Over 250 local residents attended a packed public meeting on the future of Macclesfield’s town centre in St Michael’s Church on Thursday evening. The meeting was organised by local MP, David Rutley, following the recent decision by Debenhams to pull out of the Silk Street development and Cheshire East Council’s move to review its position with the developers Wilson Bowden.
At the meeting, David set out the background to the current situation. He highlighted the positive impact that community-led initiatives like the Treacle Market and the Barnaby Festival, along with the WinterFest, have had on the town. He also pointed to the importance of the existing vision for the whole town, which has been created by the Make it Macclesfield Forum, of which the Wilson Bowden scheme is only one part. David stressed how vital it was to make this wider vision a reality and that the decision by Debenhams should now be seen as an opportunity to take the regeneration of the town centre forward.
Caroline Simpson, Director of Economic Growth & Prosperity at Cheshire East Council, then explained to the audience that the Council was setting up a Design Panel to advise it on opportunities for Macclesfield town centre. Nick Hynes, who has strong local property knowledge, has been appointed to head up the Panel. Ms Simpson also set out how Cheshire East Council has allocated £15 million to help fund future developments and that a new Project Director is being recruited to focus on regenerating the town centre.
During the question and answer session that followed the opening presentations, many questions were put to a panel, which included David, Ms Simpson and Clare Hayward, the Chair of Make it Macclesfield. Many members of the audience were keen to ensure that the membership of the Design Panel would be inclusive to ensure that a cross-section of local views and skills would be involved in the Panel’s work.
After the meeting, David said, “I am pleased that so many local residents came to the meeting. It showed the real strength of feeling for the town and the passion to improve the town centre. I very much hope that the views expressed in this meeting can now be used to help shape options to revitalise the town centre in the weeks and months ahead. It is an urgent priority.”