A public consultation on the future of the old Hydro Electric station on Chester Weir will be held over the three days of the Green Expo. The Hyrdo Hub is a project of CHASE CIC (Community Interest Company)
We spoke to Niall MacFadyen from CHASE on the public consultation process “We welcome people to come along, hear more about how plans are progressing, and have their say. We are also looking for any experts in education, hospitality or power generation who might be interested in volunteering time and expertise as we move forward to the detailed planning and fund raising stage”
At last years Green Expo, CHASE consulted on it’s proposed designs for the building. This year they will present ideas and request feedback on internal design and interpretation displays, plus operation and function.
The Architectural Heritage Fund recently awarded a Project Development grant to CHASE CIC, to enable a suite of studies to be to commissioned to advance the scheme proposals. This follows on from grants from the AHF and Cheshire West and Chester Council to undertake a feasibility study which resulted in the draft designs presented at the Expo last year.
The primary purpose of the building is to provide an educational facility. Outside of this, the building would be used as a visitor centre and hospitality venue. The team also hope to generate power from the river, as a minimum, enough to run the building. The Environment Agency have been consulted on the Hydro Power proposals.
Following the decision by the Government to award Track 1 status to the Chester region for Carbon Capture and Storage, it is expected that the area will become the UK’s first Net Zero cluster, creating over 30,000 well paid jobs as large new low carbon businesses are constructed.
CHASE are working with the local councils, University, Colleges and local schools to ensure that we can maximise the benefit to local people as the area around Chester leads the UK in the move to a low carbon and then a “Net Zero” economy. They hope the site can be used to educate the working age population about new opportunities as well as helping young people get the qualifications needed for the new highly skilled jobs.
The site is also perfect for visitors to learn about our 1000 year history of clean industry, whilst enjoying a drink or perhaps a meal in one of the most iconic locations in the City.
We look forward to seeing you at the Green Expo and the CHASE team are keen to get your feedback…
Read more on the history of this iconic building here – READ
Sustainable Cheshire 