Votes have been flooding in for our readers’ referendum during a dramatic week in the battle for the future of Macclesfield town centre.

The debate over a new £90m leisure and shopping development has been hotting up as:

  • Planning officers recommended that councillors approve the controversial plans.

  • Campaign group Wake Up Macclesfield claimed that 140 firms have now signed up to FIGHT the plans

  • A key retail report was released BACKING?the proposals, and arguing that this is a ‘once in a lifetime opportunity’ for the town centre which could go into decline if nothing is done

  • Grosvenor shopping centre bosses called for next week’s decision to be delayed to give the public more time to get to grips with  report’s findings.

  • MP David Rutley called for parts of the  council’s contract with developer Wilson Bowden to be RELEASED. His call came as council bosses lodged an appeal against an order by the information commissioner to publish the report in full. That means it may not be seen by the public until AFTER planners have voted on it, although  council chiefs said more details could be released.

FOR: Take chance to revive town

Macclesfield town centre plans - artist's impression
Macclesfield town centre plans - artist's impression
 

The town centre redevelopment plan is a once in a generation chance to revive the town centre.

That’s view of a group of retail experts asked to look at the £90m plans.

The council leader, Coun Michael Jones, commissioned an independent assessment of the likely impact of the proposals in March after calls from campaigners, the owners of the Grosvenor Centre and Macclesfield MP David Rutley.

It was carried out by consultancy firm White Young Green (WYG), which completed the town’s last retail ‘health check’ in 2011.

The report was unequivocal in its conclusion that the proposed scheme SHOULD go ahead.

The report report finds that:

  • The plan sits ‘full square’ with local and national planning policies

  • The scheme is ‘appropriate and sustainable’ in size

  • New high street brands will increase the town's vitality and viability

  • Any small amount of trade ‘diverted’ from existing areas will remain in the town centre and be ‘clawed back’ by attracting number of shoppers who    currently spend their money elsewhere

  • There is no evidence to support objectors’ argument that it will have a  negative impact on the town centre

  • The status quo is more likely damage the town centre more in the long term

The report says: “The proposed application symbolises confidence in the town centre which will only act as a catalyst to further investment once key anchor currently missing in Macclesfield are located in centrally and well positioned locations to the rest of the town centre.

“There is no evidence presented by the objectors that suggests that the impact on the town centre can be considered significantly adverse.

“In fact, it is quite the reverse.

“Any failure to deliver this important economic development is likely to further diminish Macclesfield’s role and function in the wider area in the future which may lead to an adverse impact on the town centre’s vitality and viability.”

One of the key concerns raised by opponents of the scheme is that it is too big and the town cannot absorb even more shops.

However the assessment says that: ‘...the level of proposed floorspace is considered both appropriate in scale and is sustainable in terms of the catchment area and the uplift in market share from the level comparison goods expenditure available in and around Macclesfield’.

It goes on to say that ‘...any sensible reading of national and local planning policy would clearly lead anyone to the conclusion that this is an extremely positive development for the future of Macclesfield town centre, and a once in a generation opportunity to introduce and secure key retailers within Macclesfield town centre that will ensure the long-term health of the centre overall’.

But the scheme’s main opposition group said the report had only reinforced their view that the plan should be ditched.

Beverley Moore, spokeswoman for Wake Up Macc, said: “The report confirms our fears that the development is likely to take trade away from the existing town centre, but says this is ‘healthy evolution’.

“The consultants have used out-of-date data that isn’t specific to Macclesfield, have made totally unrealistic estimates of the potential growth in spending, and haven’t taken into account either the national picture of shrinking high street retail or the local implications of the AstraZeneca redundancies.”

AGAINST: Plan ‘threatens our livelihoods’

NO THANKS: Traders against the multi-million pound plan
 

HUNDREDS of businesses have signed a letter calling on councillors to reject Wilson Bowden’s £90m plans to redevelop the town centre.

A total of 140 firms are said to have put their name to an open letter which has been sent to all Cheshire councillors.

Drafted by campaign group Wake Up Macc, it calls on those on the Strategic Planning board making the decision to reject the plans for a new major leisure and retail development on the basis that they would do irrevocable economic, social, and environmental harm to the town centre.

It says: “We ask you instead to support a sustainable approach that focuses on reviving the core area of the town and avoids disturbing current assets.

“This planning application address yesterday’s issues: we need a new approach relevant to today’s realities.”

The letter includes a list of the ‘grave concerns’ that independent traders have about the plans, including claims that:

  • The take up of the new stores will be low, meaning the town would be left with a ‘white elephant development’

  • The scheme ‘threatens the livelihood of existing retailers’ by moving the focus away from the current shopping areas

  • The proposed buildings would ‘dominate the skyline and block open views’

  • The scheme ‘threatens the town’s unique identity’

Bronwyn Wriley, owner of the Treacle Tap pub on Sunderland Street, one of those to sign the letter, said: “We all have to do our bit and this letter sends a message to the decision makers that we don’t want it.

“We would all love Macclesfield to have great shops but we now many brands are leaving the high street and the fear is we would just be left with even more empty buildings.”

Antonia Topping, the owner of Cherry Blossom Bakery on Castle Street, also put her name to it. She said: “The letter was all about making our voices heard and with so many people coming together that voice becomes even louder.

“We are all concerned that big retail giants are going to come in and trample all over small businesses. It’ll also see the town centre shift and we’re all tied into five and ten year leases so we can’t just uproot and follow the development.”