More Town Centre Worries

I'm trying to like the redevelopment. I really am.

I'm trying to put aside my wishes for a nice, cosy, market town (probably smelling of smoke free, clean coal (?!) ) and embrace the idea of a nice shiny Debenhams.

After all, it'll be so useful when I've forgotten to buy my Wife a birthday present.

But I can't. The more I think about it, the more bonkers I think the idea is. Which is why I'm up till gone midnight trying to figure out the plans.

Lets just think about traffic. I actually think that there might be enough parking spaces, although we're going to get stung to park in them because there's a plan to outsource the car park to a private contractor.

But that won't matter because, if I'm reading the plans right, you won't be able to get to it.

The car park entrance and exit will be on Churchill Way, but you'll only be able to access it from one end (the B&Q end) because I think it's to be pedestrianised between Castle Street and Roe Street.

So if you're coming from the North Westish of Macc, you'll have to go all the way round Hibel/Silk road, or come down Oxford Road and through the already creaking Flowerpot and College road junctions.

For the couple of car parks there at the moment you can access from either end, so we're looking at doubling the traffic at the Park Lane end *and* adding more because this development is going to bring people from far and wide to shop at Debenhams (!!)

We need to see more in the Macclesfield Express about this, and we need need to hear more about it on the radio. It's time for Maxonians to rise up and get what they need and want, not what is being forced upon us by some (nearly bankrupt?) commerical developer.

** Update: To clarify the parking situation for those that asked, I count 1016 spaces in the car parks that we are losing, and the new development will have 1200 spaces.**