MIDDLEWICH is under the spotlight as a group of University students are using their skill and expertise to create ‘Destination Middlewich’ - and get people ‘off the boat, over the road and into the town’.

A group of five final year Town and Regional Planning students at the University of Liverpool are working with the Canal and River Trust, with Middlewich as their project area.

The ‘experiment’ is part of a regional project looking at regeneration, economic development and social awareness of canal towns and the group presented their final report at a national presentation on May 13 at the Lowry in Salford Quays.

Middlewich Town Clerk Jonathan Williams, who has been assisting the project, said: “We are keen to make anyone, in particular young people, who show an interest in our town, feel welcome and support them.

“We feel lucky to work with them and value their work, which focuses on real-life issues.”

The students are currently producing an Area Action Plan with the objective of 'connecting the canal back to the historic centre of Middlewich'.

Luke Atherton, Chris Conlon, Jinglin Wu, Chen Yu and Xinyun Yu, received praise for Stage 1 of their project and their vision for Middlewich gained top marks amongst all of the selected towns.

They have been working in conjunction with Middlewich Town Council and Middlewich Vision to identify key issue areas and establish the town as a ‘year round destination’.

Karen Potter, Project Supervisor, said: “They have been an excellent, hardworking team.

“They visited national and international working canals, such as those in Wales and the Netherlands, and always brought it back to how could this work for Middlewich?”

As the students wait to hear how their project has done, Jonathan said that the findings were not just theoretical but a great contribution to Middewich’s existing future plans.

Watch the video below.