Silver Quarter, Victrix Quarter, Lion Yards or Market Yards: the developer wants a name for Northgate Phase 2, and its revised plan keeps Merchant House.

The next phase of Chester Northgate needs a new name, and the developer has put four on the table. They are The Silver Quarter, The Victrix Quarter, Lion Yards and Market Yards.

The shortlist is part of a revised masterplan that ION Developments and VINCI published on the scheme’s consultation website after last week’s exhibition. The plan covers the land around the former Forum shopping centre and council offices, behind the Town Hall. The council says the scheme would bring more than 400 homes, including affordable housing, into the city centre.

The quick answer

  • What: a revised masterplan and four possible names for Northgate Phase 2.
  • What changed: Merchant House would be kept and converted to homes, the old line of Crook Street returns as a walking route, and the cultural building on Town Hall Square is now a firm part of the plan.
  • What happens next: the developer says it will consult again before a planning application. Its timeline puts that consultation in summer 2027.
  • How to comment: the online feedback form, or 0800 089 0362. No closing date is published.

Why a new name

“Northgate 2” was only ever a working title. The developer’s welcome page gives its reasons for dropping it. Northgate is the name of a street, it has been used for the whole regeneration programme, and it is also tied to Northgate Arena, which is some distance away. The new quarter is meant to be a neighbourhood people live in, so the team wants a name of its own.

The four ideas, and the developer’s reasoning for each:

Name Where it comes from, according to the developer
The Silver Quarter Chester’s assay office and silversmiths, which it says stood in the middle of the site
The Victrix Quarter Legio XX Valeria Victrix, the Roman legion based at Chester. The name came from a workshop with a local college
Lion Yards The lions in Chester’s civic heraldry
Market Yards The site’s history as a place of trade, next to the market

The developer also asks for other suggestions, and for views on what should inspire the name: heritage, the future, or something else.

What has changed since May

The first round of engagement ran in May and closed on 19 June. The developer says 86% of those who responded backed new homes in the city centre. It has not published how many people that was.

Its masterplan page sets out the changes made since. The main ones are:

  • Merchant House stays. “Instead of demolishing it, we propose to keep the existing structure of Merchants House, re-clad it and convert it to new homes,” the developer says.
  • Crook Street comes back. The historic line of the street is reintroduced as a new pedestrian route through the site.
  • Princess Street gets front doors. New duplex flats with their own entrances would line it.
  • The area behind the Town Hall opens up as new landscaped space.
  • The cultural building is now an anchor. In May it was an “initial proposal”. The developer now calls it “a key anchor of the masterplan”, on Town Hall Square, with exhibition, performance and community space.
  • Courtyards and play. A series of public and private courtyards, play built into the streets, and planting aimed at a measurable biodiversity net gain.
Aerial view of the revised Northgate Phase 2 masterplan, showing new blocks and green courtyards between Princess Street, the Town Hall, Northgate Street, Watergate Street and St Martins Way, with Hamilton Place running through the middle.
The revised masterplan layout, between Princess Street, the Town Hall and Watergate Street. Image: ION Developments and VINCI, via chesternorthgate2.co.uk

The site sits on the former Roman administrative centre and inside an Area of Archaeological Importance. The developer says it is preparing a programme of archaeological mitigation, and that views from the City Walls and the Cathedral have been tested so that taller buildings do not block landmarks.

What people asked for, and the developer’s answer

The developer’s summary of the May feedback says parking was “the point raised most often”. Its answer so far is that it is “reviewing the parking strategy, including accessible and visitor parking”. It gives no numbers.

People also asked for homes for long-term residents rather than short lets, student housing or HMOs. The developer says it is “prioritising homes for long-term residents”. It has not yet published a mix of flats and houses, or an affordable housing figure.

What it means for you

This is still engagement on a masterplan, not a planning application. There is nothing to object to or support formally yet, which is also why the plans can still change.

  • To suggest a name or comment on the layout, use the feedback form. You do not have to give personal details.
  • If parking or the type of homes matters to you, these are the two areas where the developer has given direction but no figures, so this round is the time to say so.
  • The formal stage comes later. The developer expects to consult again ahead of a planning application, which its timeline puts in summer 2027.

We first reported the plans when the October exhibition was announced. Our Chester planning news page tracks the district’s biggest schemes, and we will report the application when it is lodged.