CHESTER MP Sam Dixon has called for greater protection for the city's historic Rows from the government.

The MP has written a letter to the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities requesting the introduction of a statutory ownership register for heritage assets.

The Rows are home to businesses covering Chester’s four main retail streets and host the oldest shopfront in the country.

The large timber structure that gives The Rows their unique character is also what makes them vulnerable to fire risk.

A partnership between Cheshire West and Chester Council and Cheshire Fire and Rescue is in place to reduce the risk of a fire outbreak on The Rows. The partnership has delivered a locally funded capital scheme for early detection of fire, carried out emergency planning exercises and amended policies to reduce the likelihood of a large-scale fire breaking out.

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However, further collaboration with property owners is needed to implement greater safety mitigations.

Chester’s Rows were recorded to have 309 different types of ownership in 2014, not all of which are known to the council or are readily available through public records.

The Council and Fire Service face barriers in implementing safety mitigations in the public shared spaces of Chester Rows, which currently require express permission from all owners.

A proposal to install additional CCTV cameras in the shared space of Chester Rows took six months to receive written permission from 18 landowners and had to be reduced in scale because permission wasn’t received from all those whose approval was required.

Samantha Dixon said: "The Rows are a defining aspect of Chester city centre and have been part of our identity for more than 700 years.

"The rich mix of historic buildings and retail offerings is what draws people to visit our beautiful city."

Mrs Dixon has publicised her ambitions to gain World Heritage status for The Rows.

She added: "However, what also makes The Rows special is their greatest vulnerability.

"They are a largely timber structure and the fear is that, once a fire takes hold within the interlinked wooden structures, a large part of the structure could be lost.

"A strong partnership between the Council, Fire Service and The Row’s business owners is crucial for the ongoing safety of The Rows.

"For this to happen we need to see a special registration regime, with clear responsibilities reflecting the custodianship of our heritage.

"I have called for the Secretary of State to work with me to introduce a statutory register of ownership and maintenance responsibilities for heritage assets."