Council release 52 page document on Congleton town centre 'vitality plans'
By Alex Greensmith
27th Sep 2022 | Local News
Cheshire East Council are seeking your views on a document which hopes to have the answers to the revitalisation of Congleton town centre.
They want as many of our town's 26,700 people to read the 52-page masterplan, and respond to it with their views within days.
Before we share the link to respond, Congleton Nub News has combed through the super-sized document and summarised some of the key points below.
The report starts off positively and acknowledges "with over 200 units Congleton is one of the larger towns in Cheshire East."
But later identified Congleton town centre's "vacant shops seeming more prolific than other [town] centres", citing The Mills and shops on Bridge Street and High Street as cause for concern.
It described our town's nighttime economy as "reasonable", which indicates a room for improvement.
The report went on to state: "Recent investment (£1m) in the centre's public realm has enhanced the experience along Swan Bank, Duke Street, Market Street, Victoria Street and Bridge Street. However, environmental quality in other parts of the town detract from the visitor experience in particular Market Street and the bus station. The vacancies on Mill Street contribute poorly to the environmental quality of the Town Centre.
"The existing residential stock is dominated by detached and semi-detached home (over 70%) which means that access to smaller homes is limited. It is however, a relatively affordable location compared to many parts of Cheshire East. National house-builders are active on a number of sites which will support the future vitality of the centre."
Overall, the document compliments Congleton as "a desirable place to live," a sentiment we hope most Nub News readers will agree with.
The report went onto echo the sentiment of the Congleton Draft Neighbourhood Plan of 2017, before proposing ten potential actions to make our town a better place.
Interestingly, the closure of Congleton's recycling centre was not mentioned once in the report, despite it being a pressing issue for the majority of residents.
But the ten points of action were as follows:
Action 1: Changes around Congleton Museum
The report lists redevelopment of Market Square as a priority. It suggests using the lawn as an outdoor events space, as a way to reinstate the site's historic function as the centre of our town's market.
"Creating this type of space could be central to supporting the expansion of Congleton's evening economy," the report suggests.
It wants to do this by installing lights in the short term, removing fencing and introducing seat or shelter space.
In the far future, they also want to spruce up streets near the Market Square to attract people to the area, like Kinsey Street.
Action 2: Repairing the Severance and Impact of Mountbatten Way
Another priority signalled by the Council was to make a "more balanced arrangement of pedestrian and vehicle spaces" on Mountbatten Way.
This is to encourage more people to walk, and would be achieved by reducing the width of vehicle carriageways, maybe even reducing the number of lanes to create a shorter distance for pavement users to cross. Cycle and bus routes would also hope to be introduced to meet the Council's Active Travel quota.
They would also like to "expand the public realm palette implemented on Bridge Street to other key town centre streets".
Action 3: Enhancing Walking and Cycling
Yet another point indicated as a priority, multiple new Active Travel improvements have been suggested. This includes new cycle routes along the River Dane, better cycling optionsf rom West Heath to Congleton Town Centre, and from Congleton Railway Station to the town hall. A joined up walking and cycling network is also hinted at through the town centre.
Action 4: Changing Congleton's Market Hall
A final priority listed was the much-awaited redevelopment of Congleton Market, however, the report fails to make any concrete suggestions.
It suggests the possibility to "provide a mix of uses such as retail, leisure and residential, based on further demand assessment." As well as improving the appearance of the frontage when viewed from Mountbatten Way, Mill Street and Market Street.
It also states it hopes to "provide more efficient parking solutions, to allow land to be used for Town Centre uses". This is despite it being next to two car parks.
Other Points of Action
Other points cited in the report as plans for action include "Showcasing Congleton's Heritage", including the use of modern technology like QR codes or apps to make a Congleton interactive walking tour.
More events revolving around heritage are also desired, in a statement which indicates celebrating our town's history looking past Congleton 750.
A less original point suggests "Making more of Community Assets", which repeats mention of turning the lawn outside Congleton Museum into an event space, and mentions the Council-backed £10m refurbishment of Congleton Leisure Centre on Worrall Street.
Point seven suggests to "Raise Congleton's Profile", by appointing Congleton Town Ambassadors, model our town on other more touristy market towns like Leek or Buxton, and improving signage to prevent people passing through Congleton.
The final few points suggest the council deepening their relationship with businesses, and reducing the amount of empty retail units with temporary solutions such as pop up stalls, or filling in vacant shop windows with information about the town or local businesses, without it being a premises you can actually enter.
The long-term solution of tackling void commercial properties was identified as "difficult particularly as a result of COVID". And suggested that leisure operators should try to be targeted instead of traditional high street shops.
The report even suggests whether a cinema would be interested in moving into High Street's former B&M and Woolworths store. But this is a mere question, and by no means anywhere near to fruition.
The final point suggests to boost our town's public transport, including strengthening the suburbs links like Buglawton and Mossley. Bus services throughout Congleton were identified as a weak spot.
It also indicated connections between the town centre and Congleton Railway Station (1.5 miles away) were not strong enough.
More bike and scooter parking have also been proposed, as well as digital timetable signage like you get at train stations, but for bus stops as well, rather than paper.
The report throughout emphasises improving sustainability, communication and making navigating the town easier.
Unfortunately no funds can be spent as of yet, as the report concludes with "not a pot of money available to support the delivery of the Vitality Plan," but concedes "given the scale of new development around Congleton contributions will be available and the Vitality Plans can support discussions with CEC and developers on where resources should be focused to ensure that the new homes and jobs are linked to the centre of Congleton and its existing social infrastructure."
Four council processes will have to be gone through before any of the points mentioned in this plan can become reality. And to begin with, Cheshire East Council want to hear from taxpayers.
Congleton: You can respond to the Congleton consultation by clicking here.
You can also send your feedback to the document by letter to Cheshire East Council's HQ or via email, of which, ironically has a Macclesfield email address. ([email protected])
As well as Congleton, Cheshire East has launched similar plans for eight other small Cheshire East towns.
In a statement, a council spokesperson said: "Each individual plan has the objective of providing a clear sense of direction for supporting town centre vitality and viability. It could include initiatives, which do not require significant funding, but which could be taken forward by local volunteers and/or businesses."
"Town centres across the UK are facing unprecedented challenges. Changes in how we shop and the growth in internet shopping, has increased competition for town centre businesses and many multiple retailers and service providers have closed town centre outlets.
"These are trends that have been exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic, which is why we are consulting the public with these individual town plans.
"When opportunities to apply for funding for town centre improvements arise, such as from central government, it is beneficial to have clear town centre plans already in place to support bids for funding.
"Final plans will be developed through the consultation process, however, it is anticipated that some of the ideas to be put forward may include suggestions such as: improving connections, raising the profile of the centre, enhancing pedestrian/cycling links, creating a 'sense of arrival', infrastructure improvements, community hubs and providing better links to heritage trails."
Councillor Nick Mannion, chair of Cheshire East Council's economy and growth committee, said: "As a predominantly rural economy in Cheshire East, it is vital that we do everything within our gift to support our smaller towns, which many of our residents are more likely to call upon for their needs.
"Partly as a result of the pandemic, the way we shop has changed significantly. The introduction of these town centre vitality plans is an excellent way for our local communities to have a say. We know that no two towns are the same and this is an excellent way to properly appreciate those individual characteristics."
"I would welcome anyone to engage with this consultation process and use it as an opportunity to let us know their views."
The nine consultations run from today (27 September) to 8 November and can be accessed on the Cheshire East Council website at: www.cheshireeast.gov.uk/consultations where the council is also asking people to complete an online survey.
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