Crewe residents have been given the chance to see how £22.9m of government funding will be spent on a package of projects to revitalise the town, writes Belinda Ryan.
Ten schemes have been earmarked for funding through the Towns Fund – a national scheme designed to drive regeneration and economic growth.
Crewe Town Board, which is overseeing the projects, held a public exhibition on Friday to explain more about the projects and how they were chosen.
Chair Doug Kinsman told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “The Towns Fund itself was very prescriptive in what it was looking to invest in. We went out and did consultation with the community.
“They came back with something like 60 or 70 projects eventually, which totalled about £80m of investment.
“We had to whittle them down because we had up to £25m to apply to the government for.”
Most of these 70-odd projects were not “oven-ready”, as Mr Kinsman put it.
“We were aware that lots of other towns actually had projects that were sitting on the shelf ready to go and we didn’t have any really oven-ready projects,” he said.
“That meant, when we looked at them under the magnifying glass, they didn’t meet the requirements of the fund and we knew that they couldn’t be delivered in the time-scales.
“The Towns Fund money has to be spent by 2026.”
Eventually 10 schemes were identified, submitted and the board, which was formed in July 2020, had seven months to put together a business plan to submit back to the government.
In July last year, Crewe was awarded £22.9m of the £25m it had bid for.
Business cases now have to be submitted to the government for all 10 projects by the beginning of August before any cash is handed over.
The schemes are:
Flag Lane Baths Community Hub: This proposes to transform the whole site of the former swimming pool into a centrally located, top quality, thriving community hub. The project, led by the Always Ahead charity, will transform the building so people will be able to spend leisure time and access support.
Pastor David Edwards, of Always Ahead said: “We run the Lighthouse Centre and we work with the most vulnerable in Crewe – homeless, those suffering from mental health issues, ex-offenders. We’ve seen how the deterioration of that site has brought further deprivation in the town – anti-social behaviour, fly-tipping, criminal activity, drug taking.
“We thought we could make better use of that site. We’re very passionate about the building, it’s been at the heart of community activity.”
Valley Brook Green Corridor: Valley Brook forms a natural corridor across the south of Crewe but most of it is hidden, overlooked or forgotten completely.
This project aims to connect Crewe via a cycling and walking route, through parks and open spaces, as well as improving the watercourse and habitats for wildlife.
Crewe Town Board member Simon Yates said: “If we could find a way of being able to get from Queens Park into the town centre in a way which encourage active travel, enable people to get into the town in a in a safe way – those were some of the things that drove that particular scheme.”
Mill Street Corridor: This aims to deliver an active travel route linking the town centre with the existing railway station and proposed HS2 hub, encouraging more people to cycle and walk. Work is still taking place to identify the best route.
Mr Yates said: “The idea is to open up that space, not just as a nice route for people to be able to get into the town, but it also then starts to open up the space potentially for employment and housing investment.”
Repurposing the High Street: This project will look to tackle the long-term vacancy of smaller commercial units in the town centre. It will focus on gateway sites and bringing dormant shop frontages back into active use, as well as finding new opportunities for quality and accessible town centre living accommodation.
Mr Kinsman said this might involve ‘possibly buying up properties and then using them as starter enterprises for young people that want to get into retail and given them an opportunity’.
Crewe Youth Zone: This will be a space for young people, likely on the Oak Street Car Park, that is packed with activities including dance, music and media skills. It’s created by the charity Onside and will be staffed by skilled youth workers.
Mr Kinsman said: “It’s not just a building, they employ professional youth workers who are trained and really draw the kids out of themselves and give them lots of experiences, develop them to the best they can be.”
History Centre Public Realm: As part of a larger archives project for Cheshire, a new History Centre is planned for the site of Crewe’s former library. This proposal, led by Cheshire East Council, is to create a new public space extending from the area from Memorial Square and linking the History Centre with the southern gateway, Lifestyle Centre and Lyceum Square.
Lyceum Powerhouse: This proposal is for a state-of-the-art, live music venue and creative skills centre. It will offer development opportunities for young people in creative and performing arts.
Mr Kinsman said: “It’s going to have training facilities and development spaces to allow young people to have a career roadmap to get into arts and culture. On the site, there’s going to be a community café and an arts café. In our view, there’s going to be recording studios.”
The Cumberland Arena: This project aims to deliver flexible, indoor spaces to support the existing activities, as well as capacity for a range of additional community services and improved spectator facilities.
Warm and Healthy Homes: This project is a targeted housing improvement programme and aims to fund repairs to older energy inefficient homes in the town centre, focusing on external works, including windows, doors and roofs, and introducing carbon saving measures.
Pocket Parks: Plans for eight pocket parks in Crewe aim to see them become more attractive and better equipped spaces for people to spend time and enjoy physical activity.
Throughout these projects there is a connectivity theme.
Mr Kinsman said: “We were asked by the government to make sure that all the projects have this sort of golden thread and they all link together.”
Cheshire East, which is the accountable body, sees these 10 projects as a once-in-a-generation opportunity.
Cllr Nick Mannion (Lab), chair of the economy and growth committee, said: “Crewe is the major town in Cheshire East and therefore we have a commitment to ensuring that Crewe in the 21st century goes forward in a prosperous way and takes advantage of the opportunities available to it.”
There are some in the town who are less optimistic, after numerous schemes talked about in previous years which have not come to fruition.
Crewe and Nantwich MP Kieran Mullan (Con), who is a member of Crewe Town Board, told the LDRS: “I totally understand people’s cynicism but I think one of the things I’ve always made clear to people is, I’m not really in the game of convincing people what’s going to happen, I’m in the game of getting things done and people can see for themselves that we’ve done things.”
He said the advantage of the Town Board is that it comprises people from all walks of life.
“We’ve all played an equal role really, I think, in giving our feedback on what we think the priorities for the Town Deal should be, based on our personal experience but also, all of us are in different walks of life, meeting people, talking to people, hearing from them about what they think is important.
“We’re passionate about the town and the things that we want to see improved.”
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