Plans to develop a £300m leisure and retail project in Chester city centre have moved a step closer to fruition after two specialist firms were hired to take the scheme forward.

The Northgate development will see the creation of an area housing a multiplex-cinema, market hall, car park and food court, with development specialist Rivington Land and architects ACME being elected by Cheshire West & Chester Council to take the project further.

Rivington Land will lead the scheme through the planning and secure the necessary retail and leisure operators and attract external investor interest, according to the council.

The idea of a Northgate project has existed for a number of years, with the council reaching a 10-year agreement with ING Real Estate for the development – however this was terminated in 2012 as the council sought to acquire land in the development area through a multimillion-pound purchase from ING.

The case for the development has been strengthened by research conducted by national consumer and retail specialist CACI, which found that Chester has the potential to become the fourth largest shopping destination in the North West on completion of the Northgate scheme.

Despite its popular day visitor and tourism numbers – standing at nine million visits each year – Chester has recently fallen down the league table of retail centres.

However, the city is home to an affluent population catchment, which could also be viewed as a catalyst behind the council’s desire for the completion of the project.

The council is hoping the development will be completed by 2017.