Leisure scheme for Churchill Way car park

Cheshire East Council has agreed to sell the Churchill Way car park to Ask Real Estate – http://www.askrealestate.co.uk – to deliver a leisure-led scheme – which the Council hopes will spearhead the revitalisation of Macclesfield town centre.

A six-screen cinema, restaurants, a retail unit and a café pod, designed around an area of quality public realm, is envisaged.

Councillor Don Stockton, Cheshire East Cabinet member in charge of regeneration said “I am delighted that we are a significant step closer to delivering on our promise to the people of Macclesfield.”

“We have said that we will regenerate the town and increase footfall for the benefit of retailers and businesses and this is the start of that process.”

“The Council remains fully committed to this journey and we will continue to drive forward a strategy to enhance the economic, environmental and social well-being of the town centre.”

“This is by no means the only project we are pursuing. The Council will continue to work collaboratively with landowners and other local stakeholders to ensure that local residents and businesses have a town centre they can be proud of.”

The scheme will be subject to the normal planning process, which will commence once contracts are exchanged.

The Council stated it was not looking for the highest financial offer, but one that shared the Council’s and stakeholders’ vision for a high-quality, regenerative and deliverable scheme.

The Council also said that Selection Panel members were ‘highly conscious of views, comments and priorities expressed over recent months by the Macclesfield Town Centre Vision Stakeholder Panel, together with other stakeholders.’

Ask Real Estate was one of 19 offers submitted. The developer is responsible for some of the modern buildings in and around Manchester.

The company has a track record of delivering high-quality, transformational developments, including the First Street scheme on the southern approach to Manchester city centre.

Today’s announcement follows the pledge made by Cheshire East Council last summer that it would look to facilitate a leisure-led scheme, following the withdrawal of the proposed Silk Street redevelopment.

Councillor Ainsley Arnold, Cabinet member in charge of housing and planning, who is also a ward member for Macclesfield, said: “The Council made it clear to the proposed purchasers that they wanted a scheme which delivers on local people’s aspirations for a development which brings a sympathetic high-quality design alongside significant regeneration benefits.

“We were not interested in simply looking for the highest price. I am delighted that the Council has looked to lead by example in seeking to support high-quality design, which delivers sustainable, environmental, social and economic benefits.”

Nick Hynes, chair of the Macclesfield Town Centre Vision Stakeholder Panel, said: “I am delighted that we have managed to attract a developer who has put forward a viable and imaginative scheme for the Churchill Way site.

“We had a really healthy level of interest from the development industry and I was impressed by the quality of a number of the submissions. I’d like to thank all those parties involved.

“All this has been achieved over a very short time frame for a scheme of this nature and we are now in a position to press ahead with a much-needed project that will become a new and exciting part of the town centre offer.

“The marketing exercise has illustrated that there is significant demand among developers and leisure operators to locate in Macclesfield. We should grasp this opportunity with both hands.”

Some car parking capacity will be lost but research has shown that there is sufficient capacity in the town centre to meet current requirements, although the Council will continue to monitor this.

The Council is already pursuing a number of other regeneration initiatives in Macclesfield. These include improvements to the Gas Road underpass area, Middlewood Way, Sparrow Park, and shop fronts on Lower Mill Street.

An additional £1m of Council capital funding has also been made available to assist with delivering further enhancements to the town centre.