Chester’s New History Centre receives planning permission

Planning permission has been granted for a new History Centre to be built at the site of the former Enterprise Centre, Hoole Road, Chester.

Cheshire Archives and Local Studies, a shared service of Cheshire West and Chester Council and Cheshire East Council look after the county’s unique and irreplaceable written and pictorial history, their plans are to rehouse the archives in two new state-of-the-art history centres in Chester and Crewe.

The National Lottery Heritage Fund is contributing £4.45m, which has been made possible through money raised by National Lottery players, allowing for construction of the centres to go ahead.

The funding from the Heritage Fund not only contributes towards the new facilities but will help the service to fund a programme of new activities across the county until March 2027.

‘Cheshire’s archives: a story shared’, aims to transform the way the archives service works and give local people greater access to the collections and opportunities to interact with them more easily helping them to celebrate their personal and communities’ histories.

Councillor Louise Gittins, Leader of Cheshire West and Chester Council said: “The City of Chester has preserved the precious archives for 70 years in their current location. These archives are of both local and national importance, recording the history of the county over the last 900 years. Some highlights include the archives of the city of Chester which reflect its historic position at the crossroads of the British Isles, with links to Ireland and North Wales from the south

“The current location is no longer able to meet the expectation and requirements of the many people who access the service. This is an exciting project working in partnership with Cheshire East Council that will allow us to move forward to revolutionise access to a wider audience and protect the collection for future generations. I am sure that as this project now moves to the construction phase, we will be sharing our joint experiences with authorities across the country.

“Planning permission is the next important milestone for this project. The new History Centre will also help to improve outreach and our digital programme, extending access to the archives across Cheshire and further afield.  There will be better spaces for staff and volunteers to work with the collections, more spaces for research, performances and exhibitions, and opportunities to develop and exchange skills.”

Cheshire East Council will be considering the planning application for the History Centre on the site of Crewe’s former library, next to Memorial Square on 15 March and subject to planning permission, work to build the centres is expected to begin in autumn 2023 and finish in winter 2025.

To view the plans for the history centre in Chester, visit: 

https://pa.cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk/online-applications/ 

...and search for application reference: 22/04233/FUL

Details of the planning application for the history centre in Crewe can be found by visiting: cheshireeast.gov.uk/planning and searching for application reference 22/4451N.

There is also a separate planning application for the civic and cultural space regeneration project (application 22/4472N), which is part of a package of projects being progressed following Cheshire East Council’s successful £14.1m bid to the government’s Future High Streets Fund and is also supported through Crewe’s allocation of up to £22.9m from the government’s Towns Fund. This project would deliver the first phase of a new high-quality public space in the town centre.

More information can also be found at: 

Crewe History Centre (cheshireeast.gov.uk)

About the Cheshire Archives:

Cheshire Archives & Local Studies identifies, collects and cares for archives and publications that are the evidence of Cheshire communities’ lives past and present. We deliver access for all to our collections for information, learning and enjoyment and work to make sure archives survive so that future generations will be able to do the same.

http://www.cheshirearchives.org.uk

About The National Lottery Heritage Fund:

Using money raised by the National Lottery, we Inspire, lead and resource the UK’s heritage to create positive and lasting change for people and communities, now and in the future. 

www.heritagefund.org.uk

Follow @HeritageFundUK on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram and use #NationalLotteryHeritageFund.

Since The National Lottery began in 1994, National Lottery players have raised over £43 billion for projects and more than 635,000 grants have been awarded across the UK. More than £30 million raised each week goes to good causes across the UK.

Pictured - Chester History Centre - Artist's impression.