Council has ‘invested significantly in public realm’

A COUNCIL CHIEF says he is disappointed plans for the town centre redevelopment will not go ahead, but said there are ‘grounds for optimism’.

In a letter to the Macclesfield Express, Councillor Ainsley Arnold, Housing, Planning and Regeneration Portfolio Holder, said the council had invested significantly in the town.

In the letter, he said: “The council has invested significantly in enhancing the public realm across Macclesfield and we will continue to engage with our partners, stakeholders and local representatives to support the vitality of Macclesfield as a great place to live, work and visit.”

We publish the full letter below: IT WAS disappointing news that Ask Real Estate has decided not to proceed with its planned development on Macclesfield’s Churchill Way

The decision followed much detailed consideration by Ask and their funders, especially around the considerable challenges facing the food and drink sector.

It is important to emphasise that Cheshire East Council was not a development partner. Rather, the project involved a conditional land sale between the council and Ask Real Estate, subject to the developer gaining planning permission. The land at Churchill Way will, therefore not be sold.

Ask said they had not taken its decision lightly. And, while I appreciate that this is disappointing news, to myself and many residents of Macclesfield, the challenges Ask have faced in making this scheme viable are understood in the context of a significant downturn in the market.

The difficulties facing the letting of similar schemes across the country are well documented and it is regrettable, but understandable, that Ask and their financial backers have made the decision that this specific development in Macclesfield is not deliverable.

But there are grounds for optimism. Macclesfield has a strong foundation and many strengths – including the hugely popular monthly Treacle Market, the biennial Barnaby Festival, a growing number of fine independent shops, a rich variety of heritage assets, dynamic businesses and an affluent catchment population.

The town centre is performing better than many at this time of significant challenge to the traditional British high street. At the last count, vacancy levels were below the national average and well below the average for the North West.

With the advent of highspeed rail services, both myself and Cheshire East Council are confident about the future of the town and the private sector is demonstrating equally high levels of confidence in Macclesfield as a place to invest in.

The expansion of the Grosvenor Shopping Centre is nearing completion and the number and variety of the town’s many unique and high-quality independent shops continues to grow.

Cheshire East Council has also taken steps to forge a five-year strategy for the revitalisation of Macclesfield town centre. This emerging strategy looks beyond existing projects already being progressed, to consider how to encourage the future prosperity of the town centre.

The council has invested significantly in enhancing the public realm across Macclesfield and we will continue to engage with our partners, stakeholders and local representatives to support the vitality of Macclesfield as a great place to live, work and visit.

Councillor Ainsley Arnold, Housing, Planning and Regeneration Portfolio Holder