🏛️ Help Save Huxleys – And Stop Unfair Targeting of Independent Businesses in Chester
 

We’re Neil and Olga — a husband-and-wife team who run Huxleys, a small café and wine bar tucked into the historic City Walls of Chester. What began as a labour of love has become our livelihood, our home, and a much-loved community space. But today, we are fighting to keep it alive.

Since opening, we’ve poured everything we have into restoring neglected heritage buildings — not just Huxleys, but also Bishop Lloyd’s, another beautiful and historically significant venue on Watergate Row. These spaces had been forgotten, left to decay. But we saw potential. We believed that with care, creativity, and community support, they could thrive again.

And they have. Huxleys has become part of the rhythm of the city — a place for locals to gather, visitors to pause, and the city’s story to continue. It sits at one of the most iconic viewpoints in the country, by the Eastgate Clock on the City Walls, and yet we’ve never taken that privilege for granted. We keep it clean. We respect the heritage. We welcome everyone.

We have always acted in good faith, applied for the right permissions, and been willing to work with the council. But instead of support, we are facing a relentless campaign of disproportionate and biased enforcement, surveillance, and obstruction from Cheshire West and Chester Council.

❌ What’s Happening
 

Over the past year, we’ve experienced:

• Repeated threats of prosecution over beautiful, hand-made vintage signs and outdoor seating
• Targeted surveillance, including officers photographing our premises and monitoring our social media
• A refusal to meet with our local MP, Dr Aphra Brandreth, or to engage in meaningful dialogue
• False and potentially defamatory statements made to our MP by senior Council figures
• A formal complaints process riddled with conflict of interest, where the same officer overseeing the targeted action of the council signed off his own investigation of our complaint
   

On 23 July, police officers entered our outdoor seating area — twice — and began filming our customers with a large camera intended for riot situations. They later said it was a “training exercise,” but in the current climate, it felt like intimidation. Our guests were visibly uncomfortable. And once again, we were left shaken by the message being sent.

We’ve also documented dozens of other businesses across Chester with similar signage or outdoor setups — including national chains, churches, theatres, and even the Council itself. Yet none of them appear to be facing this kind of treatment. It’s not enforcement — it’s selective punishment.

❤️ Why This Matters
 

Our outdoor area isn’t just a few tables and chairs. It’s a peaceful space where:

• Residents sit in the sun with a coffee
• Tourists stop to rest after walking the walls
• Local people chat, relax, and reconnect with their city
   

Huxley's helps breathe life into a once-forgotten part of Chester’s most iconic feature. It’s part of a wider effort we’ve made to bring vibrancy back to the City Walls and the Rows, to make Chester proud of its heritage — not just in stone and brick, but in the way it welcomes people.

The Council’s actions don’t just threaten our ability to trade — they threaten everything we’ve built. And they send a chilling message to other independent businesses: don’t get too visible, or you’ll be next.

We are not asking for special treatment. We are asking to be treated fairly — with consistency, with respect, and with the understanding that small businesses like ours are vital to Chester’s future.

🧭 Where Things Stand Now
 

We have now escalated our case to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, with the support of our MP and thousands of residents and visitors.

We’ve provided evidence of:

• Discriminatory and selective enforcement
• Political interference and reputational harm
• Surveillance and data misuse
• Procedural failings and intimidation
   

We’re doing this not just for us — but to help protect other small, independent businesses who don’t yet feel able to speak up.

✊ How You Can Help
 

If you believe in:

✅ Independent businesses

✅ Respect for heritage

✅ Fairness in public decision-making

✅ The right to operate without harassment or bias

Then please add your name.

✅ Sign this petition
✅ Share it with your friends and neighbours
✅ Tell Cheshire West and Chester Council: Chester stands with Huxleys
 

We are not giving up — and your support gives us the strength to keep going.

Thank you for helping us fight for fairness, for independent businesses, and for the soul of this beautiful city we all love.

—

Neil & Olga Chesters

Operators of Huxley's  & Bishop Lloyd's

Freeman of Chester

Local residents, business owners, and heritage custodians