Visitors to Crewe town centre witnessed an open-air chess match between councillors today when Market Square’s giant chessboard was brought into action.
A supersized chess set has been purchased by Cheshire East Council for community use and was tried out by Councillor Simon Yates, leader of Crewe Town Council, and Councillor Chris Andrew, Cheshire East deputy portfolio holder for finance and assets.
The equipment is available for use by prior arrangement and is intended to encourage community engagement, with plans in the pipeline for chess events next year.
After almost an hour of play, the closely fought match between the councillors was declared a draw.
Crewe Town Council clerk Steve McQuade then played against Macclesfield Town Council clerk Pete Turner, with the latter coming out on top.
The chess pieces will be stored by Crewe Town Council and arrangements for their use can be made by emailing: mayor@crewetowncouncil.gov.uk
Cllr Simon Yates said: “Crewe has a great sense of community pride and so it’s pleasing that we can offer residents and groups the opportunity to make use of this chess set, which I’d like to thank Cheshire East Council for purchasing.
“This is but a small part of a range of initiatives that Crewe Town Council and Cheshire East Council are working on together to improve the town centre for residents and visitors. A number of other events for families to enjoy are also planned for the next few months and 2017.”
Councillor Chris Andrew said: “This chess set is a great community asset and one that I hope residents and groups will make use of for years to come.
“It was great fun testing out the set with Simon and we really would encourage people to use the facility as often as possible.”
Market Square, where the chessboard is marked out, was part of the recently completed ‘deep cleaning’ programme for the town centre.
The work was carried out by contractors on behalf of Cheshire East Council’s arms length company Ansa Environmental Services to help improve the shopping environment for visitors.
This Sunday, the Market Square will also be in use as part of Crewe Cosmopolitan Food Festival, which takes place from 10am-5pm.
More than 40 stalls will line the streets offering flavours from across the globe and there will be live music performed by the Pantonic All-Stars Steel Orchestra, plus go-karts on the Market Square.
Another of the initiatives currently taking place in Crewe is ‘Shop of the Week’.
In the lead up to Christmas, Cheshire East Council and Crewe Town Council are turning the spotlight on the town centre’s independent retailers and promoting what they have to offer – with some great prizes and offers up for grabs by shoppers.
The Shop of the Week campaign launched on the council’s Facebook and Twitter accounts on Monday and will run for several weeks.
Independent retailers in Crewe town centre that have not yet been visited by a member of the council’s communications team, but wish to take part in Shop of the Week, can find out more information by calling communications officer Rhiannon Hilton on 01270 686587 or emailing rhiannon.hilton@cheshireeast.gov.uk
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