A resident has voiced their frustration at the lack of information provided by the consultants for the Alsager public realm project for which the town council funded £17,000.

The key objective of the public realm scheme is to make Alsager town centre the hub of the community, which responds to a wide range of needs and activities that enables people to meet and enjoy a range of social experiences.

Proposals include creating a clearer definition of the town centre space by introducing gateways and a different surface treatment for pavements and roads, a 20mph speed limit, wider pavements and more crossings, better visual and physical access between street and park and buildings, improved accessibility and use of public art to give the town a "clear unique identity".

The proposals are a direct result of policies in the Alsager Neighbourhood Plan, which was approved by the town in a referendum in February 2020.

Alsager Town Council funded Xanthe Quayle landscape architects to develop the policies into concrete proposals which would help the town centre become "more vibrant, prosperous and sustainable".

Speaking at a recent Alsager Town Council meeting, Sylvia Dyke felt the town council got a "poor return" for the £17,000 they commissioned to Xanthe Quayle.

Ms Dyke said: "I think we got a very poor return for the money and it was not carefully vetted after putting trust in them that we got decent replies.

"The images on the colour photographs, they were not how this town could possibly look.

"There were no instructions as to where the bus was going to be actually put, it just said into the park [Milton Park]."

Ms Dyke claimed that she only received clarification of where the bus would be located at a face-to-face public realm consultation stall on Fairview Car Park.

She added: "There was quite a lot of information that wasn't on those leaflets and that's all we seemed to have for £17,000. I was not happy."

Alsager Town Council carried out a public realm consultation which received over 1,350 responses and the survey has now closed.

Analysis of the results is taking place and the findings will be published with further public meetings to be held in due course.