Plans for a Chester city centre aparthotel which would have come complete with a restaurant and a rooftop pool near the racecourse have officially been withdrawn.
The plans were first submitted to Cheshire West and Chester Council in September 2020, before a revised proposal was sent in March 2021 to the local authority.
Applicant Walker & Williams wished to repair and redevelop 26 and 28 Nicholas Street – at the time vacant Grade II-listed properties formerly used as law firm offices – into a five-star aparthotel with 52 suite as well as six holiday cottages, a restaurant and bar, and a rooftop pool and terrace with views to Chester Racecourse.
The scheme also aimed for the restoration of 3 Nicholas Street Mews, along with a further six mews cottages and two three-storey townhouses to provide "high-quality" city centre residential properties.
The £15 million mooted development would have created 136 jobs, we reported in 2021.
But after the initial flurry of activity on the council's planning portal, further progress was limited.
Highways objected to the revised scheme on the basis of insufficient car and cycle parking provision at the site, while planners had raised concerns on how to implement noise mitigation conditions put forward during consultation, saying they would be "difficult to achieve without causing significant harm to the character of the existing listed building".
There had been a mixed reaction from local residents, with some being supportive of the development in principle, but concerns were raised about the new development overlooking residential properties and additional traffic on narrow roads.
The plans, in truth, ceased to be viable a long time ago, with 26-28 Nicholas Street going up for sale in October 2022. Property firm Bolton Birch announced both properties had been sold in February 2023, with the buyer wanting "to invest in Chester and does not have detailed plans for the property in place yet".
An update on the council's planning portal confirmed the aparthotel plans had been withdrawn earlier this month.
Walker & Williams, an independent, family-owned and run business, continues to have a presence in the city with The Hotel Chester, which opened its 16-apartment venue in April 2021 in Newgate Street.
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