21st Century makeover for Chester Railway Station

Published on 12 Jul 2007

One of Chester's most notable 19th century buildings has been given a 21st century makeover - and has enjoyed instant success not only with visitors but as the new home of the county's tourist board. Warrington-based Claremont Group Interiors - the UK's largest office design and fit-
out company outside London - has refurbished the West Pavilion at Chester Railway Station after two decades in which the offices had fallen into a sad state of disrepair.

Visit Chester and Cheshire (VCC) have become the first tenants to occupy the Grade I and Grade II listed building. With the station acting as one of the main gateways to Chester, the project to regenerate the 1848 station building - one of the best-loved 19th century monuments in the city was seen as a necessary move to preserve the success of Chester as a tourist destination. Before VCC could relocate to the building, a total refurbishment of the West Pavilion's first floor was needed. The work had to be in line with the requirements of the Railway Heritage Trust and the general works required listing consent from the local authority.

Claremont, which has worked on several other listed buildings, including the Cheshire Building Society branch in Manchester, negotiated a contract that was flexible in terms of both design and approach.

The works were required to be both sympathetic to the original structure of the building and suitable for a modern office and public facility appropriate to the needs of the tourist board. Any past additions to the building not sympathetic to the original architecture were removed.

The fit out programme ran for twelve weeks and VCC moved in over a single weekend to a finished office space complete with training/conference rooms, display areas and kitchen facilities.

"This has been one of our most challenging projects but also one of our most rewarding", explained Mike Gardner, Managing Director of Claremont. "Whenever we take on a project on a listed building, we accept that there is an element of risk involved, but on this occasion, there were no unfortunate surprises. We were able to bring back to life the character of the original building while creating a productive working environment for VCC at the same time.

"One of the main breakout areas in the office has retained the metal balustrade that was put in when the building was first built, but for it to remain we had to build a glass façade around it, firstly to tie in with safety regulations but also to retain the natural light that came in from the main window. The breakout area is now one of the most pivotal areas in the office."

Managing Director of Visit Chester and Cheshire, Chris Brown said:

"It is fantastic that we have managed to relocate the Tourist Board in to one of Chester's principal heritage buildings. Having seen the building before and after Claremont started work on it, it's difficult to believe it's the same building. Claremont managed to complete the project in just 12 weeks and we were able to move in over the weekend and were operational on the Monday. Having been cramped in our old office, we now have a light, airy and spacious office to work in, which caters for all our needs as a Tourist Board."