A new 62-room aparthotel is planned for Chester city centre, with a section of it above the McDonald's fast food restaurant.

Applicant JBSL Holdings has lodged plans for the hotel, planned to span 46-52 Foregate Street, to Cheshire West and Chester Council.

Currently, the ground floors of the buildings are occupied by, from left to right on street level, McDonald's, Deichmann (formerly HMV) and Bodycare (formerly Game).

As part of the plans, Deichmann would close its doors on the Foregate Street site when its lease ends, planning documents revealed, while Bodycare would relinquish its unused first and second floors and continue trading on the ground floor. McDonald's would continue trading as normal on the ground and first floors.

Planning consultants Washbourne Consulting Ltd, on behalf of the applicant, said the upper floors of all the buildings were mostly unused, storage areas.

As part of the transformation, there would be alterations to the front and rear, for aparthotel access, plus a roof extension.

In a planning statement, the consultants said: "The proposed aparthotel will bring a significant number of serviced hotel rooms to the bustling Foregate Street, offering a convenient and premium option for those who wish to stay in a serviced apartment in the city centre.

"There is a demand for this offering in the historic heart of the city centre, which our scheme seeks to provide.

"The scheme proposal in Chester's city centre aims to address the gap in the market for aparthotels that offer a higher numbers of serviced rooms and additional amenities, such as a gym.

"Whilst Chester has several hotels, serviced apartments and short-stay accommodation (via AirBnB and Vrbo), many of them are not located in the heart of the historic city centre (which we consider to be in and around Eastgate Clock and Foregate Street) and do not offer the range of amenities that our proposed aparthotel will provide.

"JBSL and the project team have developed the design scheme alongside guidance provided by sector specialists in tourism accommodation, who have advised that Chester is a prime growth location for hotels, and our central Foregate Street location with dual access and parking / FM [facilities management] deliveries is ideal.

"Further, the provision of one-bed serviced rooms, alongside some two-bed serviced rooms, will be welcomed by the market."

The planning statement adds the supply of one-bed short-stay accommodation in Chester is "not matching the demand".

A total of 58 of the 62 rooms in the hotel would be one-bed, while the on-site gym would be exclusive to aparthotel guests and staff. The Priory Place rear yard would be reconfigured to provide six car parking spaces, one of which would be a disabled space. There would also be eight cycle parking spaces in a secure cycle store yard; six for the aparthotel, two for existing retail/restaurant occupants.

The plans come as the site of the former Mecca Bingo hall is to be converted into a 142-bedroom hotel after proposals were approved.

Separately, plans for another hotel in Frodsham Street, which would have taken the former Poundland site, appear to have hit the buffers, as the 11-13 Frodsham Street property is back on the market 'due to abortive negotiations'.

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