Town Mayor Cllr Gardiner with Ian Cass outside the Council Offices

Nominations open for the 2021 Town Awards

Nominations are sought for the 2021 Town Awards with the community encouraged to put forward their unsung heroes for consideration.

The awards, which are organised by the Town Council, were launched in 2013 and aim to shine a spotlight on those who make Knutsford a better place to live. The awards cover five categories recognising the efforts of individuals, businesses and community groups for their service to the wider Knutsford community.

The Civic Award which is presented to individuals who give their time voluntarily to undertake work in the community. Previous winners in this category have included Beryl Jenyons for her voluntary service at the Welcome and Gary Davies for his role supporting Knutsford and District Scouts for over 40 years.  Three Civic Awards are presented each year.

The Business Award goes to a business which has supported or worked with the community, last years winner were the traders of Knutsford Market Hall for their work supporting the most vulnerable in the community during the first coronavirus lockdown.

The Youth Award is presented to someone aged 21 or under who early in their lives have already started supporting the community. Previous winners have included Lillie Bryers and Lucas Cronan for their litterpicks on the Moor and Emily Coffey for her voluntary work with the Kntusford First Responders.

The Community Award recognises the importance of the various voluntary organisations operating in Knutsford with awards having previously been presented to We Are Knutsford (2020), Knutsford Lions (2013) and Knutsford Beer Festival (2015).

The final category is the Extra Mile Award which is presented to someone who as part of their paid job is going above and beyond to the benefit of the community. The first award went to Knutsford’s Town Ranger Bob Garner in 2019 with former PCSO Chris Pountain receiving the award in 2020.

The awards have been sponsored by the Forum of Private Business since inception. Ian Cass, Managing Director of the Forum said: “The Forum of Private Business are delighted to be sponsoring Knutsford’s town awards again after what has been a very difficult year for the town and the businesses in it, but Knutsford is a great community which works together, innovates to get through tough times like these, the Forum have been part of this community for over 40 years and are proud to support the town and the awards!”

Presented as part of the main Town Awards is the Knutsford and District Youth Council School’s Sustainability Award. The Youth Council introduced the award in 2020 and are looking for businesses which demonstrate environmental awareness in their products and supply chain and work to minimise their carbon footprint.

Nominations for all awards are open until 31st July and can be here: Town Awards Nomination Form or in writing to Council Offices, Toft Road, Knutsford, WA16 6TA. Nominations need to be accompanied by a citation outlining why the nominee deserves an award. All nominations will be reviewed by a panel with awards presented at a special awards evening in September.

Cllr Peter Coan holds a door open and an arm out welcoming you to a building

Council creates space for new businesses

New business premises have been created in the town centre by converting previously redundant space in the town’s public toilet buildings.

Knutsford Town Council took ownership of the public toilet buildings at King Street Car Park and the Bus Station in 2013 through an asset transfer from Cheshire East Council. On transfer the council appointed national toilet provider Danfo to create three new cubicles within each larger building which saw the town’s toilets transform from facilities which were frequently the subject of complaints due to the poor condition and maintenance to toilets that have been accredited as Platinum standard in the national Loo of the Year awards.  

The creation of the new toilets in 2013 left large areas of redundant space in the buildings which were previously large male and female spaces. Utilising capital funds raised from the sale of the Cemetery Lodge in 2016, the Town Council has converted these spaces into modern glass fronted units designed to accommodate a range of businesses. The conversion works were undertaken between February and May and involved creating new openings to the buildings, installation of individually metered services and heating, insulation and lighting. The units were designed to enable new tenants to quickly move in and decorate the units for their use.

The premises at the King Street car park has been named Lily Lodge with the property at the bus station named Justice View. The properties were advertised for let through local agents Williams Sillitoe and the council is currently agreeing the leases with two new local businesses.

“Our aim with this project was to put empty space into economic use” said Town Clerk, Adam Keppel-Green. “The new units will generate a rental income for the Town Council and will provide a home for two great Knutsford-grown businesses brining more business and more employment into our town centre”.

Cllr Peter Coan opens a door.

Top – Cllr Peter Coan, Chairman of the Assets and Operations Committee, at Justice View.
Bottom – Cllr Peter Coan at Lily Lodge