opox magazine: Crewe blog people magazine 2011

Showing posts with label Crewe blog. Show all posts

Pete Waterman belongs on The Cat radio...

Friday was a special day for the new Belong Village in Brookhouse Drive, near The Raven pub. Although they opened their doors at the beginning of December, this official opening brought with it sunshine and a special guest. Pete Waterman arrived to a champagne reception, then enjoyed a tour of the building which combines a care centre with independent living, and public facilities like a bistro, salon and gym. He unveiled a picture on the wall outside The Venue bar area upstairs. It was of a train at Crewe photographed in 1937. Railway enthusiast Pete spoke fondly of the train and its carriages before receiving a gift from one of the Belong residents. Jen Van-Cauter managed to grab a quick interview with Pete for The Cat radio. He spoke of the picture and how it would bring back memories to so many of the residents, and commented on the building. To hear the interview with Pete Waterman, and also the management team, and the architect, tune into Mediagenic on The Cat on Monday morning from 11am...

The Cat radio is available online here http://www.thisisthecat.com/

Location, location, location...

Wondered about this block of flats/houses for a while. It's been on hold for some time, sandwiched between two more successful plots off Dunwoody Way that have mostly sold. When you think about it, this is a cracking location. Close to a supermarket, walking distance to the town centre, five minutes from the cinema, ten minutes walk to Bentley Motors and not much further to the Marshfield Bank employment park. Also, the area will soon look even smarter when a retirement village is built on the corner of the Crewe Works car park, lifting the whole area. Add to that the old cobbles of Goddard Street and, one day, it could be a very desirable area. Ten years ago, when the land was largely derelict, few would have thought that...

When will station rebuild begin?

Interesting news about Crewe Station this week on the back of confirmation that Cheshire East Council have purchased the old Royal Mail Sorting Office complex for £2.75m. We carried that news on the blog a while back, but comments from CE Cllr Jamie Macrae suggest that with the land secured plans will be developed sooner rather than later. The station entrance will probably be cited at the top of Weston Road. Quite what that means in terms of timescale is anyone's guess as they are also looking to utilise the land in the interim period. Basically, rent some of it out for storage, perhaps? I'd like to see this pushed on as even council leader Cllr Wesley Fitzgerald continues to state that Crewe will be the area's hub for business, transport links and growth. Let's hope that it's not another town centre Modus fiasco...

Huge housing development for Leighton, Crewe

There was a public consultation at Mablins Lane Community School on Thursday afternoon/evening, with plans for upwards of 400 new homes to be built off Parkers Road/Moss Lane in Leighton. It’s a few hundred yards from where I live, a sprawling area of new housing that has grown since the late 1980s. In principle, I have no objections. There’s promise of a vast open space with landscaped play areas for the kids. With any new development you get improved walkways and cycle paths, plus there’s a good chance that the crossing will be upgraded and the road speed dropped. Oh, and if the local councillors push hard enough we could get a community centre. That’s progress, as the area has never managed to secure a doctor’s surgery despite thousands of people living in the area. There’s an assumption that everyone has cars and is prepared to drive in and out of town. That poor in terms of health, congestion, emissions and expense.

The local pub (the Eight Farmers), Bargain Booze and COOP will be delighted, as will the nursery and hair salon. However, what about the additional strain on the roads? This could mean another 800 cars on the road. Also, the school (plus Leighton Primary about a mile away) is already full. Where will the new kids go?

As for the housing, it is likely to be a good mix of two, three, four and even five bed homes. As the Crewe and surrounding area needs around 500 new homes each year, this ticks Cheshire East’s box very nicely, thank you very much. So I suspect that when it goes to planning later this summer there will be few objections. It just depends what fuss (if any) the existing residents cause, and whether the Highways Agency or Cheshire East (from a schools perspective) block the application. We will see...

Design and planning issues

Two snippets that caught my eye this week. Great news about Tesco, off Vernon Way. The council has told the supermarket chain to rethink its unflattering design that was due to be built this year. Basically, a concrete oblong is just not good enough. Crewe needs some inspirational architecture and Tesco has been told to go back to the drawing board. That slows down the redevelopment of a currently ugly chunk of Crewe just off the town centre, but I'm all for raising the bar and encouraging developers to improve the look and feel of the place. So well done the council.

A few hundred metres away, next to the old Focus unit, it looks as though the eating out experience could soon improve for the Crewe public. Frankie and Benny's restaurant chain have applied to site a new outlet off Earle Street. Apart from a few decent eateries on Nanny Road, Crewe has always been the poor relation when it comes to good quality restaurants in the south Cheshire area. So this could be the start of something positive for the town, keeping people in the area and attracting diners into the town. Fingers crossed.

And a prosperous New Year?

Prices rising, VAT going up and people worried about jobs. What does 2011 hold for the Crewe? The Market Centre is being transformed with a new unit currently being fitted out and the Grand Junction Retail Park will soon boast a new Boots and TK Maxx. I'm assuming that two of the town centre Boots shops will close, potentially leaving unsightly empty units. Will there be new arrivals on the high street or is going to be a really tough year for the town's shopping core?

And a prosperous New Year?

Not-so Happy New Year

One pub that will not be welcoming in the New Year is the Earl of Crewe on Nantwich Road. Aldi now (apparently) own the site, but what will become of this plot in 2011-12? A supermarket, houses or another derelict plot for a couple of years when they bulldoze the existing building to save on business rates!

Not-so Happy New Year

After the snow, the soggy ground...

It's not become an issue (yet) but if the heavens open over the next few days we'll see some flooding around parts of Crewe. Plenty of soggy ground already following the thaw, with golfers braving the conditions at the Queens Park club, Sunday League footy on the King George V fields looking a bit iffy and parts of the Leighton Greenway already under water - as usual.

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Popular Posts

Pete Waterman belongs on The Cat radio...

Location, location, location...

When will station rebuild begin?

Huge housing development for Leighton, Crewe

Design and planning issues

And a prosperous New Year?

And a prosperous New Year?

Not-so Happy New Year

Not-so Happy New Year

After the snow, the soggy ground...

After the snow, the soggy ground...

Crewe Soul Club @ The Crosville Club, £3

Crewe Soul Club @ The Crosville Club, £3

Happy Christmas

Happy Christmas

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