Silk Street development could cost us dearly

As Cheshire East Council have now commenced the compulsory purchase of the properties that need to be cleared for the town centre redevelopment, we’re reaching the point where Cheshire East’s commitment to the project could be the point of no return.

I’ve been an opponent of the Silk Street scheme from the very start. On viewing Wilson Bowden’s initial plans I said it would provide a golden opportunity for the developers, financiers and string of ‘advisers’, but little if anything for Macclesfield, its residents, or its many remaining existing businesses – many of them independents struggling to survive.

Since that initial proposal the scheme has been through several revisions each one worse than its predecessors – bearing in mind the ever-shrinking budget.

It appears that Wilson Bowden are still failing in their efforts to garner investment and raise the funds for this project – which, if you check the records, was a critical pre-requisite for them to be invited to pitch their ideas to Macclesfield Borough Council in the first instance.

Inevitably, they made a great noise relating to Debenhams anchoring of their scheme – to encourage other retailers to sign up. What many didn’t know was that, sharing a board director, most of their other schemes were promoted as being anchored by Debenhams helping secure the necessary support and planning permissions.

Late last year we learned that Debenhams were in financial difficulties and, in January of this year, that they had pulled out of Barnsley’s planned regeneration scheme.

Over the last month Debenhams have pulled out of two further schemes – the Didcot Orchard Shopping Centre in Oxford, and the Riverside Development in Stafford.

Even more worrying however is that the developers, appear to have boxed Newport Council into a corner with their proposed Friar’s Walk Development – for which finance couldn’t be found. As I understand it, they told the council that Debenhams were considering pulling out. This jeopardised all the other pre-lets, which were conditional on Debenhams anchoring the scheme, forcing the council to take the decision to abandon or fund the project to the tune of £90 million.

They chose to fund it and my understanding is that under the terms of the loan agreement if the developers fail to repay the loan Newport council-taxpayers will be hit with a bill for £7 million a year over the next 20 years.

Before even more money is thrown at the highly contentious Silk Street scheme, Cheshire East need to give us an assurance that there is no possibility whatsoever of them contemplating financing this dreadful project – in part or full.