A group of people outside for Halloween

Another great Knutsford Pumpkin Path

“This is the best night of my life!” one young visitor could be heard exclaiming to his family on Halloween at Knutsford Pumpkin Path.

Knutsford Pumpkin Path 2024 filled King Street with hundreds of families exploring, completing the trail and trick or treating the local businesses. As always, the support from the Knutsford business community was huge! With fabulous fancy dress and sweets being handed out, the town was filled with good spirits and hijinks.

If you visited the trail, you may have had your picture taken with Frankenstein and a Minion or you may have been serenaded by the sounds of the Sanderson Sisters in Wallwood all care of Bunny Business events. Fuchsia Dance School and Knutsford Beats entertained the crowds and Knutsford Hosts ensured all visitors were kept informed at our visitor desks.

Congratulations to our winners of the trail draw and to Knutsford Olde Sweet Shoppe for winning the window competition.

Alex Molloy Events Manager at Knutsford Town Council says “This is an event for all and the joy on people’s faces is fantastic. Our event goes a long way to reduce trick or treating at people’s homes and creates a fun environment for locals and visitors to enjoy the spirit of Knutsford. The commitment to this event from the local businesses is a true testament to what is great about Knutsford”

Knutsford Town Council  works hard to bring brilliant community events to the town and could not do so without the support of our sponsors. Thank you to Linden Stores, Travel Bag and Oil Art Advisory for their sponsorship of this year’s Knutsford Pumpkin Path.

Two volunteers at Knutsford Pumpkin Path

Discover Knutsford this Christmas

Discover Knutsford this festive season for shopping, entertainment, and celebration!

The weekend of 30th November and 1st December welcomes the Christmas cheer with Knutsford’s Christmas Markets, two days of the finest artisan market stalls. Join us for great food, drinks, and Christmas spirit. 12-7pm Saturdays 30th November and 11-4pm Sunday 1stDecember.

Also, on Saturday 30th November the stage will be set for a full day of live entertainment featuring choirs from the local primary schools, dancing performances and local singers. The stage will be presented by Silk FM who, with the help of the Mayor of Knutsford and special guests, will switch on our Christmas Lights in Canute Place at 6pm. Headlining the event will be local band The Breakfast Club.

Catch a glimpse of Santa on his sleigh at 5.30pm as he makes his was along King Street, up Minshull Street to Canute Place where he will join the Mayor on stage. The Santa parade will feature music from City of Chester Brass Band and Anna and Elsa!

Children’s Adventure Farm Trust will be raising money for their charity (CAFT) in this year’s grotto which can be found on Silk Mill Street, outside the Market Hall. The grotto will be open Saturday 30th November 12-4pm and Sunday 1st December 11-4pm. No booking necessary.

We are grateful to our brilliant sponsors this year without whom the festive weekend would not be possible. Special thanks to Savills for sponsoring the Christmas Lights switch on, Bruntwood for sponsoring the Christmas Lights, Speedy Freight who sponsor our tree and Cygnet Health for their sponsorship of the Christmas Market.

This year’s Crib Service will take place on Saturday 7th December at 4pm. Join the Mayor’s Community Crib Service where the Mayor’s chaplain will bless the town crib and Christmas carols will be sung supported by the City of Chester Brass Band. The service begins at approximately 4pm.

Remember to pick up your Discover Knutsford Christmas Gift Guide from one of our local businesses or visit the Discover Knutsford team at the Christmas markets to grab up your copy!

For further information please visit www.knutsfordtowncouncil.gov.uk or www.discoverknutsford.com or send an email to enquiries@knutsfordtowncouncil.gov.uk

Notes

Photo credits – Tessa Carrol

Enquiries – alex.molloy@knutsfordtowncouncil.gov.uk

Someone holding an iPad showing Discover Knutsford Website

Discover Knutsford’s best attractions with a new comprehensive website

Discover Knutsford’s best attractions with a new comprehensive website

A new destination website has been launched today to promote Knutsford.

www.discoverknutsford.com has been created by Knutsford Town Council providing a comprehensive guide to the town. It is intended to be a one-stop destination for everything there is to know about Knutsford and offers locals and visitors a detailed and user-friendly platform to explore the Cheshire market town.

The development of the Discover Knutsford place brand and website was funded through the UK Government Shared Prosperity Fund. The website utilises the place brand for Discover Knutsford which was launched earlier this year and rolled out across social media and marketing assets for the town.

Sandra Curties, Town Centre Manager said: “‘We are delighted to launch the Discover Knutsford website offering the most complete guide to Knutsford”

“With a jam-packed calendar of events, a town centre that is blessed with many independent shops and a dynamic hospitality scene alongside some wonderful green spaces and interesting heritage, Knutsford is a real destination town to visit. We are excited to have a website that can truly showcase this.”

The website has been designed by local marketing agency Maclaren Jones Design & Marketing and the branding design was completed earlier this year by Bella Design & Marketing. Anita Jones, Managing Director at Maclaren Jones Design & Marketing said: “Working with Knutsford Town Council on their new website has been an absolute pleasure. As a local business that’s been part of the community for over 20 years, even we were amazed to learn new interesting facts about our lovely town throughout the project!

 We’re proud to have helped create a platform that not only promotes Knutsford but also highlights its events, local businesses and retailers. It’s a fantastic resource for everyone in the community and beyond.”

The website is now live at www.discoverknutsford.com and is complemented by Discover Knutsford’s growing presence on social media where regular updates and inspiration are shared with the community. Visitors are encouraged to follow @discoverknutsford on Facebook and Instagram for the latest news and features.

Group of people holding up signs
A lady holding a Taste Knutsford Voucher

Cottons Hotel & Spa now accepts the Knutsford voucher

Cottons Hotel & Spa now accepts the Knutsford voucher

Knutsford’s own high street voucher can now be redeemed at Cotton’s Hotel & Spa along with over forty other Knutsford based businesses.

The Knutsford Voucher was launched in 2020 with the aim to offer a gift voucher exclusively for Knutsford shops that goes directly to local businesses, supporting the town’s economy.

Following a recent refresh of the voucher design, Cottons Hotel & Spa are the latest business to sign up to accept the voucher as a payment method.

Barbara Simms from Cottons Hotel & Spa said: “We are delighted to be a part of the Knutsford voucher scheme. It’s a great way to support local businesses throughout the year, if you have a voucher to spend come down and see us!”

Sandra Curties, Knutsford Town Council’s Town Centre Manager said, “The scheme is a cost-effective way to direct spend to our town’s independent shops, bars, cafes, and restaurants.”

“The vouchers come in denominations of £5, £10 or £20 and come presented in a beautiful gift card making them the perfect gift!” Sandra added.

A full list of business accepting the voucher can be found on the Town Council’s website alongside how to purchase vouchers. A broad selection of businesses accepts the vouchers including Oil Art Advisory, Flock of Arts, Detaljer, Arthur Lee, Hal Whittaker and Knutsford Olde Sweet Shoppe. Soon you will also be able to purchase them on the council’s tourism focused sister-site – www.discoverknutsford.com

Businesses in Knutsford interested in joining the voucher scheme are encouraged to contact Sandra Curties on 01565 653929. It is important to note only Knutsford based shops, excluding surrounding villages are eligible to join the voucher scheme.

Flower Planters on a Roadside Barriers

Residents invited to join focus group on town council performance

Knutsford Town Council is looking for a group of residents to take part in a focus group meeting to help assess how the council is performing as part of a Corporate Peer Challenge.

A Corporate Peer Challenge is an external review of how a council is performing and how it can improve as an organisation to better serve its community. Peer challenges are common for principal authorities like Cheshire East Council and now available for Town Councils too. The Town Council will be the seventh Town Council in the country to have a corporate peer challenge, following Houghton Regis, Morecambe, Cirencester and Falmouth amongst others.

The peer challenge will see a panel comprising a representative of the Local Government Association, National Association of Local Councils, a councillor from another council and a clerk from another council coming for a three-day visit to meet with a range of internal and external stakeholders.

The peer challenge team will meet with councillors and staff, partner organisations such as Knutsford in Bloom and Knutsford Allotment Society, as well as market traders, local businesses and community leaders.

The Town Council also wants to arrange a panel of around eight residents for the peer challenge team to meet with on Wednesday 6th November at 4:15pm and is looking for volunteers from across the community.

“We are keen to create a group representing the diversity of our community and we aim to create a comprise of residents from across the town and at different stages of life” said Town Clerk, Adam Keppel-Green. 

Volunteers do not need any particular skills or to prepare, they just need to be willing to answer questions and discuss Knutsford and the town council as part of a group.

To apply to be part of the panel, simply complete a form at: www.knutsfordtowncouncil.gov.uk/cpc  

Following two days of meetings, the peer challenge team will present its findings to the council and stakeholders following which a formal report will be issued and published alongside an action plan from the council of how it will respond to any recommendations.

Knutsford Market Hall

Market Hall Refurbishment Update

In September 2023 the Town Council was awarded a £560,000 grant from the government towards the renovation of the Market Hall. As with any grant, the award was subject to a number of conditions.

The funding application was based on initial costings developed by quantity surveyors to the outline design. During the last twelve months this project has been progressing through the detailed design and tender stage. Tendering was concluded in September and the project came in significantly over budget and would have required around a further £200,000 to be found. At the same time, there was a requirement to complete within a certain timeframe for both this funding and the £160,000 of funding provided through another fund which mean the planned project could not be delivered either in time or on budget.

Value engineering took place to develop a revised scheme that could be delivered within the funding envelope and time. Unfortunately, the government did not approve the revised scheme or an extension to the grant period, and has withdrawn its funding.

The Town Council will now be exploring what improvements to the Market Hall it can deliver with the £160,000 grant from the Shared Prosperity Fund.

Town Mayor Cllr Colin Banks said “This is obviously extremely disappointing news for our market traders, the council and the market community – especially after the excitement of the prospect of a more significant investment”.

“We will now strive to deliver the best possible improvement to the Market Hall with available funds and aim to ensure our Market Hall can continue to provide a home to small businesses in our town centre”

Cllrs Peter Coan, April Johnson and James McCulloch behind a gate

Residents reminded to submit PROW evidence

16 users of a shortcut from King Street to Church Hill have provided evidence to support an application for the path to be recorded as a public right of way, with one user providing evidence of use for over 80 years.

The pathway next to Evuna comes provides a less-steep route from bottom street to Church Hill where it emerges next to the Egerton Place and the Town Council is collating an application to register the claimed public right of way to ensure preserve its use. Any users of the path who can provide evidence of at least 20 years of usage (i.e. since 2004 or before) are asked to contact the Town Council on 01565 653 929 or enquiries@knutsfordtowncouncil.gov.uk to obtain an evidence form.

The application was prompted by the installation of gates in February. Whilst the gates are not locked and access along the path has not been prevented, their installation creates a point of challenge under public rights of way law and a claim must be made or the right to use the path could be lost. 

The Town Council has also been speaking with the owners of the properties along Church Hill about the installation of the gates, which are never locked, who explained that the gates were installed to deter anti-social behaviour in the evenings.

“The gates are closed in the evenings to deter opportunistic misuse by people looking for somewhere out of sight. There is currently a spate of antisocial behaviour in our town, even during the afternoons, so intermittently the gates may need to be closed in the afternoons” said one resident.  

 “We have no intention of deterring the legitimate use of this cut though but we do request users re-close the gates behind them if they find them closed, in respect of our safety and the protection of our property” they added.

Town Clerk Adam Keppel-Green said “We respect that the intentions of the current landowners are well meaning and that they do not have the aim of depriving access along this route. However, we believe there is a strong case that a public right of way exists here and will proceed with an application for this to be registered to protect longer-term access”

“We are pleased that the current residents are keen to work with the council to ensure the passageway can continue to be one of Knutsford’s hidden treasures”

Knutsford at Home

Knutsford was a mini ‘Ideal Home Exhibition’ on September 21st, with its home and interior design shops hosting its third Knutsford at Home Event. Knutsford at Home was sponsored by Slater and Gordon.

The event was a collaboration between the home and interior shops and businesses in the town centre and coordinated by Knutsford Town Council under their Discover Knutsford brand. It offered shoppers a ‘menu of inspiration’ including talks from artists such as Diane Marsland in Holly Johnson Antiques, an alcohol Ink Art workshop In Havwoods and a gardening talk by RHS Associate of Honour Sam Youd. There were also two ‘Ask the Architect sessions’ – Hive Architects in Arthur Lee and Bianca Morgan in Susie Watson Designs. The full list of shops taking part was, Arthur Lee Interiors, Detaljer, Havwoods, Holly Johnson Antiques, Kendal Quality Carpets, NaturalMat, Oil Art Advisory, Oka, RI Home, Sofas and Stuff, Susie Watson Designs and Terzetto Stone.

Helen Dufton co-owner of Arthur Lee said, “’This was our third Knutsford at Home event, and it was lovely to see our shop buzzing with customers both new and old. We opened our side terrace too so customers could enjoy the September sun. A huge thanks to everyone who popped into see us and our fellow Knutsford businesses.”

Andrea Young of Havwoods, said: ‘12 of our lovely clients attended our In Art workshop hosted by our very talented friend and amazing artist Louise Williamson aka Big Canvas Art. I have to say we were blown away by the unique art work that was created by a group of complete novices. Images of ocean landscapes, flower gardens, abstract and my very own atomic explosion. We also welcomed new customers to the showroom throughout the day. A big thank you to everyone who attended and also to Lyndsey Dyson for helping me host such a successful event.’’

Sandra Curties, Knutsford Town Council’s Town Centre Manager, said, “These events are all about promoting Knutsford as a destination shopping venue and offering a bespoke shopping experience that cannot be replicated online. A huge thanks to those who gave up their time to deliver the workshops. We loved the way our shops worked together and seeing visitors mapping out their day using the flyers was fabulous.  We look forward to a better and bigger event next year.”

A group of people sat on sofas inside Oka
Four ladies gathered around a table inside Holly Johnson Antiques
Flyer showing pictures of cakes and bunting

Picnic in the park- Big birthday bake off – Sunday 22nd September 12- 4

Join us and Knutsford Bake Club in the bake-off tent where you can purchase delicious cakes baked by Knutsford Bake Club (with all proceeds going to the mayor’s charities: The Welcome and Just Drop in).

You can also put your baking skills to the test by baking a birthday cake (or tray bake) to celebrate the 50th birthday of Knutsford Town Council.

If you would like to enter the competition, please bring your bread, cake or tray bake between 1-2pm. The Mayor of Knutsford will be judging entries at 2:30pm, with the winners taking home a gift voucher. All ages and abilities are welcome.

For more information, please email gemma.jackson@knutsfordtowncouncil.gov.uk

Heritage Open Days comes to Knutsford 6-8th September

A bustling programme of heritage activity is available in Knutsford next weekend as part of the national Heritage Open Days event.

Knutsford Town Council has coordinated a programme of activity as part of the heritage festival which aims to celebrate the rich heritage across the UK. The council’s aim is to promote Knutsford as a place to visit for the first weekend of Heritage Open Days and to foster a better appreciation of the rich heritage we have on our doorstep. Materials to support the event have been funded by the UK Government as part of the Shared Prosperity Fund.

Heritage Open Days is always a free programme of events and Knutsford’s main events take place over the weekend of 6th– 8th September. While all events are free, some do require booking so please visit www.knutsfordtowncouncil.gov.uk/heritageopendays for full details and booking information. 

Printed guides are also available from the Heritage Centre, Library, Council Offices and businesses around town.

Taking place on Friday 6th September is a tour of Booths Hall, Booths Mere and the ruins of St Helena’s Church, an exhibition on Knutsford’s links with Mrs Gaskell and the arrival of the railway and two screenings of the Knutsford: Tales of War film at the Curzon. Friday also sees the launch of a new book by local historian Jenny Collis with a book talk and signing for Knutsford, our streets through time.  You can also take a guide tour of St Cross Church, visit the Tabley House collection and take part in a ghost walk!

Saturday 7th starts with a fully booked tour of the Courthouse and later that afternoon there is a talk at Egerton Place on the Egerton Connection from Knutsford to Kenya.

On Sunday 8th you could take part in a guided tours of the town’s historic coaching inns, take part in the ghost walk you missed on Friday evening or visit the Brook St Chapel for a special history themed service.