A KNUTSFORD trader has said the town's businesses want to improve King Street - but the solution offered must be more than 'just two options'.

Gary Fox, of Byron Fox Antiques, based at the bottom of Minshull Street, close to the Angel, told the Guardian that the previous consultation did not give enough options to improve the street.

"The retailers really want the improvement but in the beginning they only gave us two options," he said.

"Everyone wants to keep the town like it is, a historical feel, and it is important it stays like it is.

"The pavements do need repairing and do need improvements rather than changing everything and making it look like Poynton. If those proposals would have happened then businesses would have gone out of business as they said the work would have taken 18 months.

"People would not have wanted to walk around a building site.

"We should be trying to get people back into the town centre. Doing a major project like that would have closed too many businesses. It is important that when changes like this happen, everyone knows about it.

"I've heard a lot of people say 'the businesses were against it, so it won't happen' but we want change. We will do everything we can to get people into the town centre.

"Some traders won't say anything but I will put my name to this. It is very important that people who live in Knutsford and work in Knutsford have an equal say to make the businesses a lot stronger than they currently are."

Fellow trader Omar Ashlan, who owns Amador: “I am one of the oldest retailers here. Knutsford is a traditional place. Tourists come here for a day out. They like to drive through, they don’t want to park their car half a mile away.

Stef Meachin, business development manager at Gusto, added: “The money does need to be spent on the street, but not on losing that many parking spaces. There is definitely room for change.”

While David Williams fromThe Men’s Room said: “A lot of what they were doing I agreed with but in principle it didn’t affect this end of the street. I think something should be done.”