Alsager residents can now sit in style and watch the world go by – thanks to the late Queen and her Platinum Jubilee celebrations.

Alsager Town Council decided to refurbish benches in front of Alsager Civic and place a plaque commemorating the great occasion.

Chair of Alsager Town Council, Councillor Phil Williams, in front of two of the benches.

But now the plaque, which was recently installed, will have more importance following the sad death of the Queen. A town council plaque has also been put on the bench.

For it is the last big occasion which the town celebrated on the Alsager Civic lawn on June 4th leading up to her death last week. 

Chair of Alsager Town Council, Councillor Phil Williams said: "We wanted to mark the occasion for posterity with something physical, a bench and plaque that people of all ages could recognise and enjoy.

"The green in front of the Civic and the Town Council offices is a popular meeting place. The six existing benches are well used and provide a welcome spot for people to sit and rest or think.

"Alsager Town Council agreed to refurbish the benches which belong to Cheshire East Council. Once we had obtained their permission, the work began.

The benches before

"Our initial thoughts were to replace the existing slats and bolts, prepare and paint the ironwork and place plaques and crests as appropriate.

"The material costs were estimated at around £1,100 with slats in the region of £700 altogether.

The benches after

"When our in-house Council staff examined the slats they realised that with a bit of 'elbow grease' most of the timber could be reused, reducing the overall bill. 

"We have currently refurbished two of the six benches and are working our way through the remainder, plus an additional bench near the traffic lights and our boundary wall

"We hope these small expressions of celebration, and now remembrance, will serve our community for many years to come."