The A54 moorland route is closed until 30 October and Poynton resurfacing runs to 24 August. Live closures, the A537 bridge, parking prices and buses.

Getting around the Macclesfield area in late summer 2026 means knowing about two schemes: the closure of the A54 moorland road towards Buxton, which runs to the end of October and has taken the Cat and Fiddle bus with it, and the resurfacing closures in Poynton village centre through most of August. Add a crash-damaged bridge on the A537 at Nether Alderley and it pays to check before you drive. This page covers what is live now, where to check today’s closures, and the evergreen practical detail: parking prices, the station and the buses.

Check today’s closures first

Cheshire East publishes a live map and table of current and upcoming roadworks, covering council and utility works, road closures and abnormal loads. The same page links through to one.network, where you can register for email alerts for a specific area. As everywhere, the map relies on utility firms keeping their entries current, so treat it as a strong guide rather than gospel.

A54 to Buxton: closed until 30 October

The big one. Derbyshire County Council has closed a 2.8km stretch of the A54 between the A53 Leek Road junction and the junction with the A537 at the county border, the moorland section locally known as part of the Cat and Fiddle run, for carriageway reconstruction. Phase 1 runs from 27 July to 30 October 2026, closed to all traffic, with a signed diversion via the A53, A523, A537 and A54. A second phase of about twelve weeks follows in spring 2027 (Derbyshire County Council scheme page).

The closure reshapes the bus network over the hill too. High Peak’s route 58, the hourly Macclesfield to Buxton service over the Cat and Fiddle, is running via Long Hill and the B5470 through Rainow for the duration, it cannot serve Burbage, and a 58B shuttle covers the Buxton to Burbage leg (High Peak Buses).

What it means for you: the Buxton run is longer than usual until the end of October, whichever way you make it. Allow extra time, and if you are heading for the Peak District on a summer weekend, go early.

A537 Chelford Road: single lane at Nether Alderley

A vehicle strike damaged the sandstone parapet of the Chelford Road bridge at Nether Alderley, on the A537 between Macclesfield and Chelford. Temporary concrete barriers have the bridge down to a single lane under temporary traffic signals while replacement sandstone blocks are cut; the council expected the stone by the end of August 2026, with the parapet rebuilt after that (Cheshire East). Expect queues at busy times until the repair is done.

Poynton: village-centre resurfacing to 24 August

The Poynton Shared Space improvement works, covering London Road North and South, Chester Road and Fountain Place, are in their final phases: the worn block paving is being replaced with buff-coloured asphalt, and resurfacing with road closures runs from 7 to 24 August 2026. Pedestrian and cyclist access is maintained and buses are on revised routes (Cheshire East scheme page). If you drive through Poynton on the school run or to the station, plan around it for the next fortnight.

The rest of the picture

  • Congleton Road / Moss Lane junction, Macclesfield: works cancelled. The right-turn lane agreed with a housing developer back in 2017 will not now be built; the council said on 6 August 2026 that traffic assumptions had “changed significantly” over nine years, and it will take a financial contribution and review the junction afresh (council statement).
  • B5470 at Rainow: fully open again. The embankment between Ginclough and Kettleshulme that collapsed in January 2025 has been rebuilt and the road is open, with quarterly one-day inspections under temporary lights (Cheshire East). It is currently carrying the diverted 58 bus.
  • A523 Silk Road: done. The Gas Road bridge joints, lighting and resurfacing between the A537 Buxton Road junction and north of the bridge were completed in February 2026 (council release).
  • Brook Street riverside footpath: closed. The path between Brook Street and Waterside by the River Bollin is shut after a wall partially collapsed, with no reopening date while Peaks and Plains rebuilds it (Cheshire East).
  • Summer surface dressing runs borough-wide until August; the A535 at Chelford and A6 Buxton Road West at Disley entries were postponed (programme page).

For motorway and trunk-road works around the borough, check National Highways’ travel updates before a long trip.

What parking actually costs

Macclesfield’s council car parks fall into three price bands, and picking the right one roughly halves the cost of a full day (Cheshire East car parks in Macclesfield):

What a full day's parking costs in Macclesfield, August 2026 Horizontal bar chart of Cheshire East 14-hour tariffs. Standard band car parks such as Duke Street, Jordangate and Whalley Hayes: 4 pounds 20. Churchill Way, Grosvenor, Pickford Street and Sunderland Street band: 6 pounds 20. Gas Road and Waters Green: 8 pounds 80. Council station long-stay car park: 13 pounds 20 per day. Kennedy Avenue and Princes Way are free, Duke Street is free after 3pm and the Town Hall area is free after 5pm on weekdays. Source: Cheshire East Council tariff page. A full day's parking in Macclesfield Cheshire East 14-hour tariffs (station = per day), August 2026 Duke St / Jordangate band £4.20 Churchill Way / Grosvenor band £6.20 Gas Road / Waters Green £8.80 Station long-stay (per day) £13.20 Free options Kennedy Avenue (28 bays) and Princes Way (12 bays) are always free; Duke Street is free after 3pm The Town Hall parking area opens to the public free after 5pm on weekdays Short-stay: Exchange Street (2hr max), Old Library, Park Green and Parsonage Street (4hr max) from 70p per 30 minutes
The 14-hour tariff by band. An hour is 80p in the standard band, £1.40 in the pricier central band.

The standard band (Christchurch, Commercial Road, Duke Street, Hibel Road, Jordangate, Whalley Hayes) charges 80p an hour, £2.40 for four hours and £4.20 for 14 hours, and Duke Street is free after 3pm. The central band (Churchill Way, the Grosvenor multi-storey, Pickford Street, Sunderland Street) runs £1.40 an hour to £6.20 for 14 hours, and Gas Road and Waters Green, closest to the station, top out at £8.80. Sunday charging now applies at the weekday tariffs.

For rail travellers, the station itself has just 64 spaces (8 accessible) under ANPR (National Rail), and the council’s own long-stay Macclesfield Railway Station car park (SK11 6JP) charges £13.20 a day up to a three-day maximum. Waters Green at £8.80 is the cheaper long-day option a short walk away. Where those trains go, and what they cost, is covered in our trains to London page.

The key routes, for orientation

  • A523 Silk Road: the north-south spine through town, Stockport one way, Leek the other.
  • A537: west to Chelford and the M6 (mind the Nether Alderley bridge lights), east over the moors to Buxton as the Cat and Fiddle road.
  • A34: the through-route on the western side, carrying Wilmslow, Handforth and Alderley Edge traffic.
  • A538: Prestbury to Wilmslow and on to the airport.
  • B5470: the hill road through Rainow to Whaley Bridge, currently doubling as the 58 bus diversion.

The A537 Cat and Fiddle stretch earned a EuroRAP “most dangerous road in Britain” rating in 2008, and around 70% of its casualties between 2001 and 2015 were motorcyclists; a 50mph limit and average-speed cameras arrived in 2010 and it had dropped out of the danger top ten by 2015 (Cat and Fiddle Road, Wikipedia). It remains a road to respect in bad weather, and its summit is the second highest inn in England, at 1,690 feet.

Buses

Local town routes are run by D&G Bus, including the 19/19A to Prestbury via Upton Priory (D&G timetable), with High Peak running the 58 over the hill to Buxton (High Peak Buses). Two council schemes worth knowing this summer: children travel free on buses across Cheshire East throughout August 2026, and the demand-responsive go-too minibus service was extended borough-wide on 3 August (council media hub). If the bus or car is taking you somewhere nice, our things to do page has the destinations.

Frequently asked questions

Why is the road to Buxton closed?

Derbyshire County Council is reconstructing 2.8km of the A54 between the A53 junction and the A537 at the county border. Phase 1 runs from 27 July to 30 October 2026 with a signed diversion via the A53, A523, A537 and A54; phase 2 follows in spring 2027.

Is the Cat and Fiddle bus still running?

Yes. The hourly High Peak 58 between Macclesfield and Buxton is diverted via Long Hill and the B5470 through Rainow during the A54 closure, and cannot serve Burbage; a 58B shuttle links Buxton and Burbage.

Where is the cheapest parking in Macclesfield?

Kennedy Avenue and Princes Way are free. Of the charged car parks, the standard band (Duke Street, Jordangate, Whalley Hayes and others) is 80p an hour and £4.20 for a 14-hour day, and Duke Street is free after 3pm. The Town Hall area is free to the public after 5pm on weekdays.

Where should I park for Macclesfield station?

The station’s own ANPR car park has only 64 spaces. The council’s long-stay station car park (SK11 6JP) is £13.20 a day; Waters Green, a short walk away, is £8.80 for 14 hours.

Where can I check live roadworks near me?

The council’s roadworks map shows current and planned works across Cheshire East, and you can set up email alerts for your area on one.network.

Sources

Roadworks dates move with weather and contractor progress. Details above were checked against the linked sources on 8 August 2026; always check the live map before a journey that matters.