FEASIBILITY studies are being carried out to find the best way to improve Knutsford town centre.

Plans to consider making radical changes will be explored as the town council draws up a masterplan.

The town council was successful in bidding for £80,000 to fund the studies in a competitive funding process.

A multi-storey car park on Tatton Street, restricting through traffic and upgrading Moorside are among the proposals being examined.

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Consultants have been appointed to develop ideas published in the ‘From Top to Bottom Street’ report, collated during public consultation in 2020.

Cllr Christopher Gray, chairman of the town council’s town centre committee, said: “We know that creating a plan for improving the town centre is one of our residents’ top priorities and it’s therefore one of our top priorities too.

“This work will take us a step forward and better understand the impact of a range of potential changes.”

The work will include a range of different studies.

The impact of changes to town centre traffic flow by restricting through traffic and crating public squares will be modelled.

The cost of making these changes and developing a better understanding of the impact works would have on the town will be explored.

Consultants will also investigate the cost and impact of upgrading Moorside to an adoptable highway standard.

The possibility of creating a new access to Princess Street from King Edward Road will also be examined to see how much it would cost and what effect it would have on traffic flow.

The feasibility of creating an ‘attractive’ multi-storey car park on Tatton Street car park will be investigated.

Creating public squares in Canute Place and Princess Street will also be looked into.

Developing different options for improving the pedestrian experience in the town centre whilst retaining vehicular access will be a key focus for the consultants.

Each of these areas are ideas put forward in the ‘From Top to Bottom Street’ plan.

The output of this work will enable the town council to determine if they have merit and could form the basis of a masterplan.

The output of the 2020 consultation had been to call on Cheshire East Council to undertake these feasibility studies directly, but to date. they have been unable to allocate the resource needed to take them forward.

The studies are being funded by the Shared Prosperity Fund, a UK Government Levelling Up fund administered by Cheshire East Council.

The output of this work will lead to a public consultation later in 2024 and be used by the council’s town centre masterplan working group to develop the masterplan. The town council is also looking for those interested in helping develop the wider town centre masterplan to join its working group.

Anyone interested can email townclerk@kntusfordtowncouncil.gov.uk.