The empty Aldous Books unit on Godstall Lane, Chester, could become a small bar open noon to midnight, with three part-time staff. Comments close 20 November.

The former Aldous Books shop on Godstall Lane in Chester could reopen as a bar. An application to change the use of the empty unit was validated by Cheshire West and Chester Council on 6 October.

The application, 26/03211/FUL, covers Unit 2, The Bond, 12-14 Godstall Lane. It asks to switch the unit from shop use (Class E) to a bar (sui generis). It is awaiting a decision.

What the plans say

The applicant’s planning, design and access statement describes a bar “with a small seating area”. Its key points:

  • No outside changes apart from signage, which would need its own advert consent
  • Cosmetic work only inside
  • Three part-time staff, according to the application form
  • Floor area of 98 square metres, the form says

The statement says the lane had only two shops left, Atlas of Dreams and Aldous Books, and that both have stopped trading. Aldous Books is the application site.

It lists the other businesses on the lane as Backstage, Little Yellow Pig, Duttons, Metronome and The Botanist, all bars, cafes or restaurants. The applicant argues a bar would bring “an existing dead frontage back into productive use”.

Opening hours

The application form gives opening hours of noon to midnight, Monday to Saturday, closed on Sundays and bank holidays.

The written statement gives different days. It says Tuesday to Saturday, then lists the bar as closed on Sundays and Tuesdays. The council’s decision would set the hours that apply.

The setting

Godstall Lane is a narrow alley that runs from St Werburgh Street, by the cathedral, to the steps up to Eastgate Row. The statement notes that it is a secondary shopping street inside the Chester City Conservation Area.

What it means for you

  • To comment: the council’s register gives 20 November 2026 as the closing date for neighbour comments, and 26 November for the press notice. Comments go through the application page.
  • Planning is only one step. Selling alcohol needs a separate permission from the council, applied for on its own.

More decisions across the borough are on our planning applications page.