Appendix L Chester Characterisation and Vacancy Assessment continued

Pepper Street

Pepper Street forms the southern section of the ring road and as a result the street is dominated by vehicular traffic. Much of Pepper Street’s historic fabric was lost during street-widening to accommodate the ring road.

St Michael’s Church and the Travelodge are notable landmark features at the Pepper Street / Bridge Street junction. The Grosvenor Centre has a modern elevation at the centre of Pepper Street which, along with the ‘NCP Chester Pepper Street’ car park, is described as a key detractor in the Chester Characterisation Study.

There are four large food and beverage premises opposite the Grosvenor Centre frontage on the southern side of Pepper Street, two of which are vacant. One of these premises is the Grade II Listed Former Methodist New Connexion Chapel which is currently occupied by Opera Grill. These premises feel isolated from the main retail core of Chester, separated by the vehicle dominated Pepper Street and with pedestrian crossings away from the units at Newgate or the Pepper Street / Bridge Street junction.

Newgate House is located to the east of the Grosvenor Centre and is considered a Building of Merit. It is currently in use as offices and a drinking establishment.

The units fronting Pepper Street generally have large floorplates and are currently occupied (or have been previously) by national brands which are a common feature of many UK highstreets including All Bar One, Las Iguanas, and Piccolinos.

Despite many of the units at Pepper Street being occupied by food and beverage establishments, the street lacks any real character due to the vehicle dominated ring road, and as a result does not feel like a destination in its own right. The street has a transient feel, with the ring road facilitating movement to other areas of the city centre.

Table 5 below denotes the breakdown of uses at Pepper Street. There remains a retail presence on Pepper Street, with 27% of units consisting of a retail function. However, vacant units are the defining feature of Pepper Street, in part due to the large footprint of these units and location at the centre of the street.