New inspirational town art trail in Macclesfield

A map of artworks in Macclesfield town centre has been produced by Cheshire East Council to enable visitors and residents to locate key points of cultural interest across the town.

The new Macclesfield art trail will help people find innovative outdoor public art works in unusual places, some of which were funded by a £50,000 grant from Avanti West Coast’s Customer & Communities Investment Scheme, whose trains serve the town.

The beautifully curated map includes striking artworks inspired by the renowned wildlife artist Charles Tunnicliffe, which can be seen on the train station lift tower and on the shop shutters of businesses along Sunderland Street. 

All ages can also enjoy the bespoke kerbstones along the revamped Castle Street, which incorporate extracts from ‘A Love Letter To Macc’, a poem compiled from words written by Macclesfield residents to celebrate everything they love about the town. It also features the mural of the former Joy Division frontman, Ian Curtis, which was unveiled in March last year. 

The delivery of more public art across the town centre is an objective of the Macclesfield Town Centre Strategic Regeneration Framework, which sets out the council’s strategy for supporting the town centre. The map will help everyone to uncover different artworks across the town that have become part of its fabric over the years.

Councillor Nick Mannion, vice chair of Cheshire East Council’s economy and growth committee, said:

“The installation of these significant artworks has been an outstanding project to be involved with and I am extremely grateful to our colleagues at Avanti West Coast, who made it possible. 

“Working on these projects has been a truly collaborative experience – the input of local residents and the Macclesfield Cultural Forum especially, has been integral to the final works we can all now enjoy. 

Macclesfield-born Cllr Mannion continued:

“The map itself is a really clever way of bringing all these wonderful spots to the public attention all over again and will enable visitors to Macclesfield to discover some of the town’s hidden treasures!

“The artworks that have been delivered with this grant funding will encourage people to stay in the town for longer, which in turn will support local businesses and impact positively on the visitor economy. I’m really impressed with how this funding has managed to go so far in terms of the added impact to the presence of visual art in the town – which is now extremely impressive.”

Laura Harper, Macclesfield station manager at Avanti West Coast, said:

“We’re proud Macclesfield station is home to beautiful artwork that features in the town’s art trail, as we want to champion the people, places, and communities we serve. 

“Macclesfield station is an important gateway to the region, and with a townscape created by a local artist and a mural inspired by Charles Tunnicliffe, we hope it will give residents a sense of pride, as well as offer a warm welcome to those visiting the area by train or taking part in the trail.”  

The map, which is available from Macclesfield Visitor Information Centre,  also includes pre-existing artwork commissioned by Macclesfield Town Council and private businesses.

Further information about the trail is available at: 

Town Art Trail (cheshireeast.gov.uk) 

Time-lapse films of some the artworks being installed can also be viewed here:

council’s YouTube channel