Cheshire East Council shares major new regeneration plans for Crewe town centre

A long-term vision to transform Crewe town centre has been shared by Cheshire East Council – with plans to partner with a developer on a housing-led regeneration scheme.

The proposal, which will be considered by the economy and growth committee on 9 September, is to redevelop key council-owned sites in the heart of Crewe town centre, including the undeveloped part of the Royal Arcade site, Chester Street Car Park, and Delamere Street Car Park.

The plan could bring more than 300 high-quality new homes, commercial space for shops and businesses and better public spaces – helping to attract more people into the town centre and make it a livelier and more attractive place.

Councillor Michael Gorman, deputy leader of Cheshire East Council and chair of the economy and growth committee, said:

“Crewe has faced its fair share of challenges, but we remain ambitious and confident about its future.

“Our ambition for Crewe is for it to become the ‘Best Small City’ in Europe by 2050, with the ‘Crewe360 hub’ at the core of this vision – a transformed railway station gateway designed to anchor long-term growth. We have also been delivering a range of transformative regeneration projects for Crewe.  

“This report marks the beginning of the next phase in regenerating the town centre – laying the foundations to create a place that truly works for residents and businesses and helping us attract the investment needed to bring our plans to life.

“We want to build on the success of recent regeneration projects, move away from simply relying on the struggling retail sector and unlock new opportunities for growth.

“While we recognise there are risks, particularly around funding and market conditions, we believe the potential rewards for Crewe and the wider borough are too great to ignore.”

The council has already delivered a number of impactful projects that have helped bring more people into the town centre and offer a wider range of things for them to do, including the Market Hall, Lifestyle Centre, and Lyceum Square event space, known as Ly².

This year, many other regeneration projects will accelerate, including The Dome Youth Zone – a state-of-the-art facility for young people on the site of the former Oak Street Car Park, and Cheshire Archives Crewe, which is on the site of the former library and civic centre car park and will create a new centre to co-host the region’s extensive archives.

Cllr Gorman said:

“We have long held plans to redevelop some of our town centre car parks, and that work started with the closure of the Oak Street and Civic Centre car parks.

“Now the multi-storey car park has opened, we can meet future parking demand in Crewe, including from new residents in the town centre, and are in a position to move to the next stages of our plans.”

To move the plans forward, the council has engaged with a well-known developer of residential-led mixed use schemes in places with similar economic challenges as Crewe. The developer has proposed a phased development for the town centre that includes a mix of housing types and active ground-floor uses, such as retail, restaurants, cafes or offices.

The council is seeking to enter into a pre-development agreement with them and to fund early-stage planning and technical work.

The proposal supports other major plans for the town, including the £1bn+ investment in Leighton Hospital.

Cllr Nick Mannion, leader of Cheshire East Council, added:

“Crewe is one of the sub-region’s key priority areas for growth and we want to create a high-quality town centre that reflects Crewe’s character and has more town centre living, with the benefits that brings in terms of footfall and sense of community.  

“We’re excited by the vision, but we’re also realistic. We’ll be working closely with partners, stakeholders, and the community to ensure this development reflects Crewe’s needs and aspirations.”

While the longer-term plans progress, the council is continuing work to open up the undeveloped part of the Royal Arcade site as a ‘meanwhile space’, as soon as possible, with new seating, lighting, picnic areas and space for events and activities to take place all in the pipeline.

Subject to planning permission, the council expects to be able to open the site back up by spring next year.

You can read the report to the Economy and Growth Committee here:

Report to 9 September economy and growth committee

Pictured - Royal Arcade artist's Impression.