Local business fulfils the search for a treasured model in memory of the Indian Air Forces most decorated pilot

Local hobby shop Chester Model Centre received an unexpected customer enquiry all the way from Bangalore, South India recently. Arun Swaminathan was looking for a specific and rather elusive model plane to add to his collection in memory of his late Uncle – Wing Commander Padmanabha Gautam – a highly decorated Indian Air Force pilot who flew the English Electric Canberra plane during his distinguished career.

Paul Boyland, the owner of Chester Model Centre, says, “We’ve been running our independent shop in Chester for over 10 years now and we couldn’t do it without so much local support. In fact, we've known some of our customers for decades –longer than we’ve been on the high street. Having said that, the modelling community is global and we are really happy to help Arun get his hands on the model Canberra plane that his Uncle Gautam had flown. Arun contacted us initially by email from Bangalore.” Arun is hoping to make a trip to the UK in the future with a visit to Chester Model Centre at the top of his list of places to see.

Paul says, “We are quite a traditional hobby shop I suppose and giving people a hands-on experience on the high street is really at the core of what we do. We have been digital dinosaurs in the past, but we realise it’s important that we evolve as a retailer. We launched our website during the first lockdown (Spring 2020) and are now active on social media. We’ve been contacted by customers from Australia, America, France and Italy. The attention from across the globe has prompted us to think bigger. We’re currently making arrangements to make international delivery available to our customers and hope to have this service up and running in the next few weeks. As a local independent shop, this opens up a big market for us!”

New Chair appointed at Chester BID

Chester’s Giant Wheel

Throughout April, Chester hosted a 35-metre Observation Wheel in Grosvenor Park, offering 360° views of the stunning Chester skyline.

Chester BID, the Business Improvement District (BID) for Chester City Centre, has appointed a new Chair to its board. Neil Hardy was appointed into the role following on from Katrina Kerr, who has stepped down after three-and-a-half years.

Experienced marketer Neil comes to the role with a wealth of knowledge in the commercial tourism, retail and leisure sector, having worked as the Head of E-commerce for the likes of Hays Travel, Co-Op Travel and Icelolly, and as Marketing and Digital Director for Shearings Holidays throughout his career.