Cheshire East Council has confirmed it owns forgotten land in Crewe town centre, once used for the old Crewe to Chester railway line.

On 21 May, Crewe Nub News posted a video on its social media asking what should be done with the vacant overgrown land under Chester Bridge, between Phoenix Leisure Park and Market Street.

To the right of the disused site was the old British Rail General Offices on Market Street, destroyed in a devastating fire in the summer of 1983.

The Crewe to Chester line was then altered during a major station and track remodelling in the summer of 1985.

Following the Nub News post, which has generated over 35,000 views and 140 comments, local residents posted what they would like to see done with the site.

Among many suggestions were a community kitchen garden, allotments, wildlife sanctuary and a new park/walkway.

A picture of the old British Rail General Offices on Market Street, destroyed in a devastating fire in the summer of 1983 (Photo: David Bamford).

Local resident, Richard Hoffmann, said: "I actually submitted a much more ambitious idea to Cheshire East Council earlier this year for this exact area.

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"My suggestion was not just to create a basic path through the land. It was to turn the forgotten space around Chester Bridge into a proper sunken heritage pocket park, using the old railway landscape as the main feature.

"Chester Bridge went over the original Crewe to Chester railway line, which ran through Crewe Works.

"That means this land is not just waste ground. It is part of old railway Crewe, sitting in one of the most historically important parts of the town.

"The more ambitious version would carefully open up the old sunken railway alignment as a landscaped walking route, with safe paths, steps, ramps where possible, lighting, seating, planting, and railway-style materials built into the design.

"It could include sections of rail set into the paving, brick and stone edging, old-map style interpretation boards, historic photos, and information about Chester Bridge, the original Crewe to Chester line, Crewe Works, and the old railway General Offices on Market Street.

"The idea would be to make the space feel like a small outdoor railway-history walk, not just a shortcut. You would be able to walk through it and understand why the land looks the way it does.

"It could link Market Street, Phoenix Leisure Park, Chester Street car park and Crewe Heritage Centre, while also giving Crewe town centre a small green space with real character.

"The mature trees and wildlife should be kept where possible. The rubbish and neglect should go. The history should be brought back into view.

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"Crewe does not need another bland bit of landscaping. It needs small, clever projects that reconnect the town with its railway past and make forgotten spaces useful again. This land could become one of those places."

Not everyone agreed with developing the historic Crewe town centre site, with one reader saying: "Leave it to nature."

Another resident said: "Leave it for the small flocks of birds and wildlife that make current proper use of it.

"Yes it might look scruffy to us but it is well populated with goldfinches, blackbirds, dunnocks and sparrows."

Following our video, Crewe Nub News is hopeful the land can be developed to benefit the local community.

READ MORE: Firefighters remove tumble dryer from Crewe home after appliance ignites.

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