A lady holds out two handfuls of shopping bags

Knutsford Shopping Bags on Sale

Following the warm reception of Knutsford’s Welcome Back Pack in the summer, Knutsford Town Council has launched the Knutsford Shopping Bag just in time for the Christmas shopping season

The bag is designed by local agency Boxed Red Marketing and retails at £3.50.  It is available to purchase from The Tea Room, Cheshire Quality, Hal Whittaker, Mr Simms and at the Knutsford Town Council Offices.  The bag design is colourful and includes many of the things people associate with Knutsford such as May Day and Penny Farthings.

Sandra Curties, Knutsford Town Council’s Town Centre and Marketing Officer said, “We are delighted to offer these bags for sale and are looking forward to spotting them around the town in the coming months.  You could buy the bag alongside a Knutsford Voucher and give a complete gift of Knutsford this year!”

Harriet Henry, owner of The Tea Room said, “We love these bags and are looking forward to selling them alongside a cup of tea and a slice of cake!”

Profits made by the Town Council in selling the bags are being reinvested in town centre footfall initiatives.

a lady shows another a picture whilst three ladies look at a book on a table inside a nice interior shop in Knutsford

Knutsford at Home hailed a hit

Knutsford’s interior and design shops hosted their first interior shopping experience on Saturday 18th September.

The event was a collaboration of the growing number of home and interior shops and businesses in Knutsford town centre and offered shoppers inspiration, advice, and ideas as we move into the autumn and winter seasons.

The day’s programme was full of interesting talks, presentations, one-off offers and in some cases fizz and goody bags. 

The businesses who took part were Arthur Lee, Deliveroot, Design Equals, Detaljer, Holly Johnson Antiques, Not a Box, Oka, Serenity Designs, Sofas and Stuff, Suzy Watson Designs, and Terzetto.

Sandra Curties, Knutsford Town Council’s Town Centre and Marketing Manager, said “We and the shops involved were really pleased how the first event went.  The sun shone on the day, Knutsford Town Mayor Stewart Gardiner kindly visited every shop and there was a lovely buzz around the town.  We are evaluating feedback from the day and are possibly looking at a spring event incorporating gardens too so watch this space!”

Matthew Cook of Terzetto Stone said, “Even though this was the first Knutsford at Home Event, it was very beneficial for everyone involved. The individuals who attended Terzetto’s ‘Tile Trends and You’ presentation seemed to get a lot from the talk and were very interactive throughout. Being a retailer in the world of interior design, it’s a pleasure to discuss material that helps homeowners get the most out of their homes and make help to make their ideas and dreams a reality. I look forward to taking part in the next Knutsford at Home Event.”

Helen Dufton of Arthur Lee, said, “We gave away about 60 goody bags from Farrow and Ball and Little Greene to customers making purchases on the day and spoke to lots of people that had not visited us before which was great”.

A group of adults in a meeting within a beer garden

Head out Not Home Alfresco Dining Nights

Two weekends of alfresco dining will take place in Knutsford on the weekends of 6 and 7th August and 10th and 11th of September.

A section of King Street and a small section of Princess Street (outside the Lost and Found) will be closed to traffic from 5.30pm to 11pm on those dates to allow restaurants, bars, and cafes to place tables and chairs on the roads for alfresco dining. 

Sandra Curties, Town Centre and Marketing Officer said, “The past 15 months have been incredibly hard for everyone, especially our hospitality sector. These two evening closures will go someway to provide additional space for venues for their customers and the community to enjoy the amazing food and drink Knutsford offers”.

The road closure is from 5.30pm to 11pm and covers the following areas:

  • King Street from the entrance to King Street car park (by Chic Interiors) to Egerton Square.
  • Princess Street small section opposite the Lost and Found.

Amberon will be providing traffic management services and the roads will re-open at 11pm ready for the next day of trading.

The following venues will be providing alfresco dining or drinking tables from 6pm to 10.30pm:

  • Evuna
  • D13
  • Rose and Crown
  • Gusto
  • Real Fruit Creamery
  • The Tea Room
  • Wine and Wallop
  • Piccolinos
  • Cheshire House Bar & Grill
  • King Street Kitchen
  • Copper 29.

Ben Antoniak from King Street Kitchen said, “Although we opened in December 2019 because of the pandemic we still feel like one of the ‘newbies’ on King Street.  We are delighted to take part in the alfresco event – the extra seating will really help promote our venue and we look forward to greeting customers new and old.  Fingers crossed the weather is kind too!”

Sandra Curties, added, “It must be stressed that these two weekends are trials, and we will be evaluating feedback from those taking part, residents affected and those venues outside the road closures.  We would like to see all our hospitality venues busy during these weekends and any shops wishing to stay open a little later will add to the continental atmosphere”.

Patrons are urged to contact their chosen venue direct to see whether they need to book a space in advance.

A £5 Knutsford Voucher

Knutsford Voucher Launches

A gift voucher unique to Knutsford is launching just in time for Christmas.

The Knutsford Voucher is now available to purchase from the Town Council website and (after lockdown) in person in the Council Offices on Toft Road.  Initially the vouchers will be in £5 and £10 dominations and will be able to be redeemed in over 50 local shops. 

The aim of the scheme is to keep spend local and support the local economy.

Sandra Curties, Knutsford Town Council Town Centre and Marketing Officer, said, “We have kept the initial launch simple – low denominations for spread of spend and we’ve had a great response from local shops.  There are too many to mention here but the vouchers can be redeemed for everyday goods such as meat and vegetables to flowers, soft furnishings, bikes, and gifts – there really is something for everyone.  Once the voucher is redeemed, we pay the shop back in full.  It is a great way of ring fencing local spend.”

The vouchers will be available for one year from date of purchase, have been designed by local marketing agency 438 Marketing and have security features to disable fraud.  Full terms and conditions will be on Knutsford Town Council’s website along with a full list of participating retailers.  They make great gifts all year round and an excellent incentive for existing staff or a welcome to new starters.  Chris Eversfield from Serenity Designs said, “We are really excited about this new voucher scheme.  It is a great initiative from Knutsford Town Council – enabling local people to spend money in local shops”

If any Knutsford based business is interested in the scheme, they should get in touch with Sandra Curties on 01565 653929.  Please note only Knutsford based shops (not surrounding villages) can take the vouchers.  If successful, higher denominations will be introduced and longer term a digital option may be developed.

A view down King Street

Join our Town Centre Recovery Focus Group

Knutsford Town Council is seeking a cross-section of residents to take part in a small focus group to contribute towards efforts to support local businesses in the recovery of the town centre and encourage footfall and local spend in the town centre post-lockdown.

The focus group will be held using Zoom and will discuss the reasons residents visit the town centre, what would encourage them to visit more and how the town compares with other areas.

“This focus group is about the town centre now and in the new future, we won’t be tackling the wider and longer-term issues of public transport, accessibility and car parking which will be tackled through our emerging Town Centre Masterplan, but focusing on what we can do now to support the town centre.” said Sandra Curties, the Town Centre and Marketing Officer at Knutsford Town Council who will be hosting the focus group.

“We are aiming to work with local businesses to support them through the economic recovery and ensure our town centre survives”

If you are interested in participating please email sandra.curties@knutsfordtowncouncil.gov.uk. To help ensure the focus group includes a cross-section of the community please include your age, address, profession, and an overview of your household unit. This information will be used solely for selection of the working group.

An aerial view of the Moor

Town Centre Masterplan Consultation Conclusions

The Town Council held a consultation on proposed changes to traffic and parking arrangements in Knutsford Town Centre from 5th February to 16th March 2020. These form the first stage of a comprehensive Town Centre Masterplan.

In total we received 658 responses to the consultation which demonstrate overall support for the proposals. A report on the consultation has been prepared and will be published in July when the recommendations from the Town Centre working group are presented to the Town Council.

The number of respondents supporting or opposing the three aspects of the proposed scheme are:

Discouraging through traffic – 426 (65%) FOR | 232 (35%) AGAINST

More parking & a multi-storey – 517 (79%) FOR | 139(21%) AGAINST

Limiting parking on King and Princess Streets – 505 (77%) FOR | 151 (23%) AGAINST

The numbers answering the question “Overall, do you support this 3-part scheme as a first step towards securing the future of Knutsford town centre?” were:

                                                YES:  383 (58%)  |  NO: 268 (41%)

61 respondents identified themselves as business owners/ managers; of these 38 voted YES, 23 NO.

The many comments qualify and explain the support or lack of it for the various aspects of the scheme.   Topics attracting comment include:

  • traffic congestion on the A50 and Adams Hill caused by closing King and Princess Streets to through traffic,
  • drivers being confused by the proposed road changes, and disappointed at having to drive around the town, not through it,
  • support for a multi-storey especially at the Tatton St. car park, but concern that unless well designed, it would be out of keeping with Knutsford’s heritage.
  • concern that a multi-storey on the King Street car park would spoil the view from the Moor,
  • traffic along Moorside posing a hazard near the children’s playground,
  • the desire to be able to park near a shop and call in for a few minutes, free of charge,
  • the pedestrianisation of King Street,
  • enforcing the double yellow lines,
  • the state of the pavements in King and Princess Streets,
  • consideration for the particular needs of town centre residents,
  • low cost parking for town centre employees,
  • the ultimate need for a bypass.