arcade from Northgate Street that is to be created from the old library building.

Tapas Revolution is a select group of high quality restaurants that Allibhoy started in 2010 with the opening of the first one in Westfield London. Subsequent openings include: Shoreditch, London; Bluewater, Kent; Grand Central, Birmingham; Meadowhall, Sheffield; Eldon Square, Newcastle; and Southgate, Bath.

The Tapas Revolution restaurant would face onto a new public square opposite Hunters Walk the arcade from Northgate Street that is to be created from the old library building.

Trained by the legendary chef Ferran Adria of El Bulli, Allibhoy has also written two fastest selling and bestselling Spanish cookbooks – Tapas Revolution and Spanish Made Simple.

Councillor Brian Clarke , cabinet member for economic development and infrastructure, said: “The Tapas Revolution mission is to put tapas on the map in the UK and we’re delighted that a culinary entrepreneur of the quality of Omar Allibhoy has chosen Chester to expand his business.

“This latest letting to Tapas Revolution follows the signing of Cosy Club for a 5,000 sq ft restaurant in Hunter’s Walk fronting onto Northgate Street, Town Hall Square. There are agreements to lease two of the other restaurant units in Phase 1 of the development that are currently in solicitors’ hands.

“We are also in discussions with catering operators interested in taking the remaining units.”

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Councillor Stuart Parker , shadow cabinet member, communities and wellbeing, said: “I’d also like to offer an official bienvenido to Tapas Revolution. This new restaurant will complement both Picturehouse and Storyhouse and it’s a further demonstration of how Chester Northgate is attracting new businesses to Chester.”

However, transformation of the former library building into a restaurant hub, including Cosy Club, has been delayed with an ambition for work to start at some point this year. Originally it had been hoped construction could have started as early as last autumn.

And the Labour -led council has been struggling to attract external investors in Northgate so in October voted to risk £57m of taxpayers’ money in a bid to break the logjam.

A report to the cabinet recommended the council maintain ‘critical momentum’ by funding the construction phase if no financing partner was forthcoming, subject to stringent commercial conditions, with the hope private money will follow later.

A public inquiry will begin on February 7 in the Riverside Innovation Centre at the University of Chester ’s Riverside campus to consider a Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) by Cheshire West and Chester Council to buy 70 properties in the regeneration area as well as applications to move the market and carry out changes to the highway including closing Princess Street, Trinity Street, Hamilton Place, Crook Street and Goss Street.

This CPO inquiry is seen as the next crucial hurdle to clear on the journey to delivering Northgate.