Macclesfield: Public consultation to propel new South Park Pavilion to the next step
By Alex Greensmith
9th Feb 2024 | Local News
The public are being asked to fill in a consultation regarding a loan relating to the new South Park Pavilion.
The current Pavilion is being replaced due to a lack of accessibility to the first floor, limited toilet facilities, and its poor state of repair.
A Macclesfield architect was employed to design a concept, which the general public selected their preference for, and now we are at a pivotal stage in it becoming reality.
Macclesfield Town Council has £548,472 in reserves for the project and are now looking to finance the remainder with a Public Works Loan.
This is where the public comes in, to make sure residents are okay with this.
Macclesfield Nub News met with Macclesfield Town Councillor Sandy Livingstone to find out why Maxonians should engage in the consultation.
Sandy Livingstone explained what stage we are currently at with the South Park Pavilion project.
"The South Park Pavilion Project, on the basis of the earlier process that was carried out across the town, we have a design.
"It is a two-storey design that matches what residents wanted.
"We now have planning permission, which has taken a while, but it is quite a special building, it will be here for the next 100 years. So we need to get this right, working together with Cheshire East.
"We are now at the stage of asking residents of the town whether they are comfortable with us borrowing a public works loan of £1.25 million pounds for us to build the building we want to build, in terms of the quality we want."
At the Macclesfield Town Council meeting of December 11 2023, it was resolved to seek the approval of the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities & Local Government to apply for a PWLB loan of £1,250,000 over the borrowing term of 40 years for to build a new pavilion in South Park, Macclesfield.
It is intended to increase the council tax precept for 2024 by 24.5%, which equals £12.50 per year per band D household (£1.04 per month ), and £5.21 ( 43 pence per month per band D household, ) of this will go toward the loan repayments, an increase of 10%.
The intention once the pavilion is built and up and running is that the loan payments will be paid through contributions from income generated by the pavilion. The annual loan repayments will come to around £101,700 reducing by £411.27 every six months.
"We are really keen that people engage with this," told Sandy.
"From the feedback so far we have received from residents, the town's people want this to happen.
"They recognise the value of the park here and the ability to build something quite special that will act as a gathering place for the town that will really bring people here to see our park, a major asset.
"But they also recognise that they will produce much-needed fully accessible toilets. We are a Council that is for the whole community, so having facilities here as well as the ones we built in the town centre [Macclesfield Indoor Market] is really important. One of the things so far that I am proud of, is the new accessible play equipment in this park."
When asked about why it is important for the Council to ask the public, Sandy had this to say: "It is a formal requirement of gaining the loan, because it is a public works loan so we need to consult on it.
"We think it is the right thing to do anyway. It is a considerable commitment we are making, albeit when you look at the impact on a Band D Council Tax payer, it is £12.50 a year and half of that rise will go towards paying for the Pavilion.
"Now we know over time this will be popular, we hope the new Pavilion overtime will generate income for itself. So there is is a thing of 'We need your views, we need to be clear that you are content and it makes you happy', which I think as a Town Council our job is to invest in the town, this is one of the significant chances we've got to invest."
When asked why as many people should fill in the consultation as possible, the the Central Ward representative replied: "What it mens is there is a consensus in the community to do this.
"When we go and are spending resident's money, we want to be clear, that is what you want us to do," he added.
"This park is 100 years old, it is quite a special thing to have and I think it is one of those undiscovered gems of Cheshire.
"We want to know that this is what you want us to do. We think you do on the basis of the earlier consultation.
"For a number of people in the town, it is something they have waited for, for a long time. We are really keen to replace the 1970s Soviet-style architecture.
"We want something to go with the elegance of the place, and create a space where people can gather. Because that is one of the conscious things that you see. There's a lot of heritage here, a really active community, but it lacks somewhere to gather, and have special events like comedy evenings of art exhibitions.
"It is a very energy efficient design, it uses quite a lot of modern construction techniques. Because we are an eco-friendly Town Council, we need to build a building that uses little energy use in its lifetime as we possibly can.
"It does mean we have to invest a bit more, but it does mean a return in the long run and the savings for the planet. Having spent a windy day in November planting trees here, it is that sort of thing we need to do. We need to move on to reducing carbon emissions.
"I think this is an opportunity to have your voice known and heard. We are a Council that listens. I think this is really important to do, it is really a town that has great history.
"But unless we invest in it and take the opportunities to do that, we won't get the economic growth, regeneration, employment. For the level of activity we want to create, we need to invest for that to come.
"There is also the value bring people here, obviously I didn't originate here [Sandy has a Scottish accent] one of the new things is that we are starting to get noticed.
"We need to get noticed more. So people understand the real attraction of what we have to offer in terms of cafes, hospitality, music scene, the arts scene, local businesses and markets that we have.
"All of that means that we need to encourage people to come to us, so I think that is the other opportunity here, as well as a place for people from the town to gather, it is making Macclesfield a place that people see as a destination to come to."
You have until February 23 to fill in the consultation.
Please head to THIS LINK to submit your views on the public works loan for the new South Park Pavilion.
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