• August

The Fit Collective opened in the Northgate development. The local boutique fitness studio took on a newly fitted out 2,600 sq ft unit facing St. Martins Way. The city lost Revolution on Foregate street, one of 12 bars closed by the chain. They lost me when they told me I had to pay via an app. Tip Top Productions made a triumphant return to Storyhouse’s Garret theatre with the ever popular Bouncers.

The dinosaurs also made their return with another crowd pleasing free event. Their return coincided with an anti racism demonstration which saw a small group parading through the city spreading a message of racial equality, which strangely seemed to upset quite a few people.

Making Tracks returned to Chester Cathedral for the 4th time, with Pete Waterman and his team delighting model railway fans once again. The Chester Pride event was its usual colourful self with a packed city centre enjoying the parade, and Lord Mayor, the returning Razia Daniels posing for an iconic photo with the Cheeky Girls.

A giant Hamster was spotted on Watergate street at the end of the month, with the giant creation later being wheeled through the city to raise funds for Prostrate cancer.

• September

New Chester Market held its first ever quiz, with nearly £400 raised for the Alzheimer’s society.

Usher’s Bakehouse opened on Lightfoot Street to great acclaim and frequent sell outs. The venue is the latest project from Gary Usher, founder of Elite Bistros, which includes Sticky Walnut, Hoole and The White Horse in Churton as part of it’s hospitality empire.

The Second Floor announced their closure after 6 years. As co owner Kimberley Anderson commented “people moan about wanting indies” but frequently don’t shop at them. The unit was quickly filled by a yoga studio. Kimberly moved her business online and co owner Carrie opened her Junkbox store in Rufus Court. Sainsburys Local was another retail casualty, no doubt affected by the new Tesco round the corner and access issues with no rows entrance.

Countess Country Park marked its 10th anniversary with a community celebration attending by the Deputy Lord Lieutenant  of Cheshire and Chester Zoo Chief Executive Jamie Christon. The park was originally opened by (the now) Queen Camilla in 2014. Andy Scargill, Chair of the Friends of the Countess of Chester Country Park, said:   “The country park has been a cherished part of our local landscape for the past 10 years, serving as a peaceful retreat for hospital staff, patients and the local community.

Social media star Sophie Tea visited the Share Shop as part of her charity shop visits where she paints an item she purchases and transforms it into a work of art. During her visit, she was given an insight into how the team at SHARE supports the homeless community in the area. She painted at SHARE’s re-store project, which sees rough sleepers, and people in temporary accommodation restoring furniture and creating community art projects.

A night with the Street angels highlighted the important work done by this group of caring dedicated volunteers. Acting as an unpaid emergency service the Angels help anyone that needs support on nights out, providing plasters, flip flops, water and practical and emotional support. https://thechesterblog.com/2024/10/02/a-night-with-the-street-angels/

The Dollectable store on Bridge street closed and the building was put up for sale. Famous for its spooky doll window displays, the Chester icon will be missed, particularly by the Dark Chester Tour which featured the shop on their walking tours.

• October

Film crews rocked up in Handbridge without permits to close the road resulting in their vintage vehicles being ticketed. The moderately friendly crew were giving nothing away about who was filming ,with Daniel Day Lewis and Sean Bean rumoured. The film was revealed as Anemone, a new feature co-written by triple Oscar-winner Day-Lewis and his 26-year-old son Ronan. The uproar made the BBC news.

Paddington Bear arrived in Chester, one of the simplest and best additions to the city in recent years. Part of a trail of Bear statues across the UK and Ireland which celebrates the release of Paddinhgton in Peru, Paddington took a seat on a bench at the far end of Foregate Street ( close to That Beer Place) and was immediately embraced by the local community. The arrival caused a great buzz and queues for photographs soon formed. A long term addition , funded by Chester BID, Paddington bought joy to a sometimes unloved part of town

A series of optimistic new openings continued to provide hope for the often derided Chester High Street. Canteen Sandwiches on Werburgh street were set to be joined next door by Brook Taverner menswear. On Bridge street row Gnome and Away announced their return, and Oliver Brown menswear revealed their first shop outside London on Eastgate row. Adding to this Mountain Warehouse made another return, investing in the 2 floored former Virgin Megastore. In 2024 Greggs, Holland and Barrett and Reiss all recieved store refurbishments, indicating that confidence in Chester remained high.

Chester Residents Conference took place, embracing the spirit of working together to make Chester a better place. Some interesting revelations included the University’s potential interest in the long empty Quick’s garage eyesore building on lower bridge street, and BIG Heritage’s prospective new visitor attraction. Speaking about the launch of the new One City Plan. Cllr Richard Beacham commented: “We are all here because we love Chester. Whilst we don’t always agree on how to do things, we all know that we want to get things done”

University of Chester graduate, Alex Novacki went a step closer to her goal of creating a major breakthrough fashion house in the north after a highly-acclaimed runway show at The Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool.

The schedule of repairs for the collapsed wall was revealed with the project set for completion in the summer of 2026, 6 and a half years since the catastrophe…

• November

The new Monopoly game was launched at Chester Zoo, an event that united various community and charity groups , with Kidsbank and Hoole Community Centre prominent on the board. The perfect Cestrian Christmas gift, but in some places thematically off- a Chester without Storyhouse scarcely bears thinking about.

Rowvember was a surprise addition to the calendar with another programme of free events including walking tours and choir performances. Highlights included a walk exploring the retail history of the rows and a Gothic Chester walk by Dark Chester’s David Atkinson.

Turtle Bay finally opened, as did Rooftop Social- with Chester finally getting its rooftop bar. New retailers Soctopus. Scribble and Dolly Craft all opened in the city centre. The Flat Earth bar was a fun new addition and Salt House Tapas took over the Boheme unit

Christmas at the Castle at the end of November was an early Christmas treat, attracting many visitors to a living history event at the Castle site, with everything from WW1 soldiers, Santa and the medieval doctor represented. A brilliant event from English Heritage and a team of volunteers- fingers crossed that the Castle will continue to see events of this calibre in 2025.

December bought the usual programme of festive events, parades and markets, as well as the return of the giant bauble. The now fully occupied New Chester Market celebrated its 5 millionth customer in just 2 years. On Northgate street, the ever busy Chatwin’s ceased trading on Christmas Eve. Will they return at a new location in the city ?

We saved the best news of the year for last with the confirmation that Harrods Beauty had submitted a planning application for one part of the Browns building. The prestigious new tenant will give the Chester high street a massive boost, partially filling the void left in 2021 and likely attracting further new businesses to the surrounding area, creating footfall for the rows and shopping centre. They chose Chester over Liverpool, Manchester, York, Wrexham. Don’t believe when *Elsie from Handbridge says Chester is dead. we are on the crest of a wave.

*name chosen at random, no relation to any real person

Thanks to everyone who made 2024 another memorable year : Against the Grain, Chester Little Theatre, Disley theatrical productions, Chester Visual Arts, Fallen Angels, Share Shop, BIG Heritage, Chester Pride, Russell Kirk, Jen McAndrew, Chester BID, Storyhouse, Chester Cathedral, Grosvenor Museum, Grosvenor Shopping Centre, Izzy Grey, and many many others.