Macclesfield town centre regeneration key priority

A Town Centre Regeneration Forum designed to engage the community in the development of important plans to revitalise the town centre was held at Macclesfield College last week.

The Forum meeting, held in the college’s new Whites Chef Academy, brought together 26 representatives from local businesses, community groups, and elected officials, to collaborate in supporting the ongoing work to develop a positive vision to realise the clear potential that exists to make Macclesfield a more distinctive destination for shopping and services, and deliver the town centre that local residents want and deserve. Some of those represented included AstraZeneca, and Enterprising Macclesfield and Macclesfield Means Business groups, which represent a wide number of local businesses, across a range of sectors.

The meeting gave attendees the opportunity to table their views on the best approach to regenerating the town centre, with the objective of reaching an initial consensus on what a ‘fit for purpose’ town might look like, together with presenting ideas on how to approach the challenge of delivering of this vision. There was also strong agreement on the importance of Cheshire East Council engaging with local stakeholders, as its Strategic Regeneration Framework, which is intended to bring a more co-ordinated approach to the regeneration of Macclesfield town centre, is taken forward in the months ahead.

Macclesfield MP, David Rutley, updated the meeting on the £5 million investment in the public realm in the town centre that has been secured, on top of the £1.4 million already allocated for this purpose.

The output from the meeting will now be shared with the recently-established Cheshire East Macclesfield Town Centre Liaison Group, formed by Cheshire East Council.

Make it Macclesfield intends to hold a public meeting in the near future, to enable the wider community to contribute to the debate on how to deliver on the town centre regeneration plans.