“Designs for Hotel Chester have been inspired by the city’s history and reflect Cheshire West and Chester Council’s ambition to support the growth of the area’s visitor and business economy,” said Luke Averill, director of TAG. While the creation of Hotel Chester will necessitate the demolition of most of the 1930s bingo hall, the new building’s design is meant to honour the city’s past. During the construction process, TAG said it would create 110 jobs – with 80 jobs created when the hotel is operational. If this is achieved, the developer predicts it will be able to complete the scheme by the end of 2026.

TAG hopes to have planning approval by the second quarter of 2024. The developer is also shooting for 100% biodiversity net gain, by adding various public realm elements and specifically choosing plants that will enhance the biodiversity of the area. TAG’s ambitions for Hotel Chester, as it would be named, are for the building to achieve a BREEAM Excellent rating. A ground-floor restaurant would feature both indoor and outdoor seating, allowing for waterfront views while customers dine. The proposed 142-bed hotel would be less wide than its predecessor, and further stepped back from the Shropshire Union Canal, allowing for an active travel path by the water. However, the non-Brookdale Place-fronting aspects of the building would be razed. The mock-Tudor frontage on Brookdale Place would be retained under TAG’s plans – with the developer seeking to turn this section of the site into 8,000 sq ft of serviced office space. Developer TAG Chester wants to largely demolish the former Mecca Bingo Hall to make way for a seven-storey hotel designed by DAY Architectural.

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