Macclesfield has been compared to a poor relative in a family with wealth, with claims of our town being left behind as Crewe financially prospers.

Recently, Crewe has seen millions invested into the railway town in recent months, despite both towns requiring regeneration.

Crewe has received a total of £37m in government funding through two separate schemes – the Future High Streets Fund and Towns Fund.

Meanwhile, Cheshire East has been unsuccessful so far in various funding applications it has made to government and other external public sources for Macclesfield.

Despite our town not receiving a penny, councillors will persist in trying to get millions into Macc.

In defence of Crewe, it is Cheshire East's largest town, and is even bidding to become a city in 2022.

So this renewed interest of private and government investment would make sense.

But there is a feeling Macc is getting left behind as a result.

Cllr Suzanne Brookfield (Crewe East, Lab) suggested Crewe's low life expectancy was a reason for the multi-million pound investment.

"People in Crewe die 13 years before those in more affluent parts of Cheshire East so the town deserves the investment it is now getting following years of neglect," she said.

Brookfield was speaking after an update report on the town centre regeneration programmes at a meeting of the economy and growth committee.

Cllr Brookfield added: "I know quite a few people around this table feel everything's about Crewe but I think we need to bear in mind that Crewe is the borough's principal town."

"Yes, Crewe gets a lot of attention but it's been neglected for so long. We have the most fly-tipping in Crewe, we have the most air pollution, we even die earlier in Crewe – that is how deprivation is, we die 13 years earlier in Crewe than the rest of the borough.

"I know people think we focus on Crewe a lot but I think the need is there."

Her comments came after a Macclesfield area councillor had asked what was being done in other parts of the borough.

Cllr Andrew Gregory (Sutton, Con) said: "This is an exciting report if you live in and about Crewe but I'm afraid, if you live in and about Macclesfield, you feel a bit like the poor relation."

He asked: "Are we doing enough to get private enterprise behind Macclesfield?

"We've seen it with the modest development on Market Place as a result of the pandemic but there's so little going on in my view. "Is there any more we can do to try and get behind Macc?" Peter Skates, the council's director of growth and enterprise, said: "There are a number of investors already within Macclesfield that have had the confidence in the town and it's about building on that, so Picturedrome, but also the recent development on Craven House on Castle Street, and our newly designed public realm on Castle Street just supplements that." Mr Skates, who has worked for Cheshire East Council in his role since 2019 added: "It's about growing, it's adding, it's building confidence and Macclesfield has got a really good reputation of that sort of quirky, different type of town, so it's how do we build on that?" Earlier in the meeting Mr Skates had told the committee the council would be applying again for funding for Macclesfield. "Success in any application for funds can be dependent on strict criteria required by government to demonstrate critical need for interventions, and aspects such as deprivation can be a key factor," he had told the committee. "Although Macclesfield was unsuccessful for levelling up funding, we are continuing to prepare for the next round of applications anticipated in the new year." What do you think Macclesfield? See also: Macclesfield 'wasn't deprived enough' to get Levelling Up Funds from government. Macclesfield: Have you signed up for our Friday weekly newsletter containing each week's top 10 Macclesfield news stories, and one FREE exclusive article? 950 of you have signed up already. Simply enter your email address into the shaded box below. Free from pop-up ads, or unwanted surveys, Macclesfield Nub News is a quality online newspaper which produces 25-30 stories a week for our town. As well as Twitter, you can also find us on Facebook.