Gateway to the North: The heart of North West growth

Crewe is one of the busiest and most important hubs on the national rail network – both for passengers and freight.    

Its strategic position and direct services to London, Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, Scotland, and Wales make it fundamental to delivering on the region’s transport ambitions and to opening up economic opportunities.  

Plans are developing to deliver radical and transformational change – with Crewe 360o hub at the heart of Cheshire East’s growth plans. 

The town’s £100m+ regeneration programme, which includes more than 20 projects, will accelerate this year, and is backed by the council’s own funding and other funding secured from the Government. 

Projects include a new high-quality co-working and office space for local entrepreneurs and businesses, supporting more footfall and activity in the town centre. 

Connectivity between the railway and town centre is being improved with new active travel routes for pedestrians and cyclists, grants of up to £30,000 are available to businesses that take on leases on vacant commercial units in the town centre, and a state-of-the-art Youth Zone facility for young people is being delivered by national charity OnSide.  

Wider than the town centre itself, more than £1bn is committed in wider Crewe, including plans by Mid Cheshire NHS Hospitals Foundation Trust, which you can read more about below and ongoing investment being made into Bentley's Pyms Lane HQ and plant. 

We’ll be connecting with UK REiiF attendees and asking how Crewe can leverage multiple regeneration sites – including the green-lit Leighton Hospital redevelopment - to realise the vast potential of this future city. 

A new hospital and health and care neighbourhood for Crewe 

Mid Cheshire NHS Hospitals Foundation Trust is leading plans to develop a new £1bn health and care neighbourhood in Crewe, which will include a new Leighton Hospital. 

This is a once in a generation opportunity to change how healthcare is delivered. 

The vision is to create a new healthcare model where people receive care in their homes and communities and can access services or go to hospital when they need to. 

The Trust aims to build the new hospital on land located to the north of the existing Leighton Hospital and an outline planning application for this is expected to be submitted to the local planning authority this summer.