The town centre was buzzing on Saturday, 24th September, for the 4th Wilmslow Town Motor Show which the police say attracted 35,000 people during the day.
Steve Kennedy of Mail Boxes ETC, who came up with the original concept and design of the show said "This was the fourth motor show and we are very proud of our Wilmslow Business Group events team for creating the biggest spectacle yet, with the largest attendance.
"The Police estimated 35,000 people turned up, based on a rolling attendance, across about 7 hours. It is still seen as an innovative event, is recognised locally, regionally and nationally and it still benefits the town hugely, in terms of increased sales for retail and marketing the town in general which has always been my aim."
Helen Eriksen, Event Manager for Wilmslow Business Group said "The show was a huge hit for town with a record number of visitors attending the show this year. On behalf of Wilmslow Business Group we would like to thank all our volunteers, Wilmslow Town Council, Cheshire East Council, Cheshire Police and especially the dealers who attended and the public who showed up to support them. The dealer feedback has been tremendous so far and we are already taking bookings for next years show."
She add "The supercar parade was safely managed by Cheshire Police this year, with a huge emphasis on crowd and public safety which had become a concern in recent years. We are pleased to say there were no safety incidents and that the Police considered it a well managed event."
Cheshire Police confirmed the event passed smoothly and was a great success. Officers from the Roads Policing Team were present to offer road safety advice during the event and local officers were also on patrol with the police response having "been tailored in line with how popular and success the event has become".
Speaking about why the supercar parade was shorter in than previous years, a police spokesperson said "We can confirm that following safety concerns raised after the 2016 parade an agreement was made that the 2017 parade would be managed by Police. As part of this agreement a decision was made that to minimise disruption to local residents the parade would only do one lap of the town centre."
In addition to providing a free family day out for local residents and visitors, the Motor Show is designed to provide a boost to the local economy - with retailers, restaurants and bars seeing an increase in business whilst also enabling the dealers to showcase their vehicles.
Simon Carr, Manager of Hoopers commented "The day was fantastic for footfall from the outset of the show. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the show and visitors also took the opportunity to do some shopping as well. All in all a very successful day for the store."
Tony Jones, Managing Director of Orbit Developments who were one of the event sponsors, said "Orbit are keen members of the Wilmslow Business Group and as Wilmslow's largest commercial property landlord, we feel it's important that successful local businesses should be part of the community and support key events. In addition to office space, our properties also include car showrooms and we can include the likes of Ferrari and Porsche as some of our customers, so it seemed fitting for us to get involved with the Wilmslow Motor Show and sponsor the event.
"We recognise that the team at Wilmslow Business Group not only organise this fantastic event, but they are also proactive members of the community and are very supportive of moving business on in Wilmslow to improve the offering and attract new businesses to the area."
Tony added "Over 35,000 people attended the Motor Show which is not an easy feat, but I have no doubt that next year's event will be even bigger and better and we hope many other Wilmslow based businesses will be sponsoring the event alongside us. I want to thank the team again for their hard work in organising the show."
Photos by Richard Weston
