THE Senior Citizens' Hall was packed when I called to see the proposed development plans for Macclesfield town centre.

Despite intense lobbying by each of the four developers and the best efforts of MBC planning department I found it just too much to take in.

Whilst one developer had clearly spent a fortune on their futuristic video presentation, others had simple maps and models.

One company was still sticking the names of streets onto their balsa wood mock-up during the exhibition; not much forward planning there.

Personally I'd prefer an Asda to another Tesco (how many Tescos can one town take?)

I'd rather the architecture was more Cheshire Building Society than Macclesfield Police Station and I'd like to preserve as many of our fine old buildings as possible.

I am suspicious that, further down the line, the chosen developer will allow the town centre cinema project to die citing a set of convenient excuses.

I'm more than nervous that once work is under way the contractor will lead MBC around by the nose.

History has proved our council to be amateurs when negotiating with the big boys. I'd like to see some serious penalty clauses written into the contract leaving developers no room for obfuscation.

What does amaze me is the brevity of the public consultation period. Considering the magnitude of the development and the overall time scale three weeks seems a ridiculously short time in which to garner public opinion.

What about residents who are on vacation? People's homes are at stake here surely they deserve a little more consideration.

It makes absolutely no sense to rush through such an important proposal unless it's a deliberate strategy by MBC to minimise objections.

In the grand scheme of things a three-month consultation period would have been far more realistic and would at least give the impression of a desire to listen.

How could anyone adjust to the loss of their home with all that entails in three weeks? If they happened to be on holiday at the time MBC released the plans they have no opportunity whatsoever.

Is this a GENUINE public consultation or are MBC just going through the motions? Let me know what you think.

  • THE views expressed on this page are those of Vic Barlow and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Express.