A popular Chester community bar has announced its shock closure.

The Suburbs has been a regular attraction for many residents in the Hoole and surrounding areas for over a decade, serving a range of cocktails and other drinks and boosting the local area's nightlife.

It was also once home to an adjoining Eaterie, until rising operating costs and declining footfall led to its closure in 2022.

But the venue, founded by Kingdom Thenga, has announced that this weekend will be the last for The Suburbs in its Hoole guise.

In a statement posted on Taste Cheshire, the venue cited disagreements with the council as one of the reasons for the closure.

The Standard understands the dispute relates to noise abatement issues, which led the local authority to refuse retrospective planning permission for The Suburbs last year.

The statement reads: "We put forward a strong case as to why The Suburbs had a rightful place in the community of Hoole, a place where we had made many friends and created some fantastic memories. Sadly to no avail, our words meant nothing and our fight for survival was lost.

"We have no choice but to close our beloved venue in Hoole, The Suburbs was our home and a place where the community could gather and relax away from the stresses and strains of life. 

"We are heartbroken. We didn’t always get it right and we hold our hands up but by god we gave it a good go to get it right.

"Our mission is to find a new home [for] The Suburbs, nothing will ever be quite the same but ‘keep going’ we shall. 

"In the meantime we will host ‘suburbs in the city’ at Below Board (the downstairs bolt hole at The Yard) from Thursdays to Sundays, with live music/ DJs and a suburbs vibe. It would be great to see some familiar faces.

"So to our guests, family, friends I’d like to say thanks for the loyalty and support of the last 11 years. From beginning to end, from great times to the tragedy of Covid we felt like we belonged to an amazing community of people and are truly humbled to have been part of this great community."

The venue added while its final weekend would be this Friday, Saturday and Sunday (March 22-24), "it’s not the end of the book, it’s the end of one chapter and the beginning of another."

The announcement was met with shock on social media, with scores of Cestrians expressing dismay at the imminent demise of the drinking destination and commenting it would be a loss to Hoole.