CONSERVATIVE town councillors are under fire for ‘complacency’ in the face of Wilmslow’s ‘biggest crisis for 80 years’.

The claim comes from the council’s Residents of Wilmslow (RoW) group, which was blocked in its bid to set up a cross-party Covid town centre recovery working group.

The bid was defeated seven to five at Wilmslow Town Council’s meeting on September 21, seven Conservatives voting against the motion supported by three RoW councillors and two Lib Dems.

Council chairman Cllr Martin Watkins said the motion was voted down because it duplicated work already being done by the council.

“The adoption of the Wilmslow Neighbourhood Plan, which all parties agreed to, contains suggestions of what we are going to do and how we want to see the town centre develop,” he said.

“There has now been set up as a working group of the town council an implementation group who are already looking at what needs to be done in the town centre.

“The fact that Covid came along in the middle of it just makes their work even more important.

“We also have a community and order committee that has organised a couple of events in the past, one of which is the Christmas lights switch-on, and Cinema on the Carrs.”

RoW Cllr Mark Goldsmith said with retailers struggling and the number of empty premises quickly rising his group had asked Cllr Watkins to support a 12-month programme of events to bring people back into the town.

He said: “The council has the money and the town centre needs the help.

“The RoW councillors came up with 15 ideas to illustrate what could be done, but all the Conservative councillors voted against even discussing these ideas. They said existing committees could do it, but they are delivering nothing.

“We are six months into the pandemic, and it is clear the Conservatives won’t act to help. If they won’t help now during the town’s biggest crisis for 80 years when will they?

“They have now cancelled the Christmas lights switch-on event and have no activities planned for 2021.

“They are happy to sit back and risk watching our town centre disappear. It smacks of total complacency, and Wilmslow deserves far better.”

Cllr Watkins said nothing was planned for 2021 because of Covid-19 regulations, none of RoW’s suggestions were costed and Cheshire East Council had the final say on events taking place in the town. He added: “The safest and best way to ensure we’ve got a town centre going forward is to put your faith in the Wilmslow Neighbourhood Plan implementation group.”