CHESTER and Wrexham's joint England-Wales bid to host Channel 4's new HQ has been unsuccessful.

The TV channel has named 13 shortlisted cities and regions which have been selected to participate in the second stage of the pitch process for the broadcaster's new national HQ and creative hubs with Chester and Wrexham's bid not included.

The cities and regions in consideration for the national HQ or creative hubs are: Bristol, Cardiff, Glasgow, Greater Manchester, Leeds, Liverpool and the West Midlands.

Those in consideration to be a creative hub only are: Belfast, Brighton, Newcastle-Gateshead, Nottingham, Sheffield, Stoke-on-Trent. Channel 4 said more than 30 submissions were received overall.

The news has been met with disappointment by Chester MP Chris Matheson and Wrexham MP Ian Lucas, who had joined forces to promote the bid.

Mr Matheson said: “I’m very disappointed that Channel 4 have chosen to do the obvious thing and short-listed only big metropolitan centres.

“But the ambition that I share with [Cheshire West and Chester Council leader] Sam Dixon to promote Chester is undimmed and the added bonus of the bidding process is the close work we have continued to undertake with Wrexham.

“From this bid we have strengthened the offering of this cross-border region which is an area of real economic growth potential.”

Ian Lucas, MP for Wrexham, added:  "We had something unique to offer so I am, of course, disappointed our bid was not shortlisted.

“However, I believe the process of putting the bid together was a really positive thing for the region. It opened up connections on both sides of the border and meant we could showcase the best of Wrexham and Chester to a major broadcaster. We want to work together like this more in future."

Channel 4’s chief commercial offer, Jonathan Allan, who has spearheaded the pitch process, said: "We've been incredibly impressed both by the number of pitches we received and by the high quality of the submissions - which has underlined the huge amount of creativity, innovation and talent right across the UK.

"However, we have to move to a shortlist phase and, after careful consideration by the Channel 4 executive team, we've selected 13 cities that are best able to meet our vision for our new hubs in the Nations and Regions.

"We look forward to visiting all those on the shortlist as part of our second phase, but we will also be continuing to work with all cities and regions as part of our strategy to increase investment and support creative businesses, jobs and growth across the UK."