Culcheth villagers have been out making their feelings known outside the CPS Centre, with concerns focused on community life and the loss of local shops.
And honestly, who can blame them? A village without useful shops is not a charming rural idyll, it is a place where everyone ends up driving elsewhere for a pint of milk, a prescription, or anything more ambitious than a packet of mints. That is not progress, that is inconvenience wearing a hi-vis vest.
The rally shows something important: people here do care. Culcheth is not just a name on a sign between Warrington and Leigh, it is a living village with routines, familiar faces, small businesses, and a centre that should actually serve the community. When shops disappear, you do not just lose tills and shelves, you lose footfall, jobs, chance conversations, and the everyday glue that keeps a place feeling like home.
There is a positive side here, at least. Seeing villagers turn up and speak out proves there is still a strong community spirit, even if it has had to put its coat on and stand outside the CPS Centre to be noticed. That sort of local concern should be taken seriously, not filed away in the great dusty cupboard marked 'consultation'.
But the criticism is obvious too. If village centres are allowed to drift, with shops closing and community spaces becoming less useful, then we should not be shocked when people feel ignored. Culcheth needs practical thinking, not vague promises and glossy wording. Residents want a centre that works for daily life, not a sad little parade of empty units and wishful thinking.
This rally was about more than nostalgia. It was about the future of Culcheth, and whether the village keeps the services, shops, and social heartbeat that make it worth living in. On that point, the villagers outside the CPS Centre seem to have the right end of the stick.