Cheshire East Council has announced that it has commissioned contractors to deliver a range of improvements on Castle Street in Macclesfield Town Centre.
The scheme will see footways widened and resurfaced with natural stone to create scope for cafés and restaurants to have outdoor seating. Granite cobblestone-style paving in the road, new street furniture and improved lighting will also be installed. Work on the improvements to Macclesfield town centre are due to have completed by early summer 2019.
Cheshire East Council previously approved the Macclesfield Town Centre Strategic Framework, which sets out the vision for Macclesfield, and aims to provide confidence and certainty that will bring investment, jobs and economic growth into the town.
Councillor Nick Mannion, Cheshire East Council 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 recently-opened and exciting Picturedome food hall development is just one example of this.
“The strategic regeneration framework sets out a fresh and re-energised vision for the town centre, focused on its pivotal role as a catalyst for driving forward a more exciting and prosperous future 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, which are rightly seen as important by local people and visitors.
“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 in line with the framework.
“Macclesfield is without doubt a great town. By focusing on unlocking the true potential of the town centre, working collaboratively with others, we can make it even better.”
As part of the improvements, and in-keeping with the strategic regeneration framework’s vision of making Macclesfield town centre a place which celebrates its quirkiness, bespoke kerbstones will also be laid to incorporate extracts from a poem. Written by Jacqui Wood for the town’s 2016 Barnaby Festival, A Love Letter To Macc was compiled from words written by Macclesfield residents.
John Lewis Cheadle hosts Interior Design Master for Q&A 
John Lewis appoints new Chief Customer Officer 
Co-op becomes latest retailer hit by cyber attack