Simon Michael, often called the UK’s John Grisham, a British barrister and author based in Marple, is best known for his 11-book Charles Holborne Legal Thriller series, set in 1960s and 1970s London.

Simon devised the Marple Mysteries Festival to focus on mystery and crime writing in all forms, books, theatre and film. The Festival will celebrate Marple’s unique connection to the doyenne of crime writing, Agatha Christie, who died exactly half a century ago and who named her famous detective after the town.

Through a Festival of crime writing, interviews with established authors, writing competitions and workshops, the Festival will promote reading and literacy and celebrate the great community resource that a modern library can offer, bucking the trend of widespread library closures in recent years.

This extraordinary collaboration between Stockport Council and Willmott Dixon, tapping into the Capital Levelling Up fund and Sport England, represents a massive uplift for the town, its people, its businesses and its community spirit.

Marple’s rich history already draws many visitors. They come to see the 16-lock flight on the Peak Forest Canal, one of the steepest in Britain, which raises the water level by 109 feet, and the Grade I listed Grand Aqueduct, which carries the canal 100 feet above the River Goyt and is the tallest masonry-arch aqueduct in the country. Nearby Mellor was home to the colossal mill built by Samuel Oldknow, the cotton pioneer who also promoted the canal, and which was in its day the largest cotton-spinning mill in the world.

The locks are now a magnet for boaters and for wildlife such as herons and kingfishers, and there is a local campaign for World Heritage status.