Council reports huge interest in leisure-led development for the town

Cheshire East is reporting there is huge interest from developers in delivering a leisure-led scheme to spearhead regeneration of Macclesfield town centre.

Less than five months ago, the Council released plans to offer two alternative sites for sale – Duke Street car park and the Churchill Way car park – to see what options the market can deliver for development with leisure facilities at its heart.

The aim of development would be to increase the town’s leisure offer and boost town centre footfall to support existing businesses.

Potential developers have submitted 19 proposals to the Council.

All the submitted proposals include a cinema and all would see work starting, subject to planning approval, in 2016.

In March, Cheshire East drafted in commercial property expert Nick Hynes to lead the new Macclesfield Town Centre Vision Stakeholder Panel to shape the way forward and advise the Council.

Its remit includes investigating options for accelerating the delivery of a leisure scheme for the town centre and getting the views of the local community about their ambitions and aspirations for Macclesfield.

Council regeneration specialist Jo Wise was also appointed as the new project director for Macclesfield town centre regeneration, to co-ordinate and drive the revitalisation of the town.

The Council also committed £1m in capital funding to support projects to refurbish and revitalise the town centre.

Nick Hynes said : “This is tremendous news for Macclesfield. I was confident that there would be a keen interest from developers but to get 19 serious and substantial proposals submitted is even better than we had hoped.

“There is growing confidence in the town – and rightly so. Now we need to continue to work in partnership with the Council to ensure there is no let up in the momentum, that local stakeholders can share their views and that we get a scheme that is right for the people of Macclesfield.”