Grade II-listed Chester site to become hotel and spa

Plans to convert an historic building in Chester into a boutique hotel and spa have been given the green light.

Planners at Cheshire West and Chester have rubber-stamped an application for the Grade II-listed Park House on Lower Bridge Street which will see a new hotel with 19 rooms developed.

According to the plans, internal remodelling will see a new reception area with access through the main entrance via Lower Bridge Street. There will be with a mix of two-bedroom suites, double rooms and deluxe king rooms, all of which will be en-suite.

The application submitted by Angelo Esposito also includes plans for a hotel spa with private access for guests, featuring a reception area, treatment rooms, changing facilities, a sauna and jacuzzi room. There will also be a new shop with direct access from Lower Bridge Street.

The three-storey Georgian style house  was built in 1717 and had that has had a number of uses over the years, including as a town house for Elizabeth Booth -granddaughter of George Booth.

It was later as a licensed premises, library and as the Talbot and Albion hotels, during which time te Duke of Wellington was known to have stayed. Most recently the building has been used as offices.

A design and access statement submitted in support said: “The current building remains inefficient and unsuitable to the applicant’s business needs. “The overall intent was to achieve a development that is fit for purpose, sustainable in the long-term and better represents the quality of the
existing historic building.”

It said the proposals had been designed to ‘carefully and considerately’ respond to both its listed status and the surrounding environment to provide additional tourism accommodation.

By Mark Smith – Local Democracy Reporter