Plans to build a new state-of-the art history centre in Crewe town centre to co-host the region’s archives have been approved – along with a scheme to transform the public space around it.
Cheshire Archives and Local Studies is a shared service of Cheshire East and Cheshire West and Chester Councils and looks after the county’s unique and irreplaceable written and pictorial history.
The service is driving forward a project to rehouse the collections in two new bespoke history centres.
Plans for a completely new history centre in Crewe – on the site of the town’s former library, next to Memorial Square – have now been approved, along with a separate application to transform the civic and cultural space between the Lifestyle Centre and Memorial Square, which will include a new two-storey entrance to the Magistrates’ Courts.
Work to clear the site of the former library is now currently expected to begin in summer.
Earlier this month, Cheshire West and Chester Council also received planning approval for a history centre in Hoole, Chester.
Together, the two new centres will provide a suitable and long-term home for the archives and open up the collections to a whole new audience across Cheshire – for information, learning and enjoyment.
They are both expected to be completed in early 2025 and will have climate-controlled environments and include large event and gallery spaces to host performances, workshops and exhibitions, more spaces for people to carry out research, and better spaces for staff and volunteers to work with the collections to make them more accessible.
In Crewe, as well as the new history centre, the plans approved will see the delivery of the first part of a new and attractive pedestrian link through the cultural and civic quarter of the town centre.
New planting, lighting, and seating will revamp the area and provide a new high-quality space for the public to enjoy.
The project includes clearing the site of the former library and the structure over the existing Civic Centre car park, which would then give the clear site needed for the new history centre.
There will also be a new car park and a new two-storey entrance to the Magistrates’ Courts.
You can find out more, here.
