Opinions may vary on the 'Brand' which has emerged from the Portas money spent so far. Personally I like it, though it does seem to have cost quite a lot of money.
However, I am very pleased to see in that report that the rest of the 10K will be spent on a strategic review of the town centre. Because we all live here and see it every day, I don't think we residents always notice what a scruffy-looking place Marple is, with its ugly mixture of shop fronts and its poor quality buildings (e.g the Hollins, and the building opposite which houses M&Co). I'd like to see some really radical proposals to redesign the town centre, with more trees, some hard and soft landscaping providing a sense of focus at the centre, demolition of some of the worst buildings, and improved traffic flows and car parking. Let's have a bit of vision!