Chester City FC For Sale
30.11.08
Chester City FC owner Steve Vaughan has put the club up for sale. A statement on the clubs website reads:
“Chester City Board of Directors today announced that City owner Stephen Vaughan has put the club up for sale and will continue to sponsor the club until a suitable buyer is found.”
Vaughan added: “It is with great regret that I’ve had to put the club up for sale, but with the attendances dropping alarmingly and the level of commercial income also reducing, it is becoming more and more difficult to sustain a club at this level of football.”
Visit Chester FC's Offcial Web Site
Chester's Radio Station teams up with Shopping Centre for Appeal
23.11.08
Chester's radio station, Dee 106.3 has teamed up with the Forum Shopping Centre in the city for the Toys and Tins Appeal. Chester's local businesses and shoppers will be able to donate toys and tins, that will be distributed to children and the elderly in Chester via specially constructed donation boxes located in the Forum Shopping Centre and in the reception area of the radio station.
Chester small business tailors for Football Giants
26.10.08
Mike Morris' new visiting tailor service (Distinction Tailoring) has big fans at Anfield. When he was called in to tailor suits for the entire Liverpool FC squad, he received orders from Rafael Benitez and Jamie Carragher for original bespoke suits. Sammy Lee liked the red and white tie Mike was wearing so much he put in an order for 47 of them.
New Sport Shop Opens in Chester
18.10.08
With so many shops in Chester city centre vacant, it's refreshing to see an exciting new shop opening up. Former Chester City FC play Mark Cadwallader and his brother John have kicked off their new specialist boutique sports shop in Rufus Court, off Foregate Street.
Football Bootique specialises in providing high-end merchandise for teams and individuals. They even provide three ranges seperate ranges of hand-made football boots.
Former Liverpool star Danny Murphy will cut the ribbon at the shops opening ceremony.
College Given Go Ahead For New Buildings
05.10.08
West Cheshire College has been given the go-ahead for two new-build projects, costing more than £41m.
Planning permission has been granted for the buildings at the college’s Ellesmere Port campus and on the Handbridge campus in Chester.
Construction work is scheduled to start in March 2009, with the buildings being ready in time for the new academic year in 2011.
Chester's 'Plastic Bag Free Day'
03.10.08
Saturday 18th October 2008 has been declared Chester’s first ever ‘Plastic Bag Free Day’. The event is part of a Chester-wide ‘Carry-a-Bag’ campaign, which aims to reduce the number of plastic bags handed out by retailers in favour of eco-friendly alternatives.
Retailers who sign up for the initiative will not give out any plastic bags for a day and will instead have the option of providing their customers with free Bags-For-Life supplied by Cheshire Waste Partnership. The event will be promoted with a stall in Town Hall Square, where recycling officers and volunteers from Friends of the Earth will offer information and ideas to shoppers who are keen to help the environment.
Free Car Parking Scheme Extended
27.09.08
Businesses in Chester city centre will receive a much welcome boost after Chester City Council agreed to extend the successful 'Free after Three' parking scheme until 2009. The scheme will also include an extra car park.
Aimed at maintaining a thriving and busy city centre all day, the initiatve began in July 2008 and within weeks increased footfall in Chester by more than 20 per cent. The scheme was due to end in October, but following a review and online survey has now been extended to March 31st 2009.
The scheme allows shoppers to park for free after 3pm at city council-run car parks on Princess Street and Gorse Stacks and after the council’s executive move has been extended to include St Anne’s Street car park, behind Brook Street in Chester.
Grosvenor's Liverpool One second phase to be opened by Princess Royal
Phase Two of Grosvenor Estate's Liverpool One centre is due to be opened by Princess Anne on Wednesday 1st October 2008. The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh attended the 'topping out' ceremony a week before Phase One opened to the public in May. The offical grand opening of Europe's biggest retail development will commence at 12pm.
Chester Businesses Invitited To Help Shape Car Parking Policy
Earlier this year residents and businesses in Chester were invited by the City Council to share ideas on how to tackle diminishing footfall in Chester City Centre. The result was a three month car parking scheme called 'Free After 3', with free car parking offered in two of Chester's car parks. Now that the scheme is nearing the end of it's three month trial, Chester City Council is inviting listeners of Chester's Radio Station Dee 106.3 to comment on the scheme's effectiveness.
The results of an online poll Roodee Web Design are managing on behalf of the radio station will be presented to the executive at Chester Town Hall on Thursday 18th September 2008. If you would like to share your experiences or opinions of the 'Free After 3' scheme, please click here.
Civil Parking Enforcement In Chester
Chester City Council is expected to reveal decriminalised parking will hit the city's streets from Wednesday 12th November 2008. The new arrangements, known as civil parking enforcements, will see additional staff recruited to patrol Chester.
Parking Services Manager David Bennett says he does not want the district to be get a reputation for over-zealous ticketing.
The introduction of civil parking enforcements follows the City Council's recent 'Free After Three' free car parking campaign, introduced to woo visitors back to Chester's shops.
New Head For Chester Business School
The University of Chester has appointed a newhead of Chester Business School.
Chris Pyke, who is also Acting Dean of the Faculty of Business, Enterprise and Lifelong Learning, is a specialist in corporate financial management and strategic business management.
Chester to be movie capital of the North West
Cheshire Film Office has moved from Warrington to new offices at Chester Railway Station. The office will promote Chester as an ideal location for lucrative tv and film productions.
£43 million was invested in the region in 2007 to encourage production companies to film in the North West.
Dee 106.3 to help open Chester's newest Tesco store
Chester's radio station and client of Roodee Web Design, Dee 106.3 will help to launch the brand new Tesco store on Sealand Road on Monday 11th August 2008. The new store occupies the site previously home to Kwik Save and Cooltrader.
Accelerated Business Learning
The University of Chester has launched a new flexible programme to help business professionals gain a degree qualification.
The part-time Master of Business Administration degree (MBA) will be delivered at the universities' Warrington Campus over two years.
Starting in September, the programme is available to anyone with a degree or equivalent qualification, or relevant experience in a managerial position.
Chester Railway Station £1.5 million development
20th July 2008
As part of a £1.5 million development scheme, a new ticket office and new toilets have opened at Chester railway station. The new office will have much better access for the scores of passengers and business commuters who use the station.
Chester Station has been undergoing a major refurbishment, courtesy of the Chester Gateway Partnership, which embraces several bodies.
Work is continuing on the development, which will also include a new travel information centre, shops and a café.
New Office Suites launched in Chester
13th July 2008
Big Storage, on Sealand Road in Chester has just launched a range of office suites that can grow with your business.
The offices range from 200sq ft up to 1,000sq ft.
They are said to be ideal for businesses looking to operate in a professional environment, without having to pay the premium rates in the city centre.
The units are suitable for a wide range of businesses, but are especially suited to those selling online, fulfilling orders, and mail order businesses.
'Chester - It's Free after Three'
Chester businesses, backed by the City Council are set to launched an innovative campaign to woo Chester residents back into the shops.
“Chester – It’s Free After Three” will provide parking for free in selected council car parks in the later afternoon and evening.
The move is a response to research, aided by Chester Radio Station Dee 106.3 who polled listeners on why Chester was not being used by residents as much as in the past. The research indicated that after 3pm, only 2% of people in the city centre are Chester residents shopping.
While people in nearby cities suchas Liverpool and Manchester continue shopping, visitors in Chester are said to be keen to leave before the rush-hour traffic.
New marketing manager at The Mall Chester
Congratulations to Sharon Boddy, a former freelnace marketeer, who has been appointed by the Mall Chester shopping centre to the role of marketing manager.
Sharon will be responsible for handling communications for the Mall’s 76 tenants.
Sharon, who joins the Mall Chester from a role in marketing at Ellison, the Wrexham-based card making company, has enjoyed a career in retail, point of sale, and the media.
Business Link Bumper Numbers
A record number of businesses across the North West accessed Business Link’s service in the first year of it's restructured NorthWest operation, adding £72m to the wealth of Cheshire and Warrington’s economy.
Business Link restructured their operations in the North West in April 2007, when five sub-regional offices were combined to create Business Link Northwest.
Chester City Council announce 32 redundancies
As part of a drive to secure budget cuts, 32 staff have been made redundant by the city council in Chester and have already cleared their desks.
The affected staff were offered enhanced terms as part of a time-limited package in February, with the intention they would go by the end of May.
The biggest single staff cuts are in corporate administration and business support, with the equivalent of five full-time posts going.
Posts affected include those involved in development co-ordination, the Northgate Development team, corporate fraud and debt.
The cost of the redundancies is believed to be £1,106,000. With annual savings of £944,000, this means the redundancies will pay for themselves in just over a year.
Hoole Bridge Could Be Widened
A feasability study is to be carried out on whether to widen the Hoole Bridge.
It's after a notice of motion from a chester councillor which calls for pedestrians and traffic to be separated.
There are fears that the Hoole Bridge is too narrow and could be dangerous for those walking over it.
County Councillor Peter Byrne called for the investigation. He says it's an accident waiting to happen.
The Hoole Bridge was closed to traffic heading into and out of Chester as major works were carried out to it in 2008.