It is time for the people of Wilmslow to have their say on draft proposals to shape the future development of their town to make it an even better place over the next 20 years.
Following extensive engagement, discussions and workshops with local stakeholders, a month-long public consultation period will begin on Friday, March 30th, with an exhibition at Wilmslow Leisure Centre.
The draft Wilmslow Vision will show potential proposals for discussion – including boosting the town centre environment, potential areas for new housing and employment, improved and sustainable integrated transport connections and priorities for investment in schools, open spaces, roads, health and leisure.
Cllr Ruth McNulty, Vice-Chairman of Wilmslow Town Council, is keen to emphasise the importance of Wilmslow residents involvement with the broad 'Vision', particularly in regard to the areas marked as 'possible housing' and coloured orange on the map above.
Cllr McNulty said "These were included on the plan for the specific reason that they are either currently owned by developers or have been the subject of previous planning applications by developers or are currently owned by Cheshire East Council. In other words, it is possible that any or all of these sites could be used for housing development.
"Some of the sites in the Dean Row/Adlington Road area are currently designated as Green Belt but are owned by developers. We want to encourage residents to voice their opinions about the impact of converting this area of Green Belt to housing. If Wilmslow residents overwhelmingly reject potential development on these sites it will be highly unlikely that development will proceed – but we need the collective voice of the people of Wilmslow to speak and to speak vociferously."
She added "Residents are encouraged to visit the consultation and exhibition at the Leisure Centre from Friday 30th March and to register their views and concerns."
The Wilmslow Vision public exhibition will be available to view during normal opening hours at Wilmslow Leisure Centre until April 30th and throughout this period the displays will be staffed by a mixture of Wilmslow Town Council members, Cheshire East Council officers, and representatives from consultants Broadway Malyan. (see below for dates and times).
Wilmslow Town Council is working closely with Cheshire East Council to prepare the new development plan for Cheshire East called the Local Plan (previously called the Local Development Framework). The Local Plan will guide the future planning and development of our towns, villages and countryside up to 2030.
Cheshire East Council is in the process of developing a number of Town Strategies for areas across the Borough, including Alsager, Congleton, Sandbach and Middlewich. The Wilmslow Vision is the document being developed for Wilmslow. It will be one of a suite of key documents to be used by Cheshire East Council when developing the new Cheshire East Local Plan.
The purpose of this document is to summarise the views of the local community, establish the 'vision' and consider the development options to deliver on that vision. No decisions have therefore been taken about the allocation of any sites or their development potential.
Councillor Michael Jones, Cheshire East Council Cabinet member for resources, said: "This is a provocative document which we want to prompt reaction and encourage the people of Wilmslow to get actively involved in shaping.
"There will be things that people disagree with as well as things that they like the sound of – and we want to hear those views.
"I would urge the people of Wilmslow to come along to the exhibition, give their feedback and help us make Wilmslow the best it can be."
Following extensive public consultation of this draft strategy, a final revised document will be presented to Cheshire East Council.
The Place Shaping consultation undertaken in 2011 by Cheshire East Council was the first stage of the consultation and sought the views of residents, workers, visitors and shoppers about what they most liked about their town or village and what they wanted to see improved.
This second stage of consultation of the Wilmslow Vision has been co-ordinated by Wilmslow Town Council. This process has involved working closely with representatives from the local community, including Wilmslow Business Group, Cheshire East Council, Wilmslow Guild and Wilmslow Trust, to develop a strategy to guide the future planning of Wilmslow.
Following this consultation about the whole 'vision' for Wilmslow, the Town Council and Cheshire East Council will start thinking about the details for the town centre development. This will include discussions about the role a cultural corridor can play with improved leisure, sport, cultural and arts facilities, which a lifestyle centre and theatre could be part of.
Further workshops will be held focussing on the town centre, followed by another public consultation in June/July and a draft Town Centre Investment Framework which should be published in August/September.
The Wilmslow Vision public exhibition will be available to view during normal opening hours at Wilmslow Leisure Centre until April 30th. Throughout this period the displays will be staffed by a mixture of Wilmslow Town Council members, Cheshire East Council officers, and representatives from consultants Broadway Malyan on the following dates:
● Friday March 30th: 11am - 7pm;
● Saturday March 31st: 10am - 5pm;
● Tuesday April 10th: 12 - 3pm;
● Wednesday April 18th: 2 - 5pm;
● Thursday April 26th: 5 - 8pm.
People will be able to complete the questionnaire online via wilmslow.co.uk, on the Cheshire East website, or at the leisure centre. Responses are to be returned by Monday, April 30th.
Comments
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The plans are massive. They include the potential for over 2,520(!) new houses, with a target of 1,500. Assuming these are occupied by families of four, this would mean 6,000 new residents, compared to an entire current population of 22.5k, or an uplift of over 25%! This would transform the feel of Wilmslow, especially given the proposed focus on affordable housing. At a time when Wilmslow’s infrastructure is already buckling under the strain (traffic chaos, schools overloaded, no tip…), I can’t quite believe that our council is considering such a population explosion.
Anthony Mooney