Knutsford Town Council Trade Mark dispute not settled or dismissed. An official legal appeal by Cheshire Fashion Week, and a sudden leadership shake-up of Town Clerk Adam Keppel-Green, have upended Knutsford Town Council’s claimed trademark victory.
The ongoing trademark appeal means Knutsford Town Council’s first-instance victory, celebrated in the Knutsford Guardian, is not a final conclusion as the trade mark dispute remains active. So why the apparent urgency to present the outcome as conclusive by Knutsford Town Council while appeal proceedings remain unresolved? The timing also raises questions, with the Town Clerk reportedly due to leave in November 2026 to unexpectedly take up a position at Congleton Town Council.
Is the publicity surrounding the judgement distracting attention from wider questions of financial accountability as Town Clerk Adam Keppel-Green prepares a quick exit for another town council, or is there more to the timing? Because Knutsford Town Council’s Fashion Week profit and loss accounts have not been made public, questions remain about how the event performed financially, how taxpayers’ money was used for staffing and mass marketing, and whether expenditures under the council’s leadership were transparent.
Amid the ongoing trademark dispute, Town Clerk Adam Keppel-Green is preparing to leave Knutsford Town Council after 14 years to join Congleton Town Council. His departure comes as questions remain over the use of taxpayers’ money, financial accountability and council expenditure allocated to Marketing Cheshire (Visit Cheshire).
This latest PR stance on Knutsford Guardian indicates that Knutsford Town Council lost momentum with its rebrand and is simply riding Cheshire Fashion Week’s coattails, proving the original trademark conflict. It appears the local council is using public tax money to aggressively target a long-established, independent, minority-led regional business like Cheshire Fashion Week.
A successful fashion week platform is no easy task, regardless of whether taxpayers are funding it, and requires ethical practices and brand recognition. This raises questions about whether Knutsford Town Council is seeking a shortcut to publicity by riding on the established reputation and success of Cheshire Fashion Week.
What is really happening behind the closed doors of Knutsford Town Council? The unfolding controversy invites comparisons with the infamous Handforth Parish Council governance row. With questions surrounding its leadership, financial accountability and ongoing trademark dispute, critics may well ask whether the council has bitten off more than it can chew in its pursuit of fashion week publicity.
However, despite public relations efforts to declare a definitive victory, the Knutsford Town Council trademark dispute is far from over. Cheshire Fashion Week Ltd has formally appealed, meaning the first-instance judgement remains under legal challenge and the dispute has not reached a final court determination.
The Current Status: The case remains active under appeal proceedings (Case Number: IP-2026-000108). The ongoing dispute has sparked wider public scrutiny and local interest regarding transparency, public funding, and the legal costs incurred by Knutsford Town Council during the rebranding of their local fashion events.
Because the litigation has progressed to the active appeal stage under case number IP-2026-000108, the case remains live, open, and fiercely contested. Legally speaking, a case cannot be considered dismissed or finalized while an appeal is actively pending before the courts.
The Guide Cheshire continues to investigate Knutsford Town Council.
