We Built This #5: Laura Bell McMillan on Chester Northgate Tesco Express, Chester
Posted on: 31 July, 2024
Laura Bell McMillan, Chartered Surveyor at Legat Owen and UCEM alumni, discusses her work on a Grade II listed building for the latest feature in our We Built This series.
From residential houses and urban spaces to bridges, towers and skyscrapers, the products of the built environment affect everyone on the planet and leave a lasting legacy that can inspire people for generations to come.
As part of UCEM’s Be Part of the Change campaign, we’re talking to built environment professionals across the sector to celebrate their incredible achievements and encourage new people to join our sector. We’re asking each person to tell us about the buildings, communities and infrastructure projects that inspire them in the UK and across the world.
In the latest feature of our We Built This series, Laura Bell McMillan, Chartered Surveyor at Legat Owen, alumni of UCEM and former UCEM Board of Trustees Apprentice, shared her experience of acquiring a Grade II listed building for her client Tesco, to open a new Tesco Express store.
We talked to Laura Bell McMillan about Chester Northgate Tesco Express, in Chester
Which building is this?
Which building is this?This is the Tesco Express store on Northgate Street, Chester, which opened in December of last year.
Why did you choose it?
Myself and my colleague James Lutton act for Tesco across a large area, covering the North-West of England and North Wales, so it was great to be involved in an Express acquisition right on our doorstep, in Legat Owen’s hometown of Chester. With deals often a long time in the making, this was also one of the first Tesco stores to open its doors that I was personally involved in from beginning to end since I started at Legat Owen in early 2022, which is always very satisfying!
Chester has a lot of heritage and history to it, which can make working on buildings in the city centre quite challenging. We didn’t realise it at the time, but on reflection this project was quite a feat, because of the complexity involved with trying to open a Tesco in a Grade II listed historic building within Chester’s busy city centre.
What made this project so complicated?
To begin with, there was an outgoing tenant and no dilapidations so we had to do a lot of negotiating around the works which needed done – and the split between what would constitute Landlord works and what would constitute Tenant works. This was sorted by way of a capital contribution though this had valuation implications in terms of the analysis of the letting at the end, so just when we though we were done we were back negotiating!
In terms of the property itself, it’s situated on a pedestrianised street, so we had to work out a solution for facilitating deliveries. There were also Roman remains in the basement, which isn’t actually unusual with buildings in Chester – it’s something we see all the time and have to work around but it did mean we had to engage a Heritage sub-consultant and obtain a Statement of Heritage Significance.
It’s also a listed building, so we had to have listed building consent for all of the internal alterations. There were also alterations that were undertaken to the shopfront – for it to be a Tesco you’d of course need automatic doors, signage, etc. – that required planning permission as well. It all took a long time!
The building had quite a few issues with its upper floors, too. It was converted in the 1980s, but there wasn’t a lot of documentation on this or the structure of the building. So we had to do intrusive structural surveys to determine whether the ground and first floors could actually take the weight of the Tesco – all of the big fridges, goods, stock and so on, as well as whether we could get a lift shaft in there to store stock on the first floor.
Licensing was another challenge, too – because it’s in the city centre with bars and nightclubs in the vicinity, the police actually ended up being involved. The concern was, with a Tesco open until 11 at night, people would buy alcohol and be antisocial on the streets, however this was rectified by certain restrictions such as locking of the alcohol cabinets etc.
Of course, everything was sorted in the end, but it explains why so many different people were involved in the project.
Tell us about how you were involved in the project
We were involved in bringing the site to Tesco, establishing their interest and negotiating the deal, and then trying to pull everyone together throughout the process to ensure the deal didn’t stall. We were constantly in meetings – with so many people involved and issues with planning, timescales, the building itself and having to work around the existing tenant, we inevitably ended up being involved in far more than just the agency side of it. We were constantly speaking to Tesco, Project Managers, Planning Consultants, Highways/Transport Consultants, Heritage Consultants, Planners, Solicitors and the landlord and their agents throughout… I dread to think how many emails were sent!
When one challenge was sorted, another thing came along. It took a long time, so we’re proud that we managed to pull it off.
How do you feel now when you see this building?
Ultimately, I feel that we’re helping to provide a service for the local community – people need places to buy their groceries, and it’s good to see the town centre being bolstered by grade A tenants like Tesco. If you go into the shop, it fits with the building itself – it doesn’t look out of place.
I walk around the old Roman city walls in Chester pretty much every lunch break. It’s a good 35–40-minute walk, and I’m always so in awe of the beautiful architecture, it’s such an impressive place to be working.
We have to try and fit the modern world into these ancient, historic buildings, and that comes with challenges. I think that’s what made this building such a rewarding project to work on.
To find out more about the Be Part of the Change campaign and get involved, visit the homepage. If you’d like to get in touch with our Student Ambassadors for EDI, email outreachandinclusion@ucem.ac.uk
To read the previous entry in our We Built This campaign, click here.
