Chester Picturehouse opens in boost for long-awaited city scheme

Plans for Northgate date back 20 years

A new cinema opens its doors later as the final part of the first phase of a major city centre development.

The six screen Picturehouse is part of the Chester's Northgate complex, which includes a multi-storey car park, market and restaurants.

The opening of the cinema comes a year after the launch of the new market, which has since welcomed more than two million visitors, the council said.

All aspects of the scheme support each other, Councillor Nathan Pardoe said.

However, council documents have revealed Northgate is set to make much less than expected in this financial year.

Documents for the council's scrutiny committee meeting show the development is set to make £2m below its £2.6m income target for the period.

The reason was mainly because of lower than expected use of the car park, according to a report.

It also cites delays in the opening of the cinema after its parent company went into administration and an explosion at a unit being worked on earlier this year.

Plans for Northgate have been in the works for more than 20 years.

An initial scheme fell down as a result of the financial crisis in 2008, and a department store focused-project ended when the store pulled out.

Work started on the latest plans in 2020.

Councillor Nathan Pardoe said all elements of the scheme support each other

"The point of Northgate was to create a destination in the centre of Chester and to reflect the change of retail over the years," said Nathan Pardoe, Cheshire West and Chester Council's cabinet member for regeneration.

"Northgate itself was the biggest construction project in the centre of Chester for 40 years. To say it was ambitious is an understatement but it's all worked out.

In terms of the lower income, he continued: "I think in a new scheme it's expected there may be bumps on the way, but with the cinema opening now you can see the mix and sustainability.

"You've got the individual components and they all come online at different times and what we end up with is the destination.

"Each individual element helps, but collectively they do support each other."

The council is now looking at the next phase of the project, which is set to include a residential element and should move forward in 2024.

Why not follow BBC North West on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram? You can also send story ideas to [e-mail]