Autumn 2025
Community Conversation

Select a topic from the left-hand menu below to explore each area in more detail. Click on the highlighted dots on the map to discover specific proposals and key features.

You told us that fixing and bringing life back to Eccles Town Centre is important, and that the town should feel like a place people want to use, spend time in and be proud of. In particular, you wanted to see:

• A stronger heart to the town centre, with activity, events and reasons for people to come together and spend time.
• Support for independent shops and local businesses, rather than a focus on chains.
• More cafés and sit-down food options, creating places to meet during the day and early evening.
• A more varied and family-friendly evening and weekend offer, with things to do beyond pubs and drinking.
• Opportunities for shared activity and community use, including interest in flexible spaces and pop-up activity that can bring life into the town centre.

Safety and security are a major concern in the town centre, particularly:

• Anti-social behaviour, which can make parts of the town centre feel unsafe and discourage people from visiting and spending time there.
• Isolated walkways and poorly overlooked routes, with particular concerns raised about areas such as Church Street.
• Poor lighting along streets, alleyways and walking routes, with feedback highlighting the churchyard as an area where lighting is currently limited.
• Feeling unsafe after dark, leading some residents to avoid the town centre in the evenings or during the winter months when there is less activity.

Accessibility remains a barrier for many people using the town centre, particularly:

• Poor pavement quality, including uneven surfaces and trip hazards, which make moving around the town centre difficult and unsafe.
• A lack of step-free access across the town centre, including to key buildings, the station and public spaces, creating barriers for disabled people, older residents and families.
• A need for more, easier-to-navigate and safer crossing points to help people move confidently around the town centre.
• Limited disabled parking in convenient locations and a lack of wider routes that work for wheelchairs, pushchairs and adapted bikes.
• A desire for clearer, more inclusive wayfinding, including better signage to help people navigate the town centre safely and independently.

Movement and connectivity are key issues in the town centre, particularly:

• Traffic dominance and rat-running, which affect how safe and welcoming streets feel for pedestrians.
• Walking and cycling routes within the town centre, with a need for clearer, safer and better-connected routes, including wider pavements and more crossing points.
• Road layout and traffic speeds, with requests for safer designs that prioritise people over vehicles.
• Connections beyond the town centre, including stronger walking and cycling links to neighbouring areas such as Monton, nearby leisure facilities and the RHS via the route alongside the railway.
• Arriving at Eccles train station, including concerns about lighting, facilities, the station forecourt and the overall sense of arrival into the town centre.
• Public transport services and investment, with requests for more frequent and, reliable train services, better bus connections and future transport improvements.
• Balancing car access with pedestrian use, with mixed views about reducing traffic while maintaining parking and drop-off for those who need to use cars.

Improving the look, feel and use of public spaces is an important part of fixing Eccles Town Centre, particularly:

• Greener streets and spaces, with strong support for more trees, planting and landscaping to soften the town centre and improve its appearance.
• Places to sit, rest and spend time, including more seating, shaded areas and comfortable places to dwell.
• Looking after green spaces, with concerns about litter, upkeep and long-term maintenance of both new and existing areas.
• Empty and underused buildings, particularly where they overlook public spaces, and the impact this has on how welcoming and well-used the town centre feels.

You are proud of Eccles’s heritage and want to see it protected and brought to life through the town centre, including:

• Protecting historic buildings, including the church, town hall and library, and ensuring they remain important landmarks.
• Respecting Eccles’s character and scale, with new buildings carefully located and designed so they do not overpower nearby heritage assets or detract from the town centre’s historic character.
• Celebrating local history and identity, with a stronger focus on telling Eccles’s story through placemaking and improved public spaces.
• Creating heritage trails and interpretation, including plaques, signage and information to help people learn about historic buildings and places.