Town centre redevelopment isn’t the answer

For anyone who thinks that throwing money at town centre re-development is the answer to a town’s woes – take a look at what’s happening in Stockport.

Despite £millions and £millions, in more and more re-development of Stockport town centre, Marks and Spencer has just announced it is to close its Stockport store on April 21.

That should tell us everything we need to know about the ‘benefits’ of re-development.

Over the years town centre re-development has served just one purpose – to line the pockets of the developers. If many of those towns had been left to grow slowly – like Ludlow – chances are they’d still be thriving with plenty of visitors and shoppers – and hundreds of small, independent specialist retailers would still be in business competing with the internet.

Take a drive anywhere in the country and any town that has been re-developed is virtually the same – a clone of the next.

It’s not too late to stop this happening in Macclesfield.