Making plans for Sale – “phenomenal” turn out of residents anxious to have their say in the future

Hundreds of Sale residents turned out on Saturday to have their say on a proposed plan for the regeneration of Sale Town Centre.

A pop up shop unit in The Square was home to residents  from 10am to 3pm with interactive displays, a children’s activity run by Sale’s TwobyTwo and they had the opportunity to speak to representatives from Trafford Council, and one of the two companies who have been tasked with the redesign, Planit-IE.

Despite the rain, people of all ages went to view the proposals and give their thoughts. With one hour to go, the supply of paper questionnaires had run out such was the “overwhelming” level of interest.

The public consultation was the latest stage in a study commissioned by Trafford Council, who have promised to  improve the centre of  Sale.

With the slogan  “Fantastic Town Centre” the main aim of  the plans so far is for Sale centre to be  “functional, inclusive, beautiful, healthy, fun and unique.”

The Strategic Growth Team from Trafford Borough Council believe that by improving the look of the area, more inward investment will be generated and this will help Sale realise the successful growth of neighbouring towns such as Altrincham.

The area between the Bridgewater Canal and Washway Road would  be improved with a six point plan whereby a string of key spaces will be created  linked with the side streets so that people can” move seamlessly from space to space through the town.”

Visual aspects such as signage, plants and street furniture will be revamped to create what they hope will a distinctive and attractive centre to Sale. Each key space will have pedestrian and cycle routes.

The proposed locations of ‘key spaces’ are:

1. School Road
2. Town Hall Square
3. Family Square (on School Road)
4. Northenden Road
5. Washway Road/Cross Street
6. Sibson Street
7. Ashfield Road

Click on to this link to see what the plans look like: http://www.investintrafford.com/TownCentres/Docs/PL1741-ID-006-01-Sale-Consultation-Boards.compressed.pdf

Damien Cutting of Trafford Council’s Strategic Growth Team said that the response  from residents had been “phenomenal” with mostly positive feedback.  Residents had used blue stickers to add their their ideas to the designers’ and there had been requests for a residents” forum to be in on future discussions.

Public  response will be fed back into the proposals which are still subject to change, before a final Masterplan is created, said Mr Cutting.

While the adults participated in detailed discussions or completed feedback surveys, children were able to provide their own unique views on what the Sale of the future should look like.

Zoe Taylor of TwobyTwo handed out colouring pencils and stickers for children to come up with their own ideas for the town.

She said: “Sale is a dynamic, family oriented community and this will guide the direction of the Masterplan going forward.”

Sale Consultation is full of great opinions and discussions. We’re here till 3pm. @PlanitIE @TraffordBiz #standupforyourtown pic.twitter.com/IwYqkBbJ2O

— Two By Two (@twobytwosale) 30 September 2017

Two companies, Planit-IE and Civic Engineers are undertaking the project for the council. Ana Santini from Planit-IE was at the event and was buoyed by the level of engagement, saying that people were truly “passionate” about their local area.

“The great thing about Sale is the sense of community which is strong,”  she said. When asked what challenges the sprawling nature of the town centre posed, she said that there was a “lack of connectivity” between different areas.

She said she she felt people would want be able to walk from one end of the town centre to the other creating an energy which she said had been missing.

One lifelong resident who was there on Saturday said she had hardly ever visited The Square as it wasn’t convenient to get to, whilst others said that they wanted a more attractive town centre with plants and open spaces.

If you missed the consultation, then you can still access information about the proposals and give feedback by completing an online questionnaire. Just follow this link:

http://www.investintrafford.com/TownCentres/Sale-Town-Centre-Consultation.aspx

As always, we would love to hear  your opinions and suggestions for the regeneration of Sale.

What do you think should be done? What is the best thing about Sale? Should other aspects be included such as parking or crime prevention?

Leave a comment below or join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.