Macclesfield’s town centre scheme shelved
A £200m plan by the developer Wilson Bowden to revamp Macclesfield town centre has been shelved because of the recession.
A document issued ahead of a cabinet meeting at Cheshire East Council said the downturn had had a, “major impact on the type of scheme that Wilson Bowden are now proposing.”
The Leicester-based construction firm submitted plans in November 2008 that detailed a scheme featuring 50 retail units anchored by a 80,000 sq ft Debenhams store, 1,200 car parking spaces, 55 homes and an eight-screen cinema.
Wilson Bowden, owned by Barratt Developments, is continuing to work with the council but new plans are not expected until late 2010.
In the document the council described the changes as “disappointing” but said the delay would allow it to plan a scheme, “which meets our priorities as a new authority”, referring to the division of the old Cheshire County Council into Cheshire East and Cheshire West and Chester in April.
The new plans are expected to make more of Macclesfield’s heritage as the centre of the silk trade and the regeneration of the southern side of the town.
A spokesman for the council said: “It’s not that the old scheme will be scrapped but it will be subject to change. We don’t know how much the old plans will be part of the new ones and the changes will be subject to the economic environment.”
She said the results of a public consultation on the original scheme would also be taken into account.
Wilson Bowden declined to discuss the changes. In a statement issued through the council it said it remained “fully committed” to the regeneration of the town centre.
“We now look forward to hearing everyone’s views on their aspirations for Macclesfield through the consultation and plan to bring forward a scheme that delivers against the economic master plan,” added the company.
