Wilmslow town centre is on the up as a number of new businesses have taken over empty premises in recent weeks.
Amongst those that opened this month is Aroma, an Indian takeaway on Grove Street. The owners Syed Kabir and Foysal Ahmed welcomed the Chairman of Wilmslow Town Council, Keith Purdom, his wife Lesley Purdom, Cllr Christopher Dodson and Cllr Ian Ferguson to their opening ceremony.
Councillor Purdom said "I am delighted to be invited to open this latest new business in Wilmslow on behalf of the Town Council. The Town council is very supportive of the business community in general and the retail sector is a vital part of making the town the vibrant welcoming place it is."
He added "We have seen a number of new businesses open recently and the reduced number of empty retail units gives me confidence that Wilmslow is bucking the national trend in retailing in town centres. I wish Aroma every success in their new business venture and thank them for choosing to make Wilmslow their new home."
Councillor Purdom officially opened a new wine shop on Saturday 17th October, which has created five new jobs in the town. The launch of Wine Rack on Alderley Road was attended by celebrity chef Nigel Brown who was carrying out some cooking demonstrations.
Cllr Purdom said "I'm delighted to formally open Wine Rack. The vibrancy of our town might be measured by the demand for retail premises – it's a pleasure to welcome Wine Rack to join our excellent existing retail community and I wish them every success.
"Even to my layman eyes there was a very wide range available, with plenty of interesting wines from both the traditional regions and some that are new to me."
New hair and beauty salon Lusso, launched by model and businesswoman Marilena Nitu, also opened its doors on Saturday, 17th October. Marilena hosted a launch party a few days earlier where guests included BBC presenter and children's author, Clare Nasir, who lives in Wilmslow with her husband, Radio 6 DJ Chris Hawkins.
Guest enjoyed champagne, canapés and a range of complimentary treatments, including manicures, pedicures, facials and massages, as well as contemporary hair 'up-do's.
A new healthy eating cafe Nourish recently opened at Bank Square in the premises previously occupied by Hawthorn Deli. Having set up in Altrincham in April 2014, Thomas Thornley Groves has partnered with his friend James Cumbes to expand Nourish after realising they had found a niche in the market.
Another new addition to the town centre this month is the Cheshire Watch Company which has opened on the corner of Alderley Road and Water Lane, having relocated from Manchester city centre. Customers can expect to find diamond jewellery and pre owned watches with brands ranging from Rolex, Cartier, Patek Philippe, Richard Mille, Panerai and much more.
Christian the Watch expert of the company said "When the property in Wilmslow came available it was to good of an opportunity to turn down, to bring our contemporary high end pieces to the village."
New shops that opened in the summer include discount retailer The Works, located on Grove Street, and the James Lakeland women's clothing boutique which is located on Alderley Road in the premises previously occupied by The Big Blue fish and chip shop.
As well as the new arrivals, Bang & Olufsen relocated from Bank Square to their larger more modern showroom on Alderley Road, which is based on the company's new sensory store concept, and Hoopers is currently undergoing a multi-million pound refurbishment.
The opening, and unfortunate closing, of businesses in Wilmslow is always of much interest to our readers so we will keep you informed of new developments as we hear of them.
Comments
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Welcome to another beauty salon, I'm sure there are enough punters.
Welcome to Cheshire Watch co. At last a new up market retailer fills a unit and attracts spenders to the town..
Recent increases proposed here in greenfield sites for housing and employment land, without any brown field sites or reuse of unused buildings, must make us wonder what WTC are playing at.
Does this article simply divert attention away from the bigger picture? Are WTC councillors about to declare their independence? They can't surely be rolling over, content with everything being done by CE on our behalf?
From what I can see it's only Residents of Wilmslow councillors and supporters who are actively engaged in the Local Plan hearing. That cannot be right. Without our inputs, especially from our Cllrs, we will get what the developers are pushing for. A clear statement from WTC will be helpful.
Meanwhile, enjoy the shopping whilst you can park.
I don't know what involvement our CEC Councillors have had with the Local Plan hearings but, given the fact that they voted against the express wishes of the electorate regarding Green Belt protection once before http://bit.ly/1DlRiwX and have been unable to explain their actions since, I fear the worst.
Perhaps any of the WTC or CTC Councillors could comment here?
It is correct that WTC were not invited to attend the hearings because they had not commented/ participated in earlier hearings (can't comment on why that was the case because it was before my time). I think this may have been the case for many councils and other stakeholders because it was recognised by the inspector in his final summing up; he pointed out that there may be many stakeholders who hadn't commented on the earlier submission because they were happy with it but would not be happy with the revisions. However they had not been invited to comment on the revisions.
I think the lesson is that stakeholders should comment even if it says "I have no comment"!
Despite not participating in the earlier hearings I did submit comments to the inspector on the recent changes and managed to get permission to participate in the hearings on behalf of the residents of Wilmslow East. I could only attend 3 of the 6 hearings (due to work commitments) but Wilmslow was one of the better represented Towns/ Parishes thanks to Residents of Wilmslow (RoW).
I intend to submit a letter to Wilmslow.co.uk in the next few days (which I hope Lisa will publish) to summarise the current state of play including how the hearings went but just to let you know the inspector has requested (and CEC has agreed) that there will be a consultation exercise on the amended submission (including site allocation) where anyone can engage irrespective of whether or not they participated earlier.
Dave