ABOUT THE TOWN CENTRE MASTERPLAN
The Town Council has a commitment to deliver a Town Centre Masterplan. In September 2025, we set out a timeline to deliver this plan by December 2026.
The aim of the masterplan will be to deliver a consensus on the town centre from the Town with the aim of getting stakeholder (particularly CEC) commitment. The plan will be divided into four chapters (see below) and each chapter will contain (as appropriate)
- Projects – specific interventions that can be delivered as funding becomes available.
- Actions – specific actions for the Town Council (and others ) to implement
- Guidance – direction for stakeholders to meet the objectives of the masterplan
It is our aim to proposal projects that are ambitious but realistic. Each chapter has a sub-group led by a town councillor with up to eight stakeholder/community representatives
If you would like to be involved in one of the sub-groups, please complete the expression of interest form.
HISTORY
Discussions over the pedestrian/vehicle conflict within the town centre span over 40 years. At least as far back as 1983, the Town Council was calling for pedestrianisation on King Street (which was trialled on Saturdays in 1986 and stopped after two weeks). There has been on/off discussion ever since. In 2010, the Town Plan found over 70% supported pedestrianising King Street but further work in 2012 recommended a pedestrian priority scheme for the central section instead. In 2015, Cheshire East Council proposed implementing this and held a consultation, there was overall support, but opposition from the Town Council and local businesses. It was then referred to the Town Council to develop proposals.
In 2019 a set of proposals called the From Top to Bottom Street report was developed and these were consulted on in 2020. This proposed a ‘limited vehicle access scheme’ which would have prevented through traffic; the consultation showed overall support (58%) and we sought to get CEC to undertake feasibility studies. In 2024, using UK Government funding through the Shared Prosperity Fund, we commissioned feasibility studies which showed the LVAS proposal was not viable.
These documents and proposals are all provided in the document library below.
The issues of pedestrian/vehicle imbalance in the town centre are repeatedly raised by visitors and residents alike. It was one of the top issues in our consultations to inform our corporate plan, and as such developing a masterplan is a key strategic objective.
Our aim is to develop a plan which resolves this decades long discussion, which agrees what interventions should take place and which can garner wide public support. We will then work to deliver the plan with partners as funding becomes available.
For more information, please view the video to the right.
In October 2025, we held two public engagement sessions to launch this work. Here’s a recording of the presentation which was given.
TIMELINE
This is our intended timeline to deliver a masterplan
- October 2025 – set up sub-groups
- January 2026 – sub-groups agree the outline content, direction, objectives and principles for their chapter
- April 2026 – preliminary consultation and engagement on options and ideas
- July 2026 – first draft prepared of the masterplan
- September 2026 – formal consultation on the masterplan
- December 2026 – adoption by the Town Council
DOCUMENT LIBRARY
We know that looking at a Town Centre Masterplan isn’t entirely new. Here you’ll find relevant background documents that support this work, including some previous reports and proposals. This also includes national reports on high streets.
Please note that not all documents are suitable for adaptive technology, if you need a document in an alternative format, please email townclerk@knutsfordtowncouncil.gov.uk.