Chester Liberal Democrats are disgusted that the Council has sought and gained approval from the Secretary of state to demolish rather than save the Enterprise centre, which was the original warehouse yards for the railway station. This over turns a previous planning application that was rejected by a committee of its own councillors! How very democratic, when you don't get your way, go round it.
Mark Williams, local campaigner says “The Councils plan only seems to be to flatten it and use it as a car park until such time as they can sell it off. I do admit that Hoole needs a car park to alleviate shoppers and commuters parking in side roads but could we not have of had some vision and foresight to save the building as part of a development project working with network rail to build a two storey car park and a new footbridge? It will be a sad day when it’s demolished and yet another lost opportunity for Hoole residents to get a new footbridge!”
How far down the track is this demolition? According to the CWAC Planning website, the status is :- ‘LBC SOS Consent Decision’. I presume that SOS means Secretary of State, but what does LBC mean?
Given that the land is owned by Network Rail (according to the planning application) but that CWAC asked for the demolition, who benefits?
Network rail have, by their rightly rejected submission for a hideous 9 storey park on the other side of the tracks, already acknowledged that they need more car parking space. You could get at least 3 if not 4 levels of parking within the shell of that building, preserving something of the heritage and fulfilling a need for better parking and an additional foot/ cycle bridge to the station.
Clearly there would have to be major road improvements onto Hoole Road, but nothing is impossible.
I guess that what it comes down to is that the land is more valuable for housing development than for car parking?
Can anyone tell me what ‘LBC’ means in this context
I guess that LBC probably refers to Listed Building and Conservation area. Its shocking that they are using the Fire Damage as excuse to demolish an LBC!
This building was an eye sore before the fire and obviously is a lot worse now. I have to live next to it (Thomas Brassey Close), not like the idiots above who drone on their nonsence about heritage.
If you ask the people who live around it, nobody wants it to be made into a car park, it just means we will get even more problems with people who do not want to pay blocking up the side streets and the residents parking areas. Knock it down and build something new and useful there there, not a car park!