A SERIES of improvements are planned to improve the exterior of a Chester city centre pub.

Espley (Trust Inns), on behalf of The Lock Keeper, on Canal Side, off Frodsham Street, is looking to have new features which will improve the safety and appearance of the pub.

A retractable roof structure is planned for a section of the external area, with the aim of making it a flexible space which can be used all year round, which planners say will make the area "more welcoming and encouraging customers to sit outside".

Uneven flooring would be replaced by new resin bond and composite decking, with two new giant five-metre by five-metre umbrellas – or 'jumbrellas', being placed on the decked area to create shelter.

New glass balustrading would be placed around the perimeter to replace the existing ropes and posts, creating what planners say would be a "safer boundary between the canal and the pub".

Finally, a new timber 1.5m high fence would be built on the side of the decked area facing Frodsham Street.

Planners say the improvements would be a "positive contribution to the local area, as well as allowing the business to create an outdoor drinking space in direct response to the pandemic, which has encouraged people to utilise outdoor spaces."

Comments on the application, reference number 21/03386/FUL, can be made to Cheshire West and Chester Council through its online planning portal or by writing to Development Management, 4 Civic Way, Ellesmere Port CH65 0BE by October 7.

  • For more Public Notices, visit the Chester Standard's online Public Notices section or in the newspaper each Thursday.