PLANS to bring back the big wheel at Chester's Grosvenor Park next year have been unveiled.

This April saw a 35-metre observation wheel installed at the park, offering 360-degree views of the surrounding area.

It had followed previous successful big wheels in the city at Castle Square, as part of 2010's Winter Wonderland, and at what is now the New Market Car Park site the following year.

Now plans have been lodged with Cheshire West and Chester Council to bring back a big wheel and see it in place for longer this time.

An application form submitted to the authority, from its own environment commissioning team, states that full planning permission is needed if the park is to continue hosting the wheel and for longer periods.

It added: "This has been trialled in 2023 over a 27-day period with great feedback from residents and visitors.

"We now want to extend the period of trading in the park to include key periods, such as all school holidays."

A map submitted as part of the application has indicated the wheel would be in the same place as before in the Easter holidays, and could be in a new, more central location in the park for the summer holidays, when the Grosvenor Park Open Air Theatre is on site.

Also submitted as part of the application is the specification of the type of wheel that could return to Grosvenor Park, from The Giant Wheel Company, which has supplied big wheels to Chester, Silverstone and Bournemouth Seafront. It recently rolled out its new 50-metre wheel, capable of carrying 36 gondolas with six passengers each. The wheel used at the park this year was 35 metres tall with a capacity of 144 people.