RESIDENTS are being invited to have their say on the future of the town centre of Winsford.

Cheshire West and Chester Council bought the Winsford Cross Shopping Centre in February 2018 and has been working since to repair and maintain the site.

The council, working with the Mid Cheshire Development Board, is now ready to ask the people of Winsford to play an important role in the shaping of the redevelopment of the town centre site.

Consultation and engagement results will influence and help determine how the redesign of the centre will look in the future.

Initial proposals for the new town centre are:

• a better mix of uses to include retail, leisure, residential and public services

• an enhanced town square with more public spaces

• clearly defined entrances for pedestrians with car, taxi and bus drop off points

• a reorganised layout with more user friendly car parking and public entrance points which are distinguishable from traders’ service yards

• an improvement to landscaping, tree planting and better links to the town park, Guildhall, the college and academy.

These proposals were presented to tenants and market traders in the town centre this week before launch of the consultation on 30th October 2019

Simon Barber, chairman of the Mid Cheshire Development Board, said: “We want to deliver a new town centre that everyone in Winsford can be proud of. Our long term vision is for the market, the library and health services to better reflect the needs of local people.

“We aim to improve accessibility to the town centre for all residents by creating better links to the Weaver Valley and we want to create space for people to come together by improving the town’s leisure offer. It is our long-held ambition to use the town centre regeneration programme to create new business opportunities for local people and to attract more visitors to the town.

“We invite the people of Winsford who use the centre and those who have not visited it in a while to actively get involved in this consultation. We need people’s views so that the Council can create a town centre that everyone can enjoy.”

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Residents can fill in the consultation questions online by visiting http://cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk/winsfordconsultation

People can find out more by visiting consultations exhibitions which will be scheduled after the General Election.

The consultation closes on Sunday, January 12, 2020.