Older Town Centre Regeneration Schemes
There have been a number of initiatives which Cheshire East Council have delivered either alone or sometimes with collaborating partners to make the town centre a more attractive location to visitors.
The Bus Station ‘Pocket Park’
Work has now completed to transform the
overgrown site of a former 
shop at the approach to Macclesfield Bus Station, in Mill Street, into a pleasant garden rest area, with seating, planting and paving.
The aim was to improve this key gateway into the town into a ‘pocket park’ to significantly enhance the visual appearance of the area and for the local community to use.
The project included natural, yorkstone paving, new planting and greenery, a new specimen tree, new railings as well as benches refurbished from the Castle Street Regeneration Scheme to prevent waste and to allow south facing seating.
The ‘Waters’ Project - Waters Green Underpass and Middlewood Way
The Waters Green Underpass and Middlewood Way area is a heavily used thoroughfare for pedestrians for access to, and from the town, from several areas of Macclesfield. It has suffered from many years of neglect and the standard has deteriorated. This has resulted in the area becoming a crime ‘hot spot’.
A regeneration project has now been completed that has upgraded, safeguarded and sustained the quality for the future.
The objectives were to reduce crime in the area, increase security and in turn footfall in the area, to significantly increase lighting and encourage access through the area at night time.
This has created a lighter, more attractive environment for the public that in turn addresses the ‘broken window theory’ and discourage crime in the area.
The scheme creates and supports an environmentally sustainable and friendly environment, a safer and more secure public space and helps prevent the continued decline of Network Rail/Macclesfield assets.
All of these objectives have been met through works that have included:
- painting and restoration of the Network Rail bridges (including contribution from Network Rail)
- graffiti removal
- significant soft and hard landscaping works completed
- installation of 2 new CCTV cameras and relevant infrastructure
- deep cleaning
- restoration of all street furniture
- lanterns LED upgrading
- successful bid of £5,000 from the Police Commissioner’s Crime Fund
- the installation of a public art scheme
- ‘creative’ programmable lighting
Public feedback has been overwhelmingly positive with people enjoying the lighting, artwork and saying that they feel much safer there than previously.
Sparrow Park regeneration project
Macclesfield’s Sparrow Park is an historic town centre park, located behind the Town Hall on Bunker Hill. It historically offered panoramic views across Macclesfield to the Peak District and is an attractive space for the public to sit, rest, and socialise. It is also one of very few green spaces within the town centre.
The environment within the park had deteriorated and been subject to vandalism and crime. It has now been upgraded to safeguard and sustain the quality for the future. The objectives of this project were to restore a historic town centre park to its former glory, create an attractive town centre green space that will attract the public and increase use, enhance the natural environment within the Town Centre, decrease vandalism and anti-social behaviour, encourage evening use and to attract nature into the park.
All of these objectives have been met through works that have included:
- deep cleaning
- the restoration of setts/cobbles that had been damaged
- the refurbishment of the existing street furniture
- painting of all railings and gates of the park
- enhanced landscape improvements
- lighting improvements – upgrading lanterns and the installation of ‘cherry lights in three trees’
- the reinstallation of the CCTV camera to protect the park
- the removal of three trees, pruning of a further three and landscaping improvements from the adjacent embankment to restore the panoramic views from the park
- significant landscaping improvements in six bays to incorporate wildflower meadows to encourage bumblebees and butterflies
- worked with Macclesfield RSPB to attract nature and wildlife into the park (e.g. bird, owl and bat boxes)
- worked with the Barnaby festival to feature an art installation by artist Hannah Imlach for Barnaby 2016
Public feedback of the scheme has been overwhelmingly positive as a result of the enhancement of the area – in particular the lighting.
Shop front grant scheme
In 2014, the Council delivered 
Phase One of the Macclesfield Shop Front Grant Improvement Scheme which concentrated on the areas of Chestergate and Market Place in Macclesfield town centre. The Council funded decorating works for individual shop fronts, provided that owners of the property funded any necessary building works.
The scheme was hugely successful with over 35 properties smartened up as a result of the scheme. This project was a good example of the Council working with local businesses to deliver improvements to the town centre which will not only benefit individual businesses, but will also help to benefit the wider business and local community by improvement the town centre environment, helping to encourage footfall in the town centre.
The Council has now completed Phase Two of the scheme. This focused on the Lower Mill Street, Park Green, Queen Victoria Street, part of Park Lane, Samuel Street, Roe Street and Duke Street. Many of the shops in these areas were suffering from minor neglect, some repairing repair work to be carried out and others just the decorating
A number of local independent businesses have already completed their work and have not only improved the look of their shop , but the area as a whole. Read about the story of the ‘Mootiful’ Shop Front Grant.
Page last reviewed: 27 June 2024
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