Council announce £1.4m scheme to ‘re-energise’ town
DETAILS of the major public realm i mprovement s have been revealed - and include kerbstones inscribed with extracts from a poem called ‘A Love Letter to Macc’.
Cheshire East Council set aside £1.4m for work to Castle Street, in Macclesfield town centre, and now it has been announced work will start in spring.
It will include street furniture such as benches, trees, improved lighting and bins.
Footways will also be widened and resurfaced with natural stone to encourage cafes and restaurants to have outside seating areas.
Granite cobblestonestyle paving will be used for the road and ‘bespoke kerbstones’ incorporating lines from the poem about
Macclesfield are to be installed.
It was written by Jacqui Wood, artistic director of community arts organisation Arc, as part of a project for the Barnaby Festival in 2016.
Councillor Nick Mannion, cabinet member for environment and regeneration, said: “I am delighted that this scheme is now confirmed to start in the spring.
“Cheshire East Council is providing the funding for this project and it shows the council’s commitment to helping Macclesfield unlock its true potential.
“In the past few months we have seen a number of private sector investors not just showing interest in Macclesfield but being sufficiently confident in its future to commit their own funds.”
The announcement of the work comes after the council approved its Macclesfield town centre strategic regeneration framework. This sets out its vision for the development of the centre of Macclesfield with the aim of boosting investment, jobs and economic growth.
Coun Mannion added: “It sets out a fresh and reenergised vision for the town centre, focused on its pivotal role as a catalyst for the whole town.
“It does so without losing sight of the town’s cherished and important heritage and a strong sense of Macclesfield’s unique character.
“The framework gives us a clear route map forward to unlock further opportunities and in the coming months we will be turning our attention to Chestergate and the station gateway.”
The poem was compiled from words written by Macclesfield residents to celebrate everything they love about the town and it reads:
A Love Letter to Macc: Drawn to you
I fell in love straight away
With the proud landscape and culture of a silk town.
You were soon in my heart with your creative edge, passionate people and cobbled streets nestling in the hills.
Here we’ve flourished, and cried, and grown, and lost.
And throughout it all, there’s been you, constant: stone, and hills, and rain, And brilliant, unex