COUNCIL leader Michael Jones has said that properties are being rapidly acquired for the regeneration of Middlewich.

Cheshire East Council released its Commercial Property Review 2015 last week and Cllr Jones said in the foreword to the report that the council is ‘moving rapidly’ to buy properties to ‘energise the regeneration’ of Middlewich.

Cllr Jones said: “This review shows that the property market has well and truly woken up to the strength of our economy.

“More and more industrial, retail, office and leisure occupiers, on whom the market depends for its livelihood, are finding that Cheshire East is a great place to do business.

“Cheshire East Council is setting out an ambitious plan to support the creation of more than 31,000 new, predominantly private sector jobs by 2030. This will mean greater skills, fewer people claiming benefits and less dependence on public sector employment.

“The council is moving rapidly to acquire properties and sites to energise the regeneration of Macclesfield, Crewe and Middlewich town centres. We expect more, exciting news on these projects before the end of this year.”

The review reveals that take-up of industrial floor space rose by 70 per cent to 76,602 sq m in 2014, with transactions doubling compared with the prior year.

The largest deal was the letting by warehousing property specialist Prologis to Optima Logistics of a 17,229 sq m building warehouse at Midpoint 18 in Middlewich.