Following our announcement last week that Cheshire East Council has joined forces with Wilmslow Town Council to develop ambitious plans for the town centre, the Town Council have voted to financially support the project.
Councillors, decided on Monday, 21st November, to part fund the appointment of a consultation team - agreeing to fund "50% of the costs, capped at £15,000 for works that specifically have yet to be undertaken."
The funding will used to procure externals consultants who will "help interpret base line data, provide specialised planning experience, advise on viability, advise on the property market and give independent input into public and stakeholder engagement."
Speaking about the "multi-million pound project" Cllr Gary Barton said "This is a major project and in order to have a large say in any future decisions we should get involved from the beginning and part fund. If we're going to be a credible partner in this then we should have credibility from the start, I think we should go half on the £30,000."
However, the Town Council were unable to agree on which members of the Council should form a working group to liaise with Cheshire East Council on the 'Town Vision Project'.
Chairman Cllr Jim Crockett suggested that they have a representative from each of the four wards on the working group, whilst the Town Council finally voted in favour of this proposal they failed to agree on who the representatives would be because too many councillors want to be part of the working group.
It was agreed that councillors from the individual wards would get together and come back to the clerk to confirm who their representative on the working group would be.
Clerk Matthew Jackson explained "This is a working group, not a committee, they are not making decisions, we are not giving powers to councillors to go away and make decisions on behalf of the Town Council.
"Cheshire East Council would like to meet with our working group early December. The purpose of that meeting will be to decide on who should be involved in a bigger group to start throwing ideas around in the new year. We need to make sure all the groups that need to be represented and consulted are identified."
The 'revitalisation' of Wilmslow town centre, to create a vision for the next twenty years, will include looking at how cultural and sporting facilities can be enhanced and could include the development of a lifestyle centre which would bring together a range of public facilities including leisure, library and the arts. A theatre, enhanced public open spaces, retail and car parking could be included.
Cheshire East Council and Wilmslow Town Council will be engaging with a number of key stakeholders over the coming months, including Wilmslow High School and local business groups, and hope to have more solid plans in place by spring next year.
Cllr Rod Menlove, Cabinet member with responsibility for environmental services, told me that Cheshire East Council intends to hold a public consultation about their ambitious plans for the town centre in January or February next year.
Information about this "multi-million pound project" to revitalise the town is yet to be provided but we will keep you informed about this project as more information becomes available.
Photo: Cheshire East Council Leader Councillor Wesley Fitzgerald, centre, with Wilmslow Town Councillors Ruth McNulty and Jim Crockatt at Wilmslow Leisure Centre.
