Government cash to help our High Street

Cheshire East Council has made two bids to the Government for cash to help transform Macclesfield and Crewe.

On 26 December 2018 The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government’s (MHCLG) issued guidance on a Future High Streets Fund and invited local authorities to submit an expression of interest for funding for one of their town centres or high streets by 22 March.

In February further supplementary guidance was issued indicating that, contrary to the initial indication, Councils would be able to submit up to three expressions of interest for individual town centres or high streets within the borough.

In response to the  MHCLG announcement, Cheshire East Council commissioned an expert consultant team to undertake an independent objective assessment of towns in the borough, and to advise, having regard to the fund criteria, which town centre(s) should be the subject of any expressions of interest. 

The consultant’s report, Cushman and Wakefield Future High Street Fund Report (PDF, 231KB), recommended that that the strongest bids could be made for Crewe and Macclesfield, the boroughs two principal towns, and that expressions of interest should be submitted for both these centres.  

Furthermore, although the supplementary guidance identified that Cheshire East could submit up to three bids, the consultants recommended that three bids were not submitted during this first bidding round. Whilst they identified other centres which could be next priority towns, they state that there is no strong justification to single one out. In addition, they identified that submitting a third expression of interest could undermine the strength of the cases for Crewe and Macclesfield.

The consultant’s recommendations were agreed by the Portfolio Holder for Housing, Planning and Regeneration and the Executive Director for Place. 

The Council have developed expressions of interest for both Crewe and Macclesfield for submission to MHCLG .

A second round of applications will be invited next year when other towns will be given further consideration.  

Additionally, consideration will be given to the potential for all towns to be the subject of bids for linked heritage programmes supported by the Future High Streets Fund.