CITY chiefs have been given the green light to keep on track with the £69.6 million first phase of Northgate – with work expected to begin next year.

The long-awaited project that will deliver a new cinema, market hall, restaurants, shops and office space to Chester city centre was given fresh backing by Cheshire West and Chester Council members on Thursday night.

Councillors voted to approve a maximum budget of £69.6 million for the first phase – which also includes a multi-storey car park and improved public realm – with CWAC expecting to make £55.9 million of that back through rents.

Cllr Louise Gittins, CWAC’s Labour leader, said: “I would just like to say what a super Christmas present this could be for the people of Chester and of the wider borough.

“We’re ready to go with the Northgate project, but this isn’t just about Northgate, it’s about the whole regeneration of Chester and the wider borough.

“It’s about time we got on with this – and to coin a phrase, let’s get Northgate done.

“I look forward to working with everyone in this council on delivering Northgate and coming forward in a year with proposals for phase two.”

Both Labour and Conservative councillors have worked on the latest iteration of Northgate since 2012.

But members attending Thursday’s special council meeting in Winsford still wanted reassurance about the project.

Conservative Cllr Charles Fifield, who is a chartered surveyor, told council he had three concerns about the scheme.

He said: “It is a very large project, a huge amount of finance, and there are other projects within the borough.

“Brexit uncertainty and something else that is happening in a fortnight’s time [General Election] – those two issues are causing uncertainty within the market.

“With any luck those will be resolved in one way or another, but the third bit is the changing retail environment.

“In my day job, when I am dealing with shops, it has changed considerably in the last 10 years and it continues to change. We need to be in a position to consider that.”

Meanwhile, Conservative Cllr Andrew Dawson suggested Chester would need to improve its wider infrastructure to make Northgate a success.

He said: “Unless we improve the infrastructure, you are going to find that people who live 10 miles away from Chester are going to look at the other alternatives in terms of a night out or shopping.

“And whilst I love the idea of an experience-led development, it is going to have to be absolutely fantastic to be able to divert people away from the already excellent provision that is in Liverpool, Warrington, Manchester, Cheshire Oaks and elsewhere.

“It’s all very well putting our eggs in this particular basket, but we need investment elsewhere if it is to be a success.”

Before members voted to approve the latest Northgate plans, Labour Cllr Richard Beacham, cabinet member for housing, regeneration and growth, moved to reassure councillors about the project.

He said: “If it can’t be afforded in terms of the parameters we set out tonight then if will come back to council in an appropriate form.

“I agree on infrastructure – the Northgate development will have public transport connections built into it, but obviously we can’t confirm what routes they will be until it is getting close to completion.”

The decision is just the latest step in the long battle for regeneration in Chester city centre – with the former Chester City Council first devising the Northgate scheme in partnership with ING in 2000.

That scheme was dropped eight years later following the recession, before CWAC revived it in 2012.

Northgate phase one was given planning permission in September, and Vinci has since been selected has the contractor for the work.