Appendix L Chester Characterisation and Vacancy Assessment continued Grosvenor Shopping Centre

The Grosvenor Shopping Centre is a covered shopping centre integrated into the two-level Rows system with entrances at street level on Eastgate Street and Row level on Bridge Street. Access is also provided at Pepper Street which acts as the Shopping Centre’s main frontage. The Grosvenor Shopping Centre, once a Victorian shopping arcade, was extended in the 1960s.

The Grosvenor Shopping Centre at its Bridge Street entrance incorporates St Michael’s Row. The occupiers at St Michael’s can be considered high-end retailers with occupiers such as Hugo Boss prevalent. The shopfront at St Michael’s Row are uniform with a consistent gold colouring with wooden entrance doors, stall risers, and facias. Each unit has a projecting sign in the same style and gold colouring. There is a glass ceiling which creates a light, airy space. The overall character of St Michael’s Row is of a high-quality and attractive retail arcade. However, there are notable vacant units which causes a lack of activity which undermines the provision.

St Michael’s Row makes way for St Michael’s Square which is the main area within the Grosvenor Shopping Centre. The square is not well-lit which creates a dark space in contrast to St Michael’s Row. National brands are prevalent at St Michael’s Square including H&M and TK Maxx, reflecting the larging floorplates available.

Newgate Row links St Michael’s Square to Eastgate Street, the shopping centre’s entrance to the north. This section of the shopping centre is well occupied with a variety of retailers present. Newgate Row benefits from a glass ceiling which creates a similar light, airy space similar to St Michael’s Row. However, the shopping frontages at Newgate Row are not uniform and vary in quality

Access from Pepper Street is via Paddock Row. Paddock Row is lacking in activity with much of the provision devoted to management facilities without active frontages. This creates the dynamic of a corridor, a vacant space between Pepper Street and the retail provision at St Michael’s Square.

The Grosvenor Shopping Centre is predominantly occupied by retail provision, with 66% of provision devoted to retail. 21% of units at the shopping centre are vacant including large units formerly occupied by Topman and Dorothy Perkins.

Although 21% of units are vacant, in terms of floorspace, the vast majority of the shopping centre is vacant following the closure of Debenhams on the 12th of May 2021. The Debenhams department store formerly operated over 5 floors and had a notable frontage on Eastgate Street. The department store was accessed from St Michael’s Square and Newgate Row. The closure of Debenhams is a significant loss to the Grosvenor Centre with it not only reducing footfall but with it also having a detrimental impact on the appearance and character of the shopping centre with the department store unit evident from a number of different vantage points.