CAMPAIGNERS are calling for a figure from Macclesfield’s history to be immortalised in a statue...but they may need your help to set the idea in stone.

For the scheme’s architects, Eric Rogers and Val Lloyd, are not quite sure whose name to put forward for the posthumous honour.

The landmark plan is part of an appeal for the council to use ‘recession’ cash to create a £250,000 town centre walkway linking the town’s greatest buildings.

"Wellington Walk", which would double the width of existing Wellington Street, would be lined with trees and park benches to help connect the Heritage Centre, Salvation Army Citadel and Christ Church, all listed buildings.

A monument to a famous Maxonian would also be erected. The subject would be chosen through a competition to boost public interest.

Architects of the scheme, Eric Rogers and Val Lloyd, want Cheshire East Council to fund it using £300,000 set aside to battle the recession.

Rainow resident Eric, who runs estate management firm Eric Rogers Estates, said: "We want a statue built, but we’re not sure who of. This could be done as part of the town centre redevelopment but we are arguing it should be done now. The town centre urgently needs changes, the council owns all the land and it could be done for £250,000.

"We are working tirelessly to make this happen. We feel the citadel in particular has been totally neglected, after spending a lot of money on its building.

"The heritage centre is another tremendous asset and sets us apart from ‘clone towns’. We have contacted Cheshire East but heard nothing so are appealing for public support."

Major Sue Collins, corps officer at the grade II listed citadel, backed the project, which would see a residential conservation area off nearby Waters Street extended to include the citadel and Heritage Centre.

"A lot of people who use the building would access it by the walkway," she said.

Organisations have until September 30 to apply to CEC's recession mitigation task group for a share of its £300,000 budget and Eric and Val are appealing for urgent letters of support.

  • Write to them at Eric Rogers Estates, 110 Park Lane, Macclesfield, SK11 6UA. To find out more, call 01625 511408.

    POSSIBLE CANDIDATES

    • Ian Curtis (July 15 1956 – May 18 1980) was the vocalist and lyricist, as well as occasional guitarist and keyboardist of the band Joy Division. In the early hours of May 18 1980, Curtis hanged himself at his Macclesfield home.
    • David Simpson, firebrand preacher of Christ Church for 40 years until his death in 1810. He opened a dispensary in Macclesfield and opened the town's first women's support group.
    • Charles Roe (May 7 1715 – May 3 1781) played an important role in establishing the silk industry in Macclesfield and later became involved in the mining and metal industries. He then entered the button and twist trade and became a freeman of Macclesfield in 1742. In 1743 he built a small watermill on Park Green and in 1748, in partnership with Glover & Co, a larger mill for silk production on Waters Green. He was mayor of Macclesfield from 1747 – 1748.
    • Brigadier-General Sir William Bromley-Davenport (January 21 1862 – February 6 1949) was a British soldier, footballer and Conservative politician. He was returned to Parliament for Macclesfield in the July 1886 general election. At the end of 1901, he was appointed deputy lieutenant of Cheshire. He fought in the Second Boer War in the Imperial Yeomanry, where he gained a Distinguished Service Order.
    • Sir Philip Brocklehurst, who died in 1975, is Macclesfield's famous Antarctic explorer. Brocklehurst left with Sir Ernest Shackleton on the two year Antarctic expedition in 1907.
    • Others: Sammy McIlroy, Sir Nick Winterton, Brian Redhead and Sir Bernard Lovell.

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