Jill Houlbrook is a former local councillor. She served as Lord Mayor in 2013-14. These are her suggestions for improving Chester

• The council has gone some way to ‘greening’ the borough but more can be done to make better use of our green spaces. Too many areas where nature is managing on its own are cut back, for example Shed Lane and wide verges where wildflowers and wild growth are established already. CWaC has lots of small green spaces which are not used to their full advantage. For example The Cockpit and Lodge Gardens where community gardening – grow and use fruit and vegetables had started in a small way. Open up the River Dee as a better resource. Grosvenor Park was designed to showcase the Dee but that is now not evident. The river is a vital part of our City history and this needs to be celebrated. This should include the story Aethelflaed of Mercia who is largely ignored. This part the Dee played in the story of Chester is to a large extent hidden and there is so much to be discovered. https://chesterwalls.info/river2.html Interpretation boards are needed, and a lido would open the river to swimmers. Chester hosts the oldest regatta of its kind in the world and yet it is overshadowed by Chester Races and not recognised like Henley. https://www.chesterregatta.org/history.html I feel the opportunity to bring visitors and commercial opportunities to Chester will be hugely increased if the profile of the regatta is enhanced and given a permanent city centre site.

• The plans for the wetlands scheme at the Countess of Chester Country Park have been laid for several years. They reached the design stage two years ago and the expectation was the wetland would be opened in 2025. Clearly this will not happen. The various parties involved need to find a new impetus and urgently move on with this vital environmentally important scheme.

• The Shropshire Union Canal runs through the heart of our City. For many years the area from the canal basin to Hoole Locks has been deteriorating. There is so much work to improve the walls and the surrounding areas that needs to be undertaken, cleaning, removing the graffiti and making good repairs. I have long felt that the canal from Cow Lane Bridge to Hoole Lane Bridge should be opened up and marketed as a corridor for leisure. There are businesses which are thriving here but so much more could be done to bring the area to life.

• Turning now to the Civic life of Chester. We are privileged to have a Lord Mayor and Sheriff for the City of Chester. The Shrievalty is the oldest in the country. The civics ( as they are known) are the province of the Chester Charter Trustees. Along with our civics Chester has our amazing gothic style Town Hall. I would like to see more use made of the Town Hall and for it and the Civics to be brought more into the limelight. For example why not open the Town Hall every time there is a market in Chester? A small donation to the Lord Mayor’s Charity for visitors to enjoy a guided tour or a wonder around the building. Currently the gates are closed too often and it is sad to see potential visitors looking through them rather than enjoying what is on the other side.

• Not everyone is impressed by the New Chester Market and the surrounding development but I do like both. However I am disappointed by the lack of enterprise in the use of Exchange Square. Day to day it is barren and uninviting. I wonder why a Council which supports reducing the number of vehicles coming into Chester and concerned about air quality allows car manufactures to advertise their vehicles in this space? I notice that the lovely wooden planters and seating previously on the Town Hall square are languishing behind locked gates on Princess Street. Why not use them to enhance Exchange Square and put them back in front of the Town Hall? Exchange Square is an idea space for performance and art. The whole area should be more vibrant and fun.

• Lower Bridge Street is a main route from the centre of Chester to the river and the groves. Many councils over the years have ignored and tried to shore up the wonderful St Olave’s church. The original building acknowledged the connection with Scandinavia another part of our multifaceted history. It ceased to be a church in 1972 but was used as a community centre and in the 1980 as a base for a programme to teach adults literacy skills. It is time for Chester to bite the bullet and look at raising funds to repair and reinstate this amazing building and to deal with the eyesore next door to it. I would like to see the return of the finger posts and directional signs in the City to the original metal black and gold style and restore the remaining signs.

• The modern blue signs on steel posts are not in keeping with an historic city. There are several highly visible signs welcoming visitors to Chester for example on Liverpool Road. These should be restored/ updated and kept clean. First impressions are so important. Often it is the little things that count.

The River Dee, Chester

This page of ‘Chester: a Virtual Stroll Around the Walls’ discusses the River Dee, Grosvenor Park, the Suspension Bridge, the Groves and the Meadows