Plans for the Upgrade of Chester Rail Station and Adjoining
Areas
Introduction
Please note: Cheshire County
Council and Chester City Council mentioned in the text below ceased
operating as local authorities in March 2009.
Chester's historic General Station
is one of only twenty two Grade I and Grade II* listed railway
stations in the whole of England and one of only three in the
northwest region. The building is of outstanding national and
regional significance and is one of the principle nineteenth
century monuments in the city. The station is not only a
distinguished architectural statement but is also an important
historic entity in terms of both industrial archaeology and social
history. The station forecourt, surrounded by the façade of the
station itself to the north, the Queen Hotel and its passageway to
the south east and the listed public house to the south west, is a
potentially impressive and attractive public space which could be a
key townscape feature of the City Conservation Area.
Funding
In 2007-08 Cheshire County
Council’s Local Transport Plan committed money. The Council
confirmed at the annual budget council meeting that £1.5
million would be invested into this project.
This money will be used to upgrade the station forecourt.
Forecourt Plans
In October 2005, five options for
the station forecourt were drawn up with no change option too.
Following consultation, Option A was selected as the preferred
design layout for the forecourt. Click on the links below to see
the final layout and artists impressions of what the forecourt will
look like.
Concourse Plans
Arriva Trains Wales have committed
money to improving the concourse of the station; revenue ticket
barriers have already been installed, and other improvements will
now follow including customer information displays, lighting,
toilets, signing, and general cleaning/restoration of the station
buildings. Network Rail has now started renovating the roof above
the station concourse. Following completion of the roof works
Arriva Trains Wales will relocate their ticket office to the east
side of the concourse. The current ticket office will be replaced
by a new retail unit.
Click on the links below to see the
final plans and artists impressions of what the concourse will look
like.
Other partners in the project
include the English Heritage Trust and the Railway Heritage Trust
who have both committed money over 4 years to improve a range of
works to buildings around the Station.
Consultation
Following on from the successful
consultation events which were held in the Mill Hotel, Chester in
October 2005 and the Queen Hotel in June 2006, some very useful
comments and responses to the proposed options were raised. The
main objective of the event was to gather feedback on the detailed
design for the forecourt and the concourse of the rail station.
The results of the consultations
are available for viewing at Backford Hall, Backford, Chester, CH1
6EA. If anyone should wish to see them please contact Dave Thomas
on 01244 973960.
In June 2006, Building Design
Partnership (BDP) produced a Facilities Report which gives a
summary of the different elements of the rail station
improvements.
Chester City Council as the
development and planning authority aims to facilitate the
regeneration of the station quarter through private investment.
A recent lottery bid to the
Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) by Chester City Council has been
successful in securing £550,000 to help improve the funding. Click
on the following link to see the official press release.
Chester City Council discussed the
forecourt plans relating to Chester Rail Gateway (Item 139).
Members were informed on a number of issues namely; next steps, the
consultation process, funding and the car parking strategy.
Links