Alsager Town Centre Position Paper

v2.0 - 2 February 2018

Background

Following an initial community consultation in May 2016[A7], Alsager Town Council (ATC) decided to initiate and support the creation of an Alsager Neighbourhood Plan. In January 2017 the Alsager Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group was established, led by residents and with the involvement of selected town councillors. The Steering Group (SG) identified five themes to guide its work: Housing, Business and Employment, Town Centre, Open Spaces, and Infrastructure. Working groups for each theme have been established.

A Neighbourhood Plan provides local planning policies (after the national framework and the Cheshire East Local Plan), designed to enable the community to take some control over and influence how development takes place within Alsager. Our policies cannot conflict with those of the other two planning tiers, but we can stipulate additional guidance which must be taken into account by those who consider planning applications.

This paper is specifically concerned with the work of the Town Centre Working Group (TCWG) to date, the work it has undertaken and, as a result, its initial views on the way forward.

A Neighbourhood Plan - and a Delivery Plan

A Neighbourhood Plan is a community-led planning framework for guiding the future development, regeneration and conservation of an area. It is about the use and development of land and may contain a vision, aims, planning policies, proposals for improving the area or providing new facilities, or allocation of key sites for specific kinds of development. A neighbourhood plan can specify priorities and guidance on how new development can be designed, orientated and located, but must comply with the national and local plan frameworks.

As we have undertaken our work on the town centre people have suggested many different ideas and ways forward, many of which are not necessarily part of a planning framework. Rather they are suggestions for improvements that could be undertaken without going through a planning process. Therefore, in parallel to the Neighbourhood Plan, we will develop a Delivery Plan which will capture the ideas we suggest taking forward which do not require Neighbourhood Plan policies but will require energy, funding and commitment to realise.

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Our aim is to develop a community vision for Alsager town centre that will need support from many different parties and pots of funding to realise, but that will enable us to drive the vision forward rather than just waiting for people to submit planning applications.

Research and evidence

A robust programme of community engagement and a proportionate evidence base is needed to ensure that a neighbourhood plan is based on a proper understanding of the area and of the views, aspirations, wants and needs of local people.

Annex A sets out the wealth of research and evidence which has been collected, collated and analysed, in order to help us identify the key issues for Alsager town centre and how we might address them. It is categorised by national, regional and Alsager-based evidence, but in all cases we have pulled out the key messages which we believe are relevant to Alsager's situation.

It includes national reviews and evidence of best practice, regional plans and strategies, Alsager plans and strategies, surveys, discussions with interested parties, visits to other places, and statistical evidence. At the start of the Annex is an index of supplementary documentation on which the research and evidence is based, followed by a summary of the key points in each item.

We need to build on the detailed work as set out in the Alsager SPD (October 2010) [A1], much of which is still applicable, and update it in the light of recent research and practice on town centres and more recent circumstances and opportunities in Alsager, including the views of the current community.

Issues and the way forward for British town centres

All town centres are struggling to adapt to the new environment in which shopping habits are changing drastically, particularly with the prevalence of online shopping. As Mary Portas [N1] says in her 2011 review of British high streets:

How we shop as a nation has quite simply changed beyond recognition.Forever.

The phenomenal growth of online retailing, the rise of mobile retailing,the speed and sophistication of the major national and internationalretailers, the epic and immersive experiences offered by today’s newbreed of shopping mall, combined with a crippling recession, have allconspired to change today’s retail landscape.

We therefore need to think differently about what town centres are for. Portas believes they should be re-imagined as destinations for socialising, culture, health, wellbeing, creativity and learning . . They should become places where we go to engage with other people in our communities, where shopping is just one small part of a rich mix of activities. They should be seen as civic space where people go for an experience.

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Experience from a range of town centres shows that cultural activity is at the heart of most successful regeneration. Wayne Hemmingway[N4] (whose company has been involved in many urban regeneration schemes using culture) stresses the importance of giving young people opportunities and support so that exciting things can then happen. Cheshire East has already identified that creative and digital businesses can be a growth factor in the region and has put in place a strategy to support this[R4]. In particular they identified key barriers to growth:

low levels of entrepreneurship lack of innovation support lack of access to finance and commercial business skills shortage of smaller offices or incubator space

Portas made 28 recommendations in her report, many of which are beyond the scope of this document. However, four of the recommendations have particular relevance to how we develop Alsager:

Put in place a “Town Team”: a visionary, strategic and strong operational management team for high streets

Local areas should implement free controlled parking schemes that work for their town centres and we should have a new parking league table

Town Teams should focus on making high streets accessible, attractive and safe Promote the inclusion of the High Street in Neighbourhood Plans

As a follow up to the Portas Review, Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU) conducted research[N2] with 10 towns (including Alsager), together with a literature review of best practice research on town centres, and identified the top 25 issues affecting the success of a town centre. The full list of 25 is given in Annex A, but some of the key themes are as follows:

Good place management with community leadership, partnerships and collaboration, working to an agreed strategy

The place should be attractive, clean, pleasant, safe, accessible for all, walkable, with public open space

Importance of service quality and visitor satisfaction The value of anchor stores supplemented by a diverse range of stores and attractions,

including non-retail, with a variety of tenant mix and alternative formats, and with clear opening hours

A consideration of the preferred balance between convenience and comparison shopping, and between chains and independent stores - and maintaining some flexibility to adapt to changing circumstances

A range of entertainment and leisure opportunities, including the evening economy Accessible with good car parking and public transport facilities as well as other public

amenities

Portas ends her report with some advice to retailers:

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Surviving in today’s value-minded, aggressively-discounted,convenience-focused market means reappraising how to competeand doing things differently.

It means standing for something. Connecting with our values aswell as our sense of value. Consciously bringing something ontoour high streets that the internet never can. And doing it with suchcreative flourish that people come back time and time again.

In a world where the sheer sophistication, speed and scale of boththe web and the major supermarkets will always be pushing newboundaries, you’ll never be able to compete sustainably on price.You’ll never be able to beat the sheer efficiency of the web. You’llnever be able to compete with the range and diversity of the majormultiples and supermarkets.

Where you can compete and need to focus your efforts is in threecore areas: [Customer] Experience, Service and Specialism.

In November 2013 a report, Beyond Retail[N10], was published by the industry task force commissioned by the government in response to the Portas review recommendations to analyse retail property issues related to town centres. Their vision agreed with the Portas conclusions:

Town centres are the hub of their communities.

Town centres of the future need to move beyond retail and be a vibrant centre for living, culture, entertainment, leisure, shopping, business and civic activity. These centres will need to constantly evolve to remain economically vibrant. Local people will be proud of their town centre once again. Successful town centres in the future will have a clear understanding of their primary functions within the local and regional economy.

Successful towns will move away from a reliance upon retail to the provision of a broader mix of commercial and employment uses, community services, leisure and residential to reposition and reinvigorate high streets and central town areas.

They make a number of recommendations and comments, including the following:

Centres will need to focus on fulfilling their role in the retail hierarchy. The base retail function is the provision of food and drink for consumption at home — collectively called convenience goods — together with a range of local services such as banks/building societies, hairdressers, coffee shops, etc. Smaller centres have typically focused on fulfilling this function while medium and larger centres have emphasised on selling comparison goods such as clothing and footwear, homewares, etc.

The quality of the town centre environment can also be an important attractor An ideal situation would be to combine local employment, with a mix of residential and

attractive public realm to create a town centre that people want to support — one in which they are happy to live, work, shop and relax. Without employment, supporting or expanding the retail and leisure base will be extremely difficult.

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An accomplished online presence for town centre destinations will play an important part of town rebranding/PR, enabling towns to better engage with the consumer and to attract footfall back onto high streets.

Establishing free in-town Wi-Fi ensures that towns are well placed to meet the connectivity expectations of the modern consumer.

Issues for Alsager

In May 2016 Cheshire East published the Cheshire Retail Study[R13] which drew on the Beyond Retail report and presented a retail analysis of all Cheshire East towns, including Alsager. They show the following:

Alsager has a relatively high proportion of convenience units and floorspace (mainly thanks to Asda)

a low proportion of comparison shopping (and many of those are charity shops) - however, they suggest: this is not necessarily a weakness. Centres such as Knutsford and Nantwich provide a wide range and variety of independent operators, which creates a unique and diverse shopping offer and are also the towns with the lowest vacancy rates.

Alsager already has a high proportion of independent shops unlike most other towns, Alsager does not have particularly good wifi coverage important community function with library, civic centre and medical services eastern part of town centre more vibrant (more footfall) than western part traffic through the town centre detracts from amenity value (but shared space scheme

proposed in Alsager SPD would help to address the issue) lack of new investment in the town [citing vacant spaces by Asda, now addressed]

The study confirmed the town centre boundary as set out in the Local Plan (and Alsager SPD), and analysed it as follows, noting primary and secondary shopping areas and frontages:

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Just like every other town, we want our town centre to be a vibrant and viable place. As it says in the Cheshire East Local Plan[R1]: The achievement of vibrant, prosperous and sustainable town centres is a key objective and is considered a major contributor to Enterprise and Growth. Our task is to try to realise that objective in the town centre environment described by the Portas Review and the Beyond Retail report.

Alsager town centre has a lot of positive attributes which are valued by its residents [A7,A8,A9,A11]:

good community spirit with lots of community groups, activities and events peaceful, clean and safe good amenities and facilities valued open and green spaces reasonable shopping for day-to-day needs - convenience shopping

However, there are also many deficiencies of the current town centre:

place does not feel vibrant and alive (except when community events are on) little to really attract visitors to the town (except community events) limited range of shops - comparison shopping limited opportunities for recreation, leisure and culture few youth facilities not much happening long high street with "dead" section in the middle few people visit the west end of the town centre unless they have walked from that

direction (other than for takeaways in the evening) lots of through traffic with little prospect of a bypass - particular congestion issues morning

and evening dreadful state of pavements, poor signage and street clutter tired-looking buildings in need of sprucing up, unattractive no public wifi throughout town centre and generally poor wifi coverage little sense of place no clear strategy for developing the town centre

Alsager Partnership, the Civic Centre and the Round Table have done much work with the Town Council to address some of these issues, successfully putting on events and improving marketing of the town. Organisations such as Alsager in Bloom work to increase the attractiveness of the town. The aim is to build on their work to try to create an ambitious unified vision of what Alsager could be, a place we can be proud of, and put in place the steps needed to realise that vision.

Vision and strategy for Alsager

In order to create a vibrant, prosperous and sustainable town centre our key task is to increase footfall and spend in the town centre, which means encouraging residents and visitors to come into town in the first place. We would like to create a family-oriented leisure destination. Our ideas for making this happen are a combination of improving attractiveness, character, accessibility, retail,

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leisure and social offering, and activities, for the whole family. We want a high quality public realm. This cannot happen overnight. But it is hoped that as Alsager becomes more attractive and active, more people will visit, more businesses will want to locate here and there will be a virtuous circle of improvement.

Just to be clear, the ideas here take no account of funding issues. Our view is that we need an ambitious vision for Alsager which our residents support. Then we can go about seeking funding from various sources to realise the vision over a number of years. Nothing here is unrealistic in that other towns have done similar things. It is time Alsager had a look in.

Drawing on all the research and evidence identified in Annex A, these are some of the ideas we have identified which are designed to create the environment where the town centre can flourish:

create a distinctive sense of place for the area designated as within the Alsager town centre boundaries

improve the attractiveness, cohesion and accessibility of the town centre (using highways, landscaping, public art, and principles of good design) - high quality public realm and civic hub

prioritise pedestrians and cyclists over car drivers - slow traffic down while keeping it flowing make the most of those assets we have by improved signage, walking routes, highlighting

places of interest create an identity for Alsager around the themes of Alsager artisans and makers, arts and

culture, health and wellbeing, family-friendly, it's good to meet, community events identify the west end of the town centre (from Northolme Gardens to Church Road) as the

cultural zone and encourage business and community enterprises linked to arts and culture to locate in this area

encourage initiatives and facilities designed to involve various sections of the community in social activities eg shed projects for older men (and women), youth facilities and activities

encourage a wider range of retail businesses to locate in the town centre, with particular encouragement for independent shops which respond to demand for individuality, quality and variety (food and non-food) as well as those which offer affordable basics

support the further development of the Wednesday market to include a wider variety of stalls complementary to the high street retail offer

ensure parking policy supports use of town centre businesses encourage a thriving evening economy, to include both entertainment and food and drink encourage the organisation of a number of activities to take place regularly in the town

centre street and Milton Park so that Alsager becomes known for something always happening

put in place an active town centre management team to drive forward the vision as opportunities arise and to provide business support, including encouraging a business support networking group

The next section sets out more detail about each of these ideas.

Realising the vision

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1 Create a distinctive sense of place for the area designated as within the Alsager town centre boundaries

Improve the attractiveness, cohesion and accessibility of the town centre (using highways, landscaping, public art and principles of good design) - high quality public realm and civic hub

All suggestions should be underpinned by good design, taking particular note of the Cheshire East Design Guide[R2] and its requirements in relation to market towns like Alsager. Any design should also be developed involving the residents of Alsager.

When people enter Alsager Town Centre we want them to know that they are entering a different kind of place, a special town centre space. There are a number of ways of achieving this.

Gateways

At each of the primary entrances to the town we could have clear signage showing that you are now entering Alsager Town Centre and asking people to consider others. It should be prominent and attractive.

Immediate change of feel

Immediately there could be a change to the way the roads and pavements are surfaced and laid out, from tarmac to high quality and attractive paving materials. Ideally this should be flexible paving so that it can be dug up and replaced without detriment when services need to be maintained or added. The aim is to keep the whole town centre area distinct and attractive, with relatively low maintenance.

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Cohesion

The town centre is strung out along Crewe Road and Lawton Road and includes some of Sandbach Road North and South. We want to make it feel like a single coherent area, so the style of its design needs to be coherent and uniform. The road and pavement paving would play a large part in this, to be applied throughout the whole town centre area within the town gateways, as would the more general street treatment. Although there would still be traffic through the town it would have the feel of a pedestrianised area, also encouraging traffic to slow down.

Accessibility

The design of any scheme needs to take account of accessibility requirements. Current pavements are in a shocking state and many are cluttered by unnecessary signs making it difficult for those with buggies and mobility scooters, for example, to navigate. Pavements are also obstructed by overhanging trees and bushes and by vehicles parking on pavements. Many premises lack ramps and have narrow doorways. Lifts should be installed in some premises where upper floors are used by the public. Blind and partially sighted people need to know that they can cross the road safely. The ability to navigate streets and roads safely by everyone is of prime importance. Public toilets near the Library/Civic Centre would also help.

Street treatment

We would adopt a single attractive style of street furniture - lights, litter bins, signposts, benches - and use this throughout the town centre area. It needs to be uncluttered and appropriate. We might wish to put restrictions on shops putting goods or signs on the pavements, and encourage landlords to spruce up their properties. One suggestion is to persuade shops to install stylish canopies as part of unifying the centre and giving it an interesting feel. Another idea is to install drinking fountains (where people can also refill their water bottles). Seating configuration should be more conducive to chatting.

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Landscaping (hard and soft)

There are parts of the town centre which might benefit from new landscaping schemes. The aim of landscaping would be to make areas more user-friendly, more sociable, and with more natural and sustainable planting. Some areas identified:

Northolme/B'Hoys Gardens (leading on to the Mere) - cut back trees, lighter, more natural planting merging with reeds in the water, perhaps with water feature which children can run in, possibly walkway or pier extending into the Mere, sculptures, seats, railings softened with planting, a bird hide, a pocket park

the green area outside the Civic Centre which is currently rather formal and has a keep off the grass feel - encourage greater use of walking on and through the area, seating to encourage sociability (eg L shaped or semi-circular)

open up the view down the street from the Bank Corner junction towards Asda by cutting or removing hedges, giving a greater sense of space

get Cheshire East to adopt the car park on Sandbach Road South leading into Milton Park, relandscape it to include a prominent entrance to the park and set out parking spaces, including a clear pedestrian walkway through the car park to the park

possibly make the Town Square outside Asda less stark, soften with some planting (while keeping it as an open space for events)

improve all views into and out of the town centre to create interest/attraction

Public art

Public art is a key feature in giving a place its distinctiveness and we want to build it into all aspects of a redesigned town centre. It should be designed locally, reflect local interests, and include all kinds of art works - murals, ceramics, colourful tiles, sculpture. Involve local schools and universities, possibly hold competitions. Possibly a sculpture could be created to act as a focal point for the town centre (like a clock tower).

Civic hub

In the centre of the town centre area is Alsager's civic hub - library, Civic Centre, council offices, with open space between the buildings and the street. This is an important focal point of the town centre and needs to be maintained and enhanced as part of the public realm. It is an essential part of the community infrastructure which supports all sections of the community. One possible enhancement is to provide free wifi in this area, and possibly around the town square (outside Asda), or more generally throughout the town centre.

2 Prioritise pedestrians and cyclists over car drivers - slow traffic down while keeping it flowing

On one day in November 2016 Cheshire East counted 13,830 vehicle movements through the Bank Corner junction, 86% cars and 13% goods vehicles[R8]. Cheshire East wants to decrease vehicle movements (by encouraging walking and cycling, creating employment closer to home, and other

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such measures) [R1]. In addition, government policy and technological advances mean that it is likely that car use will decrease over the next twenty years. Nevertheless, we will need to cater for the needs of cars and drivers for some years yet. Some people complain of congestion [A5,A11], particularly at peak times or when the level crossing gates are closed for an extended period (eg for two trains) or when there are problems on the M6, though at other times the volume of traffic is not particularly heavy, though it is fairly constant.

We need to decide as Alsager residents whether we want to prioritise drivers or pedestrians in the town centre area. The proposals in this paper are based on prioritising pedestrians over drivers. The hope is that within the town centre we can create a culture of considerate road usage, giving way to others as necessary.

One of the advantages which Alsager town centre has is its wide pavements (in some places). We do not want to lose these. For the most part this is because a shop's frontage merges into pavements. Some suggestions for managing Alsager traffic is to introduce filter lanes, but this would convert pavement/frontage space into road space, decreasing pedestrian space. We need to find alternative methods of managing traffic if we want to maintain and develop Alsager as a space where people want to be (rather than just drive through).

There are road schemes in place elsewhere which both slow the traffic down while still keeping it moving[R9,N8,N9]. This should be our aim for traffic management in Alsager town centre. Slower traffic is safer and more pleasant to be around. Flowing traffic will emit less pollution than stop-start traffic, and is less irritating for drivers.

We want to engage with both highways experts and the wider Alsager community to design an appropriate scheme to achieve this objective.

Traffic lights are an issue when designing a scheme since they inevitably lead to stop-start traffic rather than keeping it flowing, particularly when there are as many sets as we currently have in Alsager town centre. Some schemes remove lights completely, relying on road markings to indicate how the traffic should flow (eg treat a junction as a roundabout by giving way to traffic from the right). However, there do need to be places where people can cross roads safely.

When traffic is slow, then pedestrians are able to cross roads at any time - cars will stop when they see someone wants to cross. Roads and pavements can have different paving treatments, with kerbs at crossing points being in a different material which those with impaired sight can feel. However, this is not sufficient as some people, having reached a crossing point, need audible signs that it is safe to cross, so this needs to be addressed.

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Another idea is to stop vehicles accessing car parks behind shops on Lawton Road from Lawton Road, instead enabling access via Fairview car park. This would reduce vehicle movements over the pavements and make the area nicer and safer (but clearly would need agreement of shop owners).

In some places street parking and vehicles parking on pavements is a problem [A11], often stopping the flow of traffic. Roads within the town centre area should not permit street parking (except in designated areas such as laybys) and this should be properly policed.

We also need to develop a scheme which takes account of cyclists. If we want to encourage more people to cycle into town rather than drive we need to ensure routes into town and through the town are cycle-friendly (as well as having places for cyclists to leave their bikes safely).

"Shared space" road schemes

Some of these ideas are based on principles of so called "shared space" road schemes. The aim of these schemes is to slow traffic and give priority to pedestrians. The Department for Transport definition is[N9]:

A street or place designed to improve pedestrian movement and comfort by reducing the dominance of motor vehicles and enabling all users to share the space rather than follow the clearly defined rules implied by more conventional designs.

The Urban Design Group told the Women and Equalities Select Committee [N9] looking into shared space schemes:

One of the objectives of Shared Schemes is to reduce vehicle speeds to below a level where they are capable of inflicting serious and fatal injuries on vulnerable road users. There is evidence from schemes such as Poynton or Bexleyheath High Street that the approach is successful.

There are mixed views about shared space schemes, particularly in relation to people with disabilities. The urban designer Ben Hamilton-Baillie argued strongly that shared space principles present opportunities to “reduce the severe inequalities for disabled people created by conventional highway-dominated streets”. However, there is some evidence to suggest that this has not always been (indeed perhaps has rarely been) an objective from the start when designing schemes, and

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most of the complaints about schemes have been from people with disabilities, particularly the blind and partially sighted. Any scheme for Alsager would need to ensure that it creates a fully inclusive environment. We want to take over the principles of slower traffic and an environment for all pedestrians. Precisely how this would be done would need to be designed.

There is currently a government moratorium on new shared space schemes while the issues raised, particularly in relation to the Equality Act 2010, are reviewed.

3 Make the most of those assets we have by improved signage, walking routes, places of interest

In recent years the Alsager Partnership has done much to improve the branding and image of Alsager, through the It's All About Alsager campaigns and the community events which it organises and supports. Here are some ideas to further enhance what we already have.

Town Centre map

When people arrive in Alsager there is little indication of how the town is laid out, what is where, and what people might do. We should have attractive town maps located in the centre and at key entry points to the town (eg by the station). In addition to the basic layout, these maps would show places of interest which visitors in particular may not otherwise discover, including Milton Park, the Mere, the cultural zone, conservation areas, Church Lawton barrows, etc. The map could include walking routes (see below).

Places of historic interest

Alsager is not lacking in history, though it has not been a major feature of our identity. We should ask the Local History Society to identify local buildings and places of historic interest and come up with a brief outline history and historic photos so that we can put up plaques at these places. This would build on the work they have already done to identify 18 points of historical interest in Alsager[A14] though as yet this does not include pottery associations.

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Another idea is to have, in the centre, a board with a historic timeline for the town's development.

Walking routes and treasure trails

Perhaps we could create a few suggested walking routes around the town, taking in different areas, including the places of historic interest, park and Mere, cultural zone and shops of general interest. Many towns have created treasure trails which encourage families to visit the town to do the treasure trail, have lunch or a coffee, see what the place has to offer. This would be a key mechanism for linking different parts of town, taking people through attractive and interesting areas. We could also resurrect the maps setting out walks starting and ending in the town centre, originally generated by the Alsager Chamber of Trade.

Directories

We should make it easier for residents and visitors to know what is available in the town centre by listing outlets by category - food, hospitality, health, home and garden, etc. This could be on the web, but could also accompany the town maps at the entrances to the town.

Signposts

Ensure good signage within the town centre, to improve the legibility of the area, and how people navigate. This should include better signage to the Station which is within easy walking distance and is a huge advantage for residents and visitors.

Website and Facebook

A well-maintained website on Alsager and what it offers to visitors could help to spread more widely the benefits of spending time here. Pictures, events, directories, maps, treasure trail download, etc. Also a good Facebook page where events and activities can be publicised. Alsager Partnership and

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What's Going On In Alsager already provide much of this facility. Better use of various social media will enhance knowledge of Alsager's assets.

4 Create an identity for Alsager around the themes of Alsager artisans and makers, arts and culture, health and wellbeing, family-friendly, it's good to meet, community events

This goes to the heart of what Alsager town centre could be. It is a focal point for people coming together, both residents and visitors, and for having experiences as well as buying stuff. It should be noted that the Alsager Partnership has already identified its four key themes (health and wellbeing, culture, creativity and learning, and socialising), which this vision builds on.

Artisans and makers

People making stuff is the core of manufacturing. In Alsager we already have a number of artisans and makers - food, electronics, and arts and crafts. We would like to build on this to create an environment in which specialist makers can flourish. Lots of people are interested in the making process. Some towns have become known for being maker towns (Blackburn has a Festival of Making) and the process provides a visitor attraction as well as encouraging sales. One possible action would be to create co-working space for a maker's workshop with common facilities (for rent or hire) to reduce the setup costs, together with small manufacturing units (for example on the Radway North employment site[R6]). We could also encourage pop-up shops where people can try to create a business without taking on unrealistic risk.

We could draw on the Fab Lab initiative[N5]. Fab labs are a global network of local labs, enabling invention by providing access to tools for digital fabrication. They share an evolving inventory of core capabilities to make (almost) anything, allowing people and projects to be shared. Fab labs are available as a community resource, offering open access for individuals as well as scheduled access for programs. Commercial activities can be prototyped and incubated in a fab lab, but they must not conflict with other uses, they should grow beyond rather than within the lab, and they are expected to benefit the inventors, labs, and networks that contribute to their success.

Another idea is the Men in Sheds initiative[N7]. A Men’s Shed is a larger version of the typical man’s shed in the garden – a place where he feels at home and pursues practical interests with a high degree of autonomy. A Men’s Shed offers this to a group of such men where members share the tools and resources they need to work on projects of their own choosing at their own pace and in a safe, friendly and inclusive venue. They are places of skill-sharing and informal learning, of individual pursuits and community projects, of purpose, achievement and social interaction. A place of leisure where men come together to work. A Shed’s activities usually involve making or mending in wood (eg carpentry, joinery, turning, carving, whittling, marquetry, furniture renovation) but may include metalworking (milling, sheet metal, welding, etc) bike repair, gardening, electronics, tool renovation, boat renovation, model engineering (model railways, planes) and even building a car! Reclamation, reuse and restoration will feature strongly – and some say that is true of the men too! Although Sheds mostly attract older men, some have included men of any age, women and young people. Whichever activities are pursued the essence of a Shed is not a building, which some don’t have, but the network of relationships between the members.

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A Men's Shed might also become a repair cafe where volunteers help to fix broken stuff which people bring to them.

The idea of Women's Sheds is also starting to take hold with Age UK piloting this.

Arts and culture

Arts and culture is largely about having experiences as well as opportunities to purchase individual items. One of Alsager's key strengths is arts and culture. Here are just a few of the current activities:

Alsager Arts and Music - puts on music and poetry events Alsager Community Theatre - two productions a year Alsager Music Festival - every July Alsager Civic Centre puts on events (including monthly cinema and occasional comedy club

and music events) Some pubs occasionally put on live music Two Doors Studio has arts and crafts from about 50 local creative artists, and holds

exhibitions and ceramics festival Studio S provides dance and fitness classes and puts on shows St Mary's Church stages concerts (including from Alsager Community Choir once a year) Olive and Stitch Market once a month focuses on arts and crafts The Library sometimes holds painting and photographic exhibitions Alsager U3A has a number of arts and crafts classes Alsager School Students in collaboration with Alsager Partnership are working with people in

the local community to create personalised Sway Life Stories for people living with dementia and their families and carers

Cranberry Academy was awarded a gold Artsmark arts award (accredited by the Arts Council) in October 2017

So we have a lot to build on. But it would be great if Alsager gained more of a reputation for being an arts and culture centre, a place where something is always happening, for all sections of the population. Here are a few ideas.

Create an Alsager museum and art gallery (maybe in the ground floor of the Council Offices or in a dedicated Arts Centre)

Establish an Alsager Arts Centre (possibly in the cultural zone - see below) as a focus for community arts-related groups and events eg music and drama performance, messy community arts activities, maker studio space, arts and documentary cinema, special interest talks, exhibition space (more experimental) - community owned/charitable trust/social enterprise and run by volunteers with associated benefits (social inclusion, work experience, training, skill sharing, CV enrichment, community engagement etc)

Have a rota of music events (busking) and performance in the town during the summer Renew Alsager's creative community by providing affordable studios and common workshop

facilities (Congleton has an artists cooperative, the Electric Picture House[R10]) Encourage public art projects

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The creative and digital economy has been identified by Cheshire East as a possible growth area and there are various strategies and initiatives designed to support this which Alsager should participate in

Set up an Alsager creative and digital network Involve local schools in community arts activities and encourage students to develop their

own creative and digital skills and well as entrepreneurship skills - inspire, encourage, instil ambition

Create an enterprise academy Encourage arts events which reflect a greater cultural diversity than at present Bring more quality arts events to Alsager

Health and wellbeing

People are increasingly aware of how to maintain their own health and wellbeing, and outlets are taking up large sections of the high street, not only health professionals (opticians, physiotherapists, osteopaths) but also those providing exercise and dance classes.

In addition people are becoming more conscious about their diet and healthy eating. We have a popular health food shop, and we could encourage initiatives within our food stores and hospitality outlets to offer and encourage healthy options.

The town centre area has children's play equipment by Fairview car park and in Milton Park, including the skate park. There is also adult exercise equipment by Fairview car park, and this could be added to Milton Park. As suggested above we can develop walking routes around Alsager, and also encourage walking and cycling into town. And what about an open-air table tennis table or two, in the street or the park.

Mental health is encouraged by socialising and participation in activities. The town centre and community groups play an important role in this. Various outlets are already becoming recognised as dementia friendly following work done by the Alsager Partnership, with a large number of dementia friends already recruited.

Family-friendly

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Many Alsager residents value the sense of community in the town, and how family-friendly it is. We might take this for granted, but in fact it is quite special. This means it is safe, clean, and with lots of things for families with children to do. Many people (within and beyond Alsager) look for things to do (at weekends and holidays) with their families, and we should encourage them to visit Alsager.

We need to spell out what visitors to Alsager can do and what facilities we have - park, the Mere, feed the ducks, playgrounds. But we also need to provide more interesting attractions on a day to day basis - walks and treasure trails (see above), child-focused events (library is good at this), things to see and do.

It's good to meet

Alsager is well located as a meeting point for family and friends of Alsager residents (and indeed of others based locally). Communications (roads, trains) are reasonable, parking is free, we have lots of venues for meeting rooms if needed, and good hospitality (cafes, pubs, restaurants) as well as hotels and B&B. The more we make Alsager a pleasant and interesting place to wander around, the more people will be inclined to use it as a meeting place.

Community events

We already have very successful community events, run or coordinated by Alsager Partnership, often with the help of the Round Table:

Carnival Music festival Lights switch on Italian Day Bonfire

These attract many people from beyond Alsager as well as Alsager residents. They do not necessarily increase use of local shops and facilities, but they do provide an opportunity for local businesses to take part in the events which does increase business. They also provide an opportunity to showcase Alsager, which we could build on.

5 Identify the west end of the town centre (from Northolme/B'Hoys Gardens to Church Road) as the cultural zone and encourage business and community enterprises linked to arts and culture to locate in this area

One of the issues with Alsager town centre is that it is strung out along Crewe Road and Lawton Road. Many people drive to Asda, shop in the centre of town, and leave without walking down towards the west end of town. Even many residents are unaware of the outlets in the west part of town (apart from takeaways). At present there is little to encourage people to walk that way, to alert them to the availability of interesting outlets there. Part of the issue is that as you look from, say, Sainsbury's Local down Crewe Road it is not obvious that there is another range of shops and outlets. On the north side there is St Mary's Church and Northolme/B'Hoys Gardens, and on the

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south side there is Milton Park entrance, together with some private residences, so in town centre terms there seems to be a dead area. In addition, the west end includes quite a lot of takeaways which do not open until 5.00 pm so this contributes to a lack of vitality during the day (but does add vitality to the evening economy).

However, we have the nucleus of developing a cultural zone in this area. We already have a number of relevant creative and digital outlets there, notably Two Doors Studio but also a few others. The idea is to be pro-active in sourcing and supporting possible creative and digital enterprises to locate in this area and become known as a good area for arts and culture. Ideally we would want to locate an Alsager Arts Centre in this area, as a focal point for more experimental and innovative arts activity (without competing with more commercial events staged by the Civic Centre for example). A re-landscaped Northolme/B'Hoys Gardens with views of the Mere could also be a positive feature of this zone. In addition, food and drink outlets contribute to the vibe of a cultural zone, and this area already has many popular outlets - pubs, restaurants, takeaways.

It may be that opening hours of all outlets in the cultural zone would benefit from review to take advantage of the leisure hours of residents and visitors. This is an important area for the evening economy.

We could also take the opportunity of designing the streetscape around Milton Park and St Mary's as an integrated focal point and open space which would draw people towards the cultural zone (as well as good signposting and walking routes).

Many respondents (61%) to the Alsager Household Survey[A11] were not convinced by the idea of a separate cultural zone, believing that Alsager is too small to be "zoned" in this way, and that it is difficult to control where people establish their businesses, both valid issues which may make this difficult to realise. However, people were mostly very keen to see more arts and cultural activities available in Alsager.

6 Encourage initiatives and facilities designed to involve various sections of the community in social activities eg benches collective, shed projects for older men (and women), youth facilities and activities

A key part of the function of the town centre is as a social space where people can get together to do things.

Benches

Many benches in Alsager are placed in a linear arrangement. However, where benches are aligned, say, in a semi circle or an L shape, people are more likely to chat to one another. So we would want to see any seating within the town centre configured in such a way to encourage people to chat, even if they do not know each other.

Benches collective

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As an extension of the above idea, some towns have supported a benches collective [N6]. The aim is to encourage people who would not normally talk to one another to do so by congregating around a public bench at a specific time (eg monthly) with a planned activity - knitting, pavement chalk, chess, offer tarot readings, wine tasting, meeting place for refugees, cultural exchange, discuss a local issue, anything.

The idea is that someone (local business or organisation) "owns" a public bench and then plans and publicises an activity that will draw people to it. Different benches or activities could be targeted to appeal to different sections and age groups of the community.

Sheds

See above (under Artisans and Makers) for details about the Sheds initiative. These are not only about making and fixing stuff but, essentially, about people (mostly older men) getting together and doing things together. Both Crewe and Congleton have Men in Sheds, and Stoke has one with a dementia specialism.

Youth facilities

Alsager caters quite well for children and for older people, but does not really have good youth facilities and activities. Young people like to congregate in public spaces where they feel safe. Key issues are somewhere to go, something to do, and someone to talk to.

We should try to identify a permanent youth space within the town centre which young people can help shape, and where they can meet, have something to eat and drink, play table tennis or snooker, watch football on TV, chat, listen to music, have live performers, etc. Also perhaps a confidential advice service.

[REALLY NEED TO INVOLVE YOUNG PEOPLE - EG YOUTH SURVEY - IN WHAT THEY WOULD LIKE. ALSAGER SCHOOL INVOLVED.]

7 Encourage a wider range of retail businesses to locate in the town centre, with particular encouragement for independent shops which respond to demand for individuality, quality and variety (food and non-food) as well as those which offer affordable basics

Support the further development of the Wednesday market to include a wider variety of stalls complementary to the high street retail offer

Ensure parking policy supports use of town centre businesses

It is important that the town centre should be the focus for retail development. The Cheshire East Local Plan states[R1]:

Town centres will be promoted as the primary location for main town centre uses including retail, leisure, cultural and office development.

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Alsager has neither the space nor the population to support a large retail centre with a range of national chains for comparison shopping. And even larger towns are now finding this kind of retail offering difficult to support given the changes to retail outlined by the Portas review. Although there were a wide range of views, the Alsager Town Centre Survey[A9] suggested that younger people in particular feel that what Alsager offers is not bad for the size, and they would not expect it to meet all their shopping needs.

Nevertheless retail continues to be an essential part of any town centre. Respondents to the survey and to the Household Survey[A11] made many suggestions but in general they fell into two categories - the need for more affordable basics, and the desire for a varied range of independent quality shops.

Affordable basics

The range of stores in Alsager should cater for most day to day needs of its residents, both food and non-food.

The medium-sized Asda is the main supermarket in town and it fulfils most people's day-to-day food needs. Many people would greatly welcome a larger supermarket on the old Twyfords site, as planned, particularly Sainsbury's. However, most people (with transport) are quite happy travelling to one of the nearby centres with large supermarkets, and expect to do so.

Bands, the local DIY and household goods store which closed in 2016, is greatly missed and many people would like to see a similar store established. Although Asda provides some household goods a store such as B&M Bargains or Home Bargains would be a welcome addition.

A major deficiency in local retail is affordable clothes of all kind - women's, men's and children's, including shoe shops. Many people were disappointed when Asda did not bring a George store to one of their outlets. We need a good affordable clothes store in Alsager, particularly for children's clothes.

Independent quality shops

It is independent local businesses which help to give a place its distinctiveness, serving the resident population and also attracting visitors. Portas's advice to these retailers is to focus on Customer Experience, Service and Specialism[N1]. A Town Centre Manager (see below) could have a particular role in attracting and supporting this sector with business advice and encouraging collaboration and networking.

In the food sector many survey respondents mentioned butcher, fishmonger, greengrocer, baker, and deli. We have had some of these businesses in the past and it may be that independent food shops could thrive again if they follow the Portas advice, providing an alternative to supermarkets.

The non-food sector could also provide many opportunities for bringing individuality and quality to the town centre. There is a full range of income levels within the Alsager population, but those with

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most money have little opportunity to spend it in Alsager. We need to bring quality stores to Alsager to encourage variety, interest, and individuality. These businesses could be in a range of fields - clothes, cosmetics and perfume, home design, gifts, arts and crafts, anything with a unique specialism. They would encourage people into the town centre to browse as well as to buy, having spin off benefits for other hospitality businesses.

Alsager market

At present the Wednesday market stalls do provide a range of individual food and non-food goods which are complementary to the main town centre offering and which attract some shoppers. However, the Household Survey[A11] revealed a lot of dissatisfaction with the market, primarily relating to the low number and poor range of stalls, poor quality, expensive, unreliable, and inconvenient day and opening hours. It is possible that this type of general market can no longer survive given the retail competition and that we should look to having occasional specialist markets instead. Parking

Alsager is lucky in that most of its car parks are currently free to use, particularly the main car park in the town centre (Fairview). Portas[N1] recognised in her review that this is important to the viability of a town centre given alternative retail options with plentiful free car parking. Nevertheless, she also recognised that free parking cannot always be sustained where demand exceeds supply:

I understand that to offer free parking all day is notthe solution. I recognise that this would be potentiallyopen to abuse by local workers and I want more freecar parking spaces to be the privilege of local shoppers.

To go head to head with the out-of-town offering, highstreets need to have a more flexible, well communicatedparking offer. There are some places that are doingthings differently. Chester’s ‘Free After Three’ parkingpromotion offers free parking after 3pm at three oftheir car parks to help the city’s businesses. More couldbe done to promote local schemes and share goodpractice across different areas.

Ideally we will keep the car parks free, and hope that initiatives to reduce driving into town will help. However, with the number of new houses being built as well as (hopefully) more visitors being attracted to Alsager, the pressure on the car parks is more likely to increase. There are already particular difficulties on Monday morning (when U3A meets) and Wednesday morning (when the market takes up spaces), and this has been noted by businesses who state that their customers will not come into Alsager at those times. There are also problems with the car park on Station Road where clients of one local business tend to take a lot of spaces at times.

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Options to manage excessive demand would include providing more spaces or limiting demand (usually by some form of charging). Given limited space it is likely that some kind of charging regime would be needed. Here are some principles which we could apply in such circumstances:

enable free short term visits (eg up to 3 or 4 hours) discourage people from leaving their cars all day while going elsewhere (eg by bus or train) provide a reasonably-priced (annual permit?) scheme for town centre workers maximise free hours and only charge during peak times facilitate free drop off and pick up of children at Highfields School

55% of Household Survey respondents[A11] agreed that parking for long stay only would be an acceptable option if demand exceeds supply.

8 Encourage a thriving evening economy, to include both entertainment and food and drink

Entertainment

There is currently only limited evening entertainment offered in Alsager (much of which has been listed above under Arts and Culture).

Alsager Music and Arts is one of the organisations organising some of these events. It is hoped that by identifying Alsager as a place for arts and culture, and having a cultural zone, we can encourage and stimulate more performance activity. If an Alsager Arts Centre had performance space then more regular evening small-scale performances could be staged (comedy, music, drama), particularly to attract young adults. It might also show a wider range of films than the Civic Centre. Perhaps pubs could be encouraged to have regular live music nights, or to create a folk club or a blues club.

Food and drink

Alsager town centre has a range of food and drink outlets:

5 cafes (+ Bank Corner) 4 pubs or bars (Lodge, Mere, Bank Corner, Kraftworks) 6 restaurants (1 Italian, 3 Indian, 1 Chinese, 1 steak house) 10 takeaways

Cafes tend not to be open in the evening. Takeaways, only open in the evenings, are mostly popular and well-used. However, they do not really contribute much to the evening economy since people stop (often parking inappropriately), pick up a meal and leave. Some people would like to see more good bars and restaurants[A9, A11], which would contribute to the choice and vibrancy of the evening economy.

Evening entertainment will often help the food and drink economy as people eat or have a drink before or after the entertainment, making it a night out with family and/or friends.

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9 Encourage the organisation of a number of activities to take place regularly in the town centre street and Milton Park so that Alsager becomes known for something always happening

Nantwich is known to be a town where there is always something happening, and this encourages non-residents to visit to see what is going on, have a coffee or lunch, and wander around. We would like to encourage this kind of attitude to Alsager. It would also be part of identifying Alsager as an arts and culture centre. Particularly during summer it would be good to have a rota of young (as well as older) buskers playing in the town centre street on Saturdays, or performance art in the street or Milton Park. Particularly at weekends, families are looking for ways to entertain their children, perhaps to combine with other activities in the town centre.

We could also have various kinds of specialist markets such as a food festival, arts and crafts market (maybe in the cultural zone), antiques fair. Alsager is good at staging community events and they attract many visitors.

10 Put in place an active town centre management team to drive forward the vision as opportunities arise and to provide business support, including encouraging a business support networking group

The top recommendation from the Portas review[N1] was to put in place a town centre management team:

The one – perhaps the only – thing everybody I have spoken to isagreed on is that for a high street to survive and grow it must have avery clear vision of where it wants to get to. And it needs co-ordinatedplanning and management to get there. If the high street was in singleownership, like a department store, it would have a vision, a high levelstrategy and direction, it would choose what it wanted in a particularspace to fit with a vision and proactively target the businesses andservices that were missing.

This is a pro-active approach to realising the vision, not just waiting to see what comes along. Many towns now have town centre managers and we should have one in Alsager, employed by the Town Council and working closely with the Alsager Partnership team. The Town Centre Manager would understand business and have the remit to mould Alsager town centre to become the place set out in the vision, undertaking the following sorts of activities:

pro-active management of mix of outlets in line with agreed strategy - actively going out to find the kind of businesses that we want

liaison with local councils and support they can provide build good relationships with businesses, landlords and letting agents encourage businesses to optimise their opportunities - better displays, stock rotation, etc encourage collaboration between businesses eg sales, events manage empty shops to enable pop-up enterprises possibly run a business support network (independent of any one business)

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provide business support advice to local businesses organise weekly performance events within the town centre eg busking, street theatre organise markets and festivals (with Alsager Partnership) identify opportunities for public art

Draft Neighbourhood Plan policies

On the basis of this vision, these are some draft policies designed to help make it happen.

Objective To achieve a vibrant, prosperous and sustainable town centre

TC1 Public realm regeneration

Proposals to regenerate the public realm of the town centre and create a clearly identified sense of place through highway improvements, landscaping, and improvements to the streetscape will be encouraged and supported subject to:

Scheme designs and layout must be of a high standard and comply with the Cheshire East Design Guide as it relates to Alsager, and also the requirements of the Alsager SPD, including building styles, materials, streetscape and signage

Any scheme should take account of the whole designated town centre area in order to enhance the sense of a unified and distinct place

Scheme design should prioritise pedestrians over drivers, with a key objective of slowing the traffic through the town centre while keeping it flowing, thus ensuring the improved safety of all road users

Any scheme should preserve or enhance the civic hub as a focal point within the town centre, incorporating the Library, Civic Centre and Council Offices

Any scheme should consider opportunities for enhancing and integrating the public realm space outside St Mary's Church and the Milton Garden entrance on Crewe Road

Any scheme should support the designation of the area of the town centre along Crewe Road from Northolme Gardens to Church Road as the Cultural Zone with the aim of creating a vibrant, creative and distinctive area of the town centre

Any scheme must take full account of accessibility requirements, including for those with impaired mobility, impaired sight and learning disabilities

The inclusion of good quality hard and soft landscaping including the addition or enhancement of open green spaces, quiet areas, trees and gardens, with preference given to natural and sustainable planting schemes

The introduction of public artworks which reflect characteristics of the town The protection and improvement of any buildings or other historic features within

the conservation areas of the town centre All developments should be required to make an appropriate contribution to public

realm regeneration through S106 mechanisms

TC2 Retail, service and leisure development in the town centre

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Proposals to locate new retail, service and leisure developments within the designated town centre area will be supported subject to standard planning processes and to the following additional requirements:

Provision of good quality design and layout, highway access, parking and wheelie bin storage, including compliance with the Cheshire East Design Guide and Alsager SPD

Support will be given for the conversion of space over shops for either business or residential use

Support will be given for the redevelopment of existing buildings and vacant sites within the Town Centre for retail, service or leisure use contributing to an active town centre.

Proposals to develop and enhance Alsager market in terms of its variety and range of stalls will be supported, particularly where the offering is complementary to the retail offering of the permanent outlets, where sustainable and commercial viability can be demonstrated. This could include supporting occasional specialist markets.

Support will be given for proposals to create a designated youth facility within the town centre

Proposals for retail, service or leisure use within the designated Cultural Zone will be given preference if they contribute to the aims of the Cultural Zone

In particular, proposals to create an Alsager Arts Centre within the Cultural Zone will be supported

TC3 Retail, service and leisure development outside the town centre

Out of centre retail, service and leisure developments will only be supported if they do not have an adverse effect on the town and town centre.

They complement and enhance the town and town centre without reducing its commercial viability (for example, neighbourhood convenience shopping)

Are compatible with the size and scale of the existing town centre Do not have an unacceptable impact on the existing road network

TC4 Cooperative workshop space

Proposals to create or convert space or buildings into cooperative workshop space will be supported within the town centre and on designated employment sites, subject to:

Designs and layout must be of a high standard and comply with the Cheshire East Design Guide as it relates to Alsager, and also the requirements of the Alsager SPD

??

TC5 Public parking

Any development within the town centre area which results in the net loss of public parking spaces will not be supported unless it can be demonstrated that there is current over-provision of parking spaces in the relevant area. Existing car parks should be retained and,

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where appropriate, enhanced, and should facilitate walking routes through them. They should provide spaces for motorcycles and bicycle parking.

Draft Delivery Plan

[Basically I have listed here everything which does not appropriately fit within a NP policy.]

Ref Requirements Comments1 Public realm regeneration in accordance with

policy TC1Cheshire East

2 Improved signage, walking routes, treasure trails, places of historic interest, town centre maps

Involve Alsager Local History societyCan probably do much of this relatively cheaply and involving various members of community. 18 points of interest already identified, and Alsager Partnership about to undertake a history project with the Library and local societies (2018/19)

3 Directories, visitor website, facebook Alsager Partnership to take the lead4 Active steps to seek businesses in the creative

and digital sector to locate to the west end area of Alsager town centre

Town Centre ManagerCouncil - business ratesLandlords - rents

5 Facilitate pop-up shops in vacant premises Town Centre ManagerCouncil - business ratesLandlords - rents

6 Men in Sheds Community project7 Arrange regular music and drama performance

events in the town centre streets and parkTown Centre ManagerAlsager PartnershipCouncil licensing?

8 Encourage public art projects9 Set up Alsager creative and digital network10 Encourage arts events to reflect a greater

cultural diversity than at presentCivic CentreAlsager Music and Arts

11 Bring more quality arts projects to Alsager Civic CentreAlsager Music and Arts

12 Inspire, encourage and instil ambition in local children to develop creative, digital and entrepreneurship skills

SchoolsCommunity projects

13 Better benches alignment to encourage socialising

Part of streetscape development

14 Benches collective Community project15 Attract retail businesses offering DIY/household

goods and affordable clothesTown Centre Manager

16 Attract retail businesses offering goods of good quality, variety, interest and individuality

Town Centre Manager

17 Town Centre Manager Funded by Town Council, working with Alsager Partnership

18 Encourage occasional specialist markets Town Centre Manager19 Spruce up the town centre - possibly submit

funding application for a BID (Business Alsager businessesAlsager Partnership

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Improvement District) - with business support Town Centre Manager

20 Commission a place making / branding project for Alsager

Alsager Partnership

Alsager Neighbourhood Plan - Town Centre Working Group

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INDEX OF RELATED RESEARCH AND EVIDENCE DOCUMENTS

National

N1 The Portas Review - An independent review into the future of our high streets (Mary Portas, 2011)N2 High Street UK 2020 - Identifying factors that influence vitality and viability (Cathy Parker, Nikos Ntounis, Simon Quin and Steve Millington, Interim Project Report 2014)

N3 Best Practice in British High Streets (notes from the conference attended on 27/7/2017)N4 WEAVE digital and creative network (notes from the conference attended on 7/9/2017)N5 www.fablabsuk.co.uk [Fab Labs]N6 https://www.pps.org/places/benches-collective/ [Benches Collective]N7 http://menssheds.org.uk/what-is-a-mens-shed/ [Men in Sheds]

N8 Accidents by Design - The Holmes Report on "Shared Space" in the United Kingdom (Lord Holmes of Richmond, July 2015)N9 Shared space report (Women and Equalities Select Committee, April 2017)N10 Beyond Retail: Redefining the shape and purpose of town centres (Distressed Town Centre Property Task Force, November 2013)N11 Ensuring the Vitality of Town Centres (Department for Communities and Local Government, March 2014)N12 The Creative Community Builder’s Handbook: How to Transform Communities Using Local Assets, Arts and Culture (2007 Fieldstone Alliance)

Regional

R1 Cheshire East Local Plan (July 2017)R2 The Cheshire East Borough Design Guide - volumes 1 and 2 (January 2016)R3 Cheshire East Highway Asset Management Strategy (December 2016)R4 A review of the creative and digital sector in Cheshire East (May 2015)R5 Cheshire East Visitor Economy Strategy 2016-2020R13 Cheshire Retail Study (May 2016)

R6 Notes from meeting with Adrian Fisher re employment land (12/7/2017)R7 Highways and traffic - meeting with Rob Welch (notes from meeting on 25/7/2017)R8 Turning count summary (Crewe Road/Lawton Road/Sandbach Road North/Sandbach Road South) - 1 November 2016 [follow-up data from meeting with Rob Welch]R9 Meeting with Janey Moran and Marieke Navin, Cheshire East Cultural Economy Team26 September 2017

R10 Visit to Foxlowe Arts Centre, Leek, - 10 July 2017R11 Poynton shared space report (notes from visit to Poynton 18/7/2017)R12 Notes on visit to Congleton town centre (27/10/2017)R13 [See above]

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Alsager

Policy and strategy

A1 Cheshire East Local Development Framework - Alsager Town Centre Supplementary Planning Document (October 2010)A2 Alsager Town Strategy (July 2012)

Community engagement

A3 Discussions with individuals and group representatives A4 Facebook comments (screen shots of all comments)A5 Traffic issues from Facebook - summary of issues raisedA6 Architects in Action (report on visit to 2nd Alsager guides on 27/9/2017)

Survey results and analysis

A7 Alsager Town Council Community Consultation Report (May 2016)A8 Comment and contact analysis final (Sept 2017)A9 Town centre survey analysis (Oct 2017)A10 Town centre business surveyA11 Household survey analysis (January 2018)

Statistical data

A12 2011 Census Results - Ward Atlas Cheshire EastA13 Rural community profile for Alsager (parish) - December 2013 [ACRE and OCSI]

Other

A14 18 points of historical interest in Alsager (Alsager Local History Society)

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