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Monday 12 January 2009

Town Centre Redevelopment: Time for action!

I've said quite a lot about why I think the Macclesfield Town Centre redevelopment is wrong. If you've been lucky enough to miss out, then you might want to have a quick look here:

http://darrylbeckford.blogspot.com/2008/09/betjeman-on-town-centre-redevelopment.html

And here:

http://darrylbeckford.blogspot.com/2009/01/more-shops-closing.html

I hope that you feel the same as I do about the development, and if so you'll be wondering what it is you can do to make your voice heard.

The two most important things you can do are to contact the planners and sign our petition. Information about how to do this is here:
www.whosechoice.co.uk

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Nothing like representing your own views and not the consituents.

Do your fellow councillors know that you are a renegade. Perhaps deselection would be a better choice.

Darryl Beckford said...

@Anonymous

Those are two conflicting statements, are they not?

I've had many people contact me in disgust once they'd seen the plans and none contact me to say they think they're delightful. So I don't think I'm too far off the mark.

And I don't think standing up for what you think is right makes you a renegade.

Perhaps one day you'll stand up for something you believe in - which means you'll have to stop posting Anonymously.

Anonymous said...

But who do you represent your own views or your constituents?

Your views are not those of the Conservative party in Macclesfield who set up this whole thing. Should you not then resign and stand as an independent.

It seems you are just representing Dukes Court which is after 6pm a den on iniquity.

Darryl Beckford said...

Still anonymous? Perhaps you could email me privately so that I could understand if you are a resident of my ward.

In this case, it's the views of the constituents that have written to me about the development.

In other times, when I've had no distinct steer, it's what I believe the people in the ward would want - both those who did and didn't vote for me.

To lead the ward or to follow the constituents views is for me an interesting question:

http://darrylbeckford.blogspot.com/2008/10/to-lead-or-to-follow.html

With regards to Macclesfield Conservatives, here's another example of Town Centre views:

http://www.macclesfield-express.co.uk/news/s/1087743_mp_describes_his_shock_at_vision_for_town_centre

As I understand it, the Macclesfield Conservatives do not presently have a documented position on this development.

I do not understand your libelous statement with regards to Dukes Court.

If you take some time to research my views in more detail, you will understand that Dukes Court is only one small area of this development that I see as a concern.

For example, It is obvious even to the most humble observer that the roundabout on Churchill way will not be able to cope with the volume of traffic presented.

The development calls for a single 8 story car park, even though previous documents stated a height limit of 3 storeys and that shoppers car parks should be distributed to help with traffic. Why suddenly change our minds?

This will essentially move the town centre away from present town square which currently links several roads where independent retailers trade from. This will disjoint the town.

No such thing as a free lunch. We'll be paying for this for a long time.

And so far, no assessment of demand for these new shops (from either retailers or shoppers) has been produced.

Dukes court is a nice place with honest hard working businesses, but for me this is not about them.

Anonymous said...

Can i just say - i have been bleating about this on every possible website devoted to anti Wilson B town centre plan Macclesfield - that we do not want to end up like Derby City Centre. Before the likes of the new modernised eagle centre there (the horrendous concrete 70's thing built however) Derby City had a load of independent, well run, choice shops straddling down the picturesque back streets of Sadler gate and Iron gate (not dissimilar to Chestergate) and The Strand and Ward Gate. The main street of St Peters was humming with larger shops, HMV, M&S, a Debenhams was further round, intermingled with smaller family run or small chain shops - Mothercare, Next and the like. However, it was decided (god knows who by) that the eagle centre looked tired and worn (which it did but served its purpose) and they wanted to make it new and exciting and a vision and all the other guff that one hears about the reasoning behind spending millions of pounds on something no one actually wants.
They extended the centre and made it all nice and light and a bit better, but in doing so, the Debenhams at the other end of town shut and was not replaced. M&S is standing empty and all the lovely shops at the other end of town have been cut off completely and have had to shut up shop! Just to add insult to injury, they have once more extended the Eagle Centre, calling it West Mead (i think) which is even bigger than the existing Eagle Centre - what has happened? There are no individual shops selling individual items for individual people. We have all become clones who wear the same clothes from the same select shops in identical shopping centres around the UK. No one has any personality anymore because the shops do not either. For a country / world that are meant to be improving our environment and becoming more choice in what we buy / limited spending / organic food / clothes etc, the idea of a huge Lego built glazed box of shops being landed here is the complete contra of what we are supposed to be doing. Just to say - have you seen Wall E? The lateral thinking that we all end up like large de-boned babies being fed a brand for year upon year of our lives not being able to choose our lives, and being made 'quiet' to let the powers that be do want they want...get my idea, we are being manipulated. Cynical? No not really, what other explanation is there?
Btw, derby has some lovely river side walks and parks, but you would now never know. You have to drive to the river, rather than take a quiet walk amongst the once thriving shops of Iron Gate. As for the public houses, I think I left just in time (1996) when all the quiet back street pubs, and old –style music driven, live show pubs were replaced by the Litten Tree, Weatherspoons etc faceless pubs selling cheap drinks. You know what happened? Violence went through the roof. We have had a Litten tree in Macclesfield – my heart felt alive once more when it was shut down, but later felt doomed when Barracuda opened its doors. The Silk Worm I believe to be Thomas Lloyd – Weatherspoons. If you take the history and the reason of history and life away, you only receive boredom and violence in return – there is no respect for plastic glass and safety glazing, but beautiful buildings with a rich tapestry of previous life – the possibility of a ghost haunting the ladies etc, that offers respect.