The Crewe Town Board met on 6 December 2024 and discussed progress on the Crewe Town Deal, the performance of the Towns Fund projects in Crewe, and whether to approve an additional £150,000 of funding for the History and Heritage project. The Board noted the progress being made and approved the additional funding for the History and Heritage project.

Crewe Town Deal Progress Update

Doug Hannford from Cheshire East Council provided an update on the progress of the Crewe Town Deal. The Board were told that the overall programme was progressing well and that all of the projects funded by the deal were now in delivery.

The Board discussed the fact that some of the Towns Fund projects in Crewe were behind schedule, particularly the History Centre project, which was originally due to be completed in March 2024.

Members noted the significant slippage in the History Centre project.

The Board discussed the fact that the project had been delayed by the need to find a suitable location for the History Centre and by the need to secure additional funding.

Crewe Towns Fund - Performance

The Board then received a presentation from the Head of Regeneration at Cheshire East Council on the performance of the Towns Fund projects in Crewe.

The presentation highlighted that almost all of the £22.9m of Towns Fund grant that had been awarded to Crewe had now been committed, but that the projects had only spent £8.5m (37%) of the funding they had been allocated.

History and Heritage approved funding request

The Board were asked to approve a request from the History and Heritage project for an additional £150,000 of funding. The money was needed to cover the cost of essential repairs to the roof of the Crewe Library.

A report prepared for the meeting explained the reasons for the funding request.

Due to the age and condition of the building the second phase of repair works has now been deemed essential to address the immediate risk to the building fabric.

The Board discussed the fact that the project had already gone over budget and that this was the second time that the project had requested additional funding.

I don’t think any of us are happy about this, but we have to protect our assets. We can’t let the library fall down.

Despite their concerns, the Board agreed to approve the funding request.