31 March 2022

As part of Cheshire West and Chester Council’s commitment to supporting communities to tackle climate change, a third round of their dedicated Climate Emergency Fund has been launched this week.

The funding will provide a financial boost for local organisations and Council projects that can reduce carbon emissions, helping the borough to become carbon neutral by 2045.

Applicants are invited to submit bids by Friday 6 May 2022 deadline for a share of the £50,000 available in the third funding round (this relates to the financial year 2022-2023). Further rounds of Climate Emergency funding will be available from 2023 to 2024.

The fund has been set up as part of the Council’s work to tackle the Climate Emergency, with local organisations that meet the funding criteria able to bid for a share.

Successful applicants will need to provide evidence that their projects can be implemented swiftly and will make a positive contribution to the borough’s ambition of becoming carbon neutral by 2045.

Eligible organisations include town and parish councils, voluntary organisations, community groups, small charities and other not-for-profit-organisations.

Examples of projects eligible for funding include (but are not limited to) the following:

• Renewable energy projects.
• Energy efficiency projects.
• Heat pump projects.
• Zero or low carbon transport.
• Waste reduction.
• Natural capital/natural environment projects.

Councillor Richard Beacham, Cabinet Member for Inclusive Growth, Economy and Regeneration, said:

“We are pleased to be continuing our support for community organisations looking to tackle the climate emergency in their area, and this funding will help build on the enthusiasm, knowledge and determination of local people in communities across our borough. This Fund is a way to support these groups to deliver on a vision for improving their area by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and making west Cheshire an even better place to live.”

Rhian Edwards, Chief Executive of the Hospice of the Good Shepherd, who received funding last year, said:

“We were thrilled when we got the email from the Council to tell us they had approved our application to the Climate Emergency Fund. The grant contributed towards us putting LED lighting in our In Patient Unit and the installation of a voltage optimisation unit which has benefited the whole of the site.

“Both initiatives have helped us reduce our carbon footprint, a key aim of ours, plus, and as importantly, reduce our costs. Every penny counts, and the more efficient we can be, the more money we can spend on supporting patients and their loved ones”.

Blacon Adventure Playground has also benefited from receiving funding during the second round of the Climate Emergency Fund.

Paul Knight, Head of Avenue Services, who manage the playground, said:

“The funding we received from the Climate Emergency Fund has enabled us to continue our journey in making Blacon Adventure Playground carbon neutral.

“The funding is being put to good use and we have also been working with local children to educate them about the benefits of protecting the environment, including releasing a YouTube video and a game. The funding is helping to create a bike project as well as expanding our allotment space, creating a wildflower meadow, increasing our green roof coverage, purchasing a new water dispenser and battery powered leaf/litter collector, plus a number of other small projects.

“None of this would be possible without the Climate Emergency Fund. A huge thank you from our staff who work at the playground and all of the families and children who use the site which is open 365 days a year.”

To find out more and view the Climate Emergency Fund guidance, visit: cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk/climateemergencyfund.

Twenty swift ‘hotels’ are being installed in the new Northgate car park brickwork, they will help reverse the decline of swifts in Chester, along with 2 bat boxes also. Cllr. Samantha Dixon, Chair of the Northgate Joint Member Working Group with John Dearnley and Roger Nutter, from Chester RSPB, came to meet the Vinci site team installing the boxes.

Swifts are amazing! Did you know swifts can fly up to 800km (500 miles) a day on migration. Swifts spend their life almost entirely on the wing and even feed, sleep and mate in flight? They feed exclusively on insects and only come to land when nesting. After leaving the nest where they hatched, they'll keep flying non-stop for three years! They even eat, mate and sleep in the air - they can 'snooze' with one side of their brain at once, and then switch to the other side.

More swift facts:
About the Swift Bird Conservation Project | Help Us Help Swifts - RSPB

You can play your part by making your own swift box, follow the instructions:
Make a home for swifts (rspb.org.uk)

Join the Chester RSPB Group:
Home - Chester Local Group (rspb.org.uk)

24 March 2022

What will the world look like in 25 years’ time? That’s the question being asked in an exciting new competition from Cheshire Museums and Libraries.

The art and writing competition is open for young people aged between 4 and 16. Festival for the Future is a month-long celebration of sustainability and climate change across west Cheshire, beginning July 2022.

Winning entries will be featured in this summer’s exhibition about plastic pollution and its impact on the environment at the Grosvenor Museum.

Councillor Louise Gittins, Leader of Cheshire West and Chester Council said: “We’re looking for creative ways to imagine how the world will look in 25 years’ time. This could be a drawing, painting, writing, poetry, collage, let your imagination run wild, your entry can take any form as long as it fits on one side of A4.

“Not only will the winning entries in each age category get family tickets to visit Chester Zoo, but the best entries will also be displayed in the Grosvenor Museum and made into an eBook by our libraries for www.borrowbox.com.”

The closing date for entries is 4 June.

First prize: family tickets to Chester Zoo
Second and third prize: sustainable goodie bags
Plus a schools’ prize: for the school who submits the most entries (relative to school size), Chester Zoo are offering a free online workshop.

There are two age groups primary schools 4 to 11-year-olds and high schools 11 to 16-year-olds. The judges will be looking for creative responses that engage with the ideas of plastic pollution and climate change. What does the future hold for us?

For terms and conditions and entry information, visit: westcheshiremuseums.co.uk/festival-for-the-future-schools-competition.

Entries can be handed in at any Cheshire West and Chester public library, posted to Festival for the Future, Grosvenor Museum, 27 Grosvenor Street, Chester, CH1 2DD, or emailed to: libraryevents@cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk

25 March 2022

The lights of Chester Town Hall, Eastgate Clock and Newgate in Chester will be switched off for an hour at 8.30pm on Saturday 26 March, as Cheshire West and Chester Council joins millions around the world to support the World Wildlife Fund’s (WWF’s) Earth Hour.

The annual event sees supporters in over 190 countries and territories unite to raise awareness of climate change and take action to ensure a brighter future for people and the planet.
Cheshire West and Chester Council declared a Climate Emergency in the borough in 2019 and put forward its Climate Emergency Response plan, which aims to help the borough become carbon neutral by 2045.

Councillor Richard Beacham, Cabinet Member for Inclusive Growth, Economy & Regeneration, said: “Turning off the lights for Earth Hour is a symbolic way to show that we all care for the planet and highlights the urgent need for us to take action to address the Climate Emergency. Anyone can get involved, whether you are an individual, household, business, or part of a local group.

“As a Council, we are working towards decarbonising our operations, with 14 Council-owned buildings recently having energy saving measures installed. Our Climate Emergency Response Plan sets out the steps we are taking to help the borough to become carbon neutral and lists ways that residents and businesses can play their part. I would urge anyone wanting to support the climate agenda to read our plan, get involved in a local environmental group or attend one of our Climate Emergency Taskforce meetings to find out about the role we can all play to ensure we look after our planet and have a more sustainable future.”

The Earth Hour website (www.earthhour.org) has lots of ideas on how to spend the hour with your friends, family and community to make it an impactful evening to remember.

If you are taking part in Earth Hour this year and would like to share details of what you, your household or business are doing to show your support, please add your story to the Council’s Climate Emergency Inspire hub. To add your story, simply register on the site first and scroll down to the ‘Your Story’ section. You can also add photos and videos alongside your story.

ENDS

22 March 2022

Cheshire West and Chester Council is encouraging people to play their part and help clean up litter in the borough during Keep Britain Tidy’s Great British Spring Clean 2022.

This year’s campaign, called One Bag Big Difference, running from 25 March to 10 April, calls on families, neighbours, friends and colleagues to pledge to pick a bag of litter from nearby streets and beauty spots.

As well as polluting our streets, open spaces and parks, litter harms wildlife and costs the council money to clean up that could be spent on other services.

The Council’s Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Environment, Highways and Strategic Transport, Councillor Karen Shore said: "During the pandemic we’ve gained a new appreciation of how important our outdoor spaces are to us.

“Litter picking is something that anyone can do and removing just one bag of litter helps our environment, improves our community and boosts our own mental health. If lots of people carry out this small action, it could make a huge difference to the places we live.

“Of course, litter only exists because people drop it. It's important that everyone takes responsibility for their waste and either puts it in a public bin or takes it home with them.

“I hope as many people as possible get involved with this year’s Great British Spring Clean You might choose to pick up just one bag, or you could set yourself a #BigBagChallenge and collecting a bag of litter every single day during the campaign. Many thanks to all our wonderful volunteers who litter-pick regularly in their area.”

Schools in the borough can also get involved in the Great Big School Clean. Keep Britain Tidy states that if every child who attended school in the UK pledged to pick up just one bag of litter during the Great Big School Clean, we could remove 10.3 million bags of litter from our natural environment.

As part of the Council’s Love Your Streets campaign litter picking kits are available to hire free of charge to help groups and individuals wanting to do their bit for their community. If you would like to hire a litter picking kit, please get in touch with the Council’s ‘Your Streets ‘officers by emailing: YourStreets@cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk.

Litter picking kits are also available at all the borough’s Libraries – just call in, show your library card and play your part.

Pledge to get involved with this year’s Great British Spring Clean on the Keep Britain Tidy website and show your support for the campaign on social media with photos of you or your group litter picking, using the hashtags #GBSpringClean, #BigBagChallenge, tagging in @Go_CheshireWest.

https://www.keepbritaintidy.org/get-involved/support-our-campaigns/great-british-spring-clean

ENDS

16 March 2022

More than 100 homes across the borough are to be made warmer and more energy efficient following a successful funding bid.

Funding worth £538,000 from the Government’s Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund will be spent on retrofitting energy efficiency measures to 125 properties mostly in Blacon in Chester.

Once complete, the works - which will be carried out between April 2022 and the end of March 2023 - will mean the homes will be more efficient to heat and help to reduce the impact of rising energy bills.

The scheme is being delivered by Sanctuary, in conjunction with Cheshire West and Chester Council.

Donna Williams, Sanctuary’s Group Director – Sustainability and Climate Change, said: “It’s such welcome news that we have secured a share of Government funding to make homes warmer and more energy efficient for our residents in Blacon.

"We’re committed to reducing our carbon footprint and we look forward to working with Cheshire West and Chester Council to get started on the work and see the benefits it will bring.”

Councillor Matt Bryan, Cabinet Member for Housing, Planning and Climate Emergency, said: “Improving the efficiency of low energy performance homes by applying deeper retrofit solutions will help families to tackle the recent rise in fuel bills.

“This successful funding bid will also play some part in helping us to tackle climate change, grow the local economy and make local neighbourhoods even better places to call home.”

ENDS

Attachments

• Housing in Blacon - the homes pictured will not specifically benefit from the works. Housing in Blacon - the homes pictured will not specifically benefit from the works.

The Government’s Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund totals £179m, which is administered by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.

Around 20,000 social homes across England will be made warmer and benefit from cheaper energy bills, supporting around 9,000 jobs in the green energy sector and delivering carbon emissions savings equivalent to taking up to 6,000 cars off the road in any given year.

10 March 2022

One of the twelve priority areas for Cheshire West and Chester Council’s Inclusive Economy Plan is to ‘Improve transport access to job opportunities with increased public and active travel links, increasing connectivity to break down key barriers faced by communities.’

The Government has earmarked £3 billion towards improving bus services throughout England. In October 2021 the Council submitted an ambitious Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP) for the borough to the Government, aimed at encouraging more people to travel by bus.

In addition to the submission of the BSIP, Local Transport Authorities are also required to develop an Enhanced Partnership in partnership with operators of registered bus services by April 2022 to qualify for possible future Government funding.

An Enhanced Partnership has two parts: a plan with a clear vision of the improvements to bus services that the Partnership is aiming to deliver plus an Enhanced Partnership scheme, setting out the precise detail of how the BSIP vision and objectives will be achieved.

The Council’s Cabinet on Wednesday 16 March will be asked to endorse the draft Enhanced Partnership Plan and the draft Enhanced Partnership Scheme to allow the funding application to progress.

Councillor Karen Shore, Cabinet Member for Environment, Highways and Strategic Transport, said: “Thanks to everyone who took part in last year’s consultation, leading to the completion of the Enhanced Partnership.

“Good bus services help tackle congestion in towns and stop rural communities being cut off. They’re vital in tackling social exclusion and loneliness and can help cut air pollution and reduce carbon emissions.

“We’re working with all the bus companies operating commercial services in Cheshire West and Chester on an improvement plan and need to know what broad changes to the way bus services operate would encourage people to use them more often.”

The Enhanced Partnership Scheme initiatives are ambitious but also subject to the funding being made available, to reduce the financial burden on the Council and on Operators. The Council requested £37m in October 2021 for the requirements laid out in the Bus Service Improvement Plan. A funding settlement is yet to be announced.

The Enhanced Partnership scheme objectives include operating more frequent, faster and reliable services across the borough, lowering fares to make bus travel more affordable and a simpler fares structure to help people get the best value ticket for the journey(s) they are making.

ENDS

The Enhanced Partnership scheme objectives

• Operate more frequent, faster and reliable services across the borough
• Increase bus priority measures on key corridors to reduce delays
• Increase demand responsive services in areas not well served by conventional bus services
• Facilitate easy integration of bus services with other transport modes
• Simplify services to make it easier for passengers to understand where and when services operate
• Review the provision of socially necessary services within the borough and identify where increased provision is required
• Implement lower fares to make bus travel more affordable
• Implement a simpler fares structure which enables people to easily understand the best value ticket for the journey(s) they are making
• Develop an integrated ticketing product that can be used on multiple operators and transport providers, including non-bus modes
• Invest in vehicles which are of the highest standards in terms of accessibility, comfort and emissions
• Protect personal safety of bus passengers
• Improve buses for tourists
• Invest in decarbonisation of vehicles to contribute to reduced carbon emissions
• Develop a Passenger Charter which sets out the standards that passengers can expect on bus services
• Strengthen network identity across services which operate predominantly in west Cheshire
• Improve availability, accessibility and accuracy of bus information, including routes, timetables and fares

4 March 2022

Wasting food feeds climate change. Every bit of leftover food has an environmental impact - whether itʼs that soggy bag of salad or last nightʼs leftovers. And while governments and businesses have an important part to play in fixing the climate crisis, food waste from UK households produces roughly 25million tonnes of CO² every year.

Cheshire West and Chester Council is one of England’s leading waste and recycling authorities. The area’s high performance does not, however, mean that the challenge to decarbonise waste is any less difficult, as many of the ‘easy wins’ to achieve higher waste and recycling performance have already been delivered locally, such as the implementation of food waste collections.

Thatʼs why, on 7 March, weʼll be joining millions of concerned citizens for Food Waste Action Week 2022 - a week of action bringing the nation together to fight the problem of food waste. This year the spotlight is on an unsung hero, which lives in most British kitchens and could save you money, as well as help save the environment. The humble microwave. Learn how to defrost frozen food like a ninja and you could be well on your way to saving an average of £730 a year.

The Council has been awarded a grant of £35,000 from the Waste and Resource Action Programme, the national recycling charity. They are funded by the government to help the UK meet its recycling targets. By recycling more, we help minimise waste disposal, reduce carbon emissions, create new businesses, and support local jobs.

The Council has invested this grant in promoting its existing food recycling service. So far, it has:

• promoted food waste recycling door-to-door in areas where residents need the most encouragement
• delivered a leaflet to every home in Cheshire West and Cheshire explaining why it’s important to recycle food waste
• used the local media and social media to help with myth busting and increase awareness
• delivered a series of roadshows across Cheshire West and Cheshire, explaining to residents face-to-face about the importance of recycling food waste.

Everyone can play their part to make sure food is used to feed people instead of bins, to help fix the climate crisis.

If youʼre hungry for change, visit the Love Food Hate Waste website for tips and advice to ensure no fresh food you buy ever goes to waste.

Further information about reducing food waste can be found here.

Refuse collection vehicle

Residents will this year be receiving two new wheeled bins for their recycling, replacing the old and less effective boxes.

It is part of a major upgrade to the borough’s kerbside recycling service, changing from two 55l boxes collected weekly to two 180l wheeled bins collected fortnightly.

The wheeled bins will be emptied into new, more efficient, waste and recycling collection vehicles, which will have bin lifts so that the collection crews will no longer need to sort materials at the kerbside into the side of the vehicles.

There will also be an upgrade to the materials recovery facility (MRF) at the Council's Canalside depot in Ellesmere Port.

Residents have already started receiving the bins in some parts of the borough. With a total of 320,000 bins to be delivered, distribution will take place in stages between now and November.

To find out when to expect delivery and further information on the new service, residents can visit the Council website and enter their postcode for a rough estimation: https://www.cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk/residents/waste-and-recycling/waste-and-recycling-collection.aspx

Councillor Karen Shore, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Environment, Highways and Strategic Transport, said: “Using new wheeled recycling bins will greatly improve our waste and recycling service.

“They are easier and quicker to empty than the boxes, which will mean the crews can work more effectively. They also reduce the risk of recycling blowing around in the wind. They are larger so residents can recycle more waste, which supports the key recommendations of the new Waste Management Strategy by offering people more opportunities to recycle and supporting our climate agenda.”

The old recycling boxes will not be collected. Residents are encouraged to keep these for their own use.

The garden waste service is also changing this year with the introduction of a £40 per bin per year charge to residents who wish to have their garden waste collected fortnightly. Residents can subscribe online to garden waste collection at: www.cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk/gardenwastecollection or contact 0300 123 7026. Garden waste collections resume for subscribers from 28 February.

18 February 2022

Celebrations will be taking place across the borough this Fairtrade Fortnight (21 February – 6 March) as 2022 marks the 20th anniversary of Chester becoming the UK’s First Fairtrade City, as part of the Fairtrade Foundations Communities scheme.

The borough’s Fairtrade Steering Group, which currently includes campaigners and supporters from Neston, Ellesmere Port and Chester, first secured Fairtrade status for Chester city in 2002 and for the borough in 2011. The achievement, spearheaded by Cheshire Development Education Centre, and supported by the Council and many individuals, community groups, churches, schools, and businesses, has seen the promotion of Fairtrade across the area over the last 20 years.

Graham Proctor, who was the Lord Mayor of Chester at the time, said:

“It was a great honour, as Lord Mayor, to sign the documents making Chester the first Fair Trade City in the UK.”

John Tacon, Acting Chair of the Fairtrade Steering Group, said:

“We’re proud that the Fairtrade Steering Group has successfully renewed Fairtrade status for the borough over the last 11 years and are celebrating Chester’s 20th anniversary of becoming a Fairtrade City. We’ve welcomed no less than eight Fairtrade producers and farmers to Chester, and some have made visits across the borough, inspiring so many by sharing their stories about how Fairtrade really does make a difference.”

Fairtrade is a system of certification that aims to ensure a set of standards are met in the production and supply of a product or ingredient. For farmers and workers, this means workers’ rights, safer working conditions and fairer pay. For shoppers, it means high quality, ethically produced products.

This year, the focus of Fairtrade Fortnight is climate change, and the growing problems this poses to farmers and workers within the Fairtrade community. The two-week period will highlight how climate change is a huge challenge for farmers and workers in countries such as Kenya, Ethiopia and Honduras, who face such issues as droughts, crop disease, floods and heatwaves, yet these are the countries who have contributed least to the causes of climate change.

Councillor Paul Donovan, Cabinet Member for Workforce, Equality and Democracy, said:

“Tackling the Climate Emergency is high on the Council’s agenda. By choosing to buy ethical food and drink, we can all help to effect change globally, helping farmers and producers around the world on the frontline of the climate crisis. With better incomes and financial support, producers will be able to build greater climate resilience, changing their farming methods to ensure a low-carbon economy.”

The support for Fairtrade in Chester has continued since the outset, with Chester’s Fairtrade shop, Chester Fairtrading at Wesley Church Centre, recently celebrating 22 years of trading in Chester.

The following activities will be taking place across the borough during Fairtrade Fortnight:

• 25 February – Neston Fairtrade Town Steering Group is hosting a Fairtrade stall at Neston Market
• 26 February – Fairtrade coffee morning at Our Lady Star of the Sea Catholic Church, Whitby Road, Ellesmere Port, 10am – 12noon
• 28 February – Cheshire West Fairtrade steering group is hosting a Fairtrade breakfast at Chester Cathedral
• 1 March – Fairtrade talk focusing on chocolate at the Tuesday Club, The Centurion Pub, Vicars Cross
• 4 March – Members of the Cheshire West Fairtrade steering group join the Lord Mayor for afternoon tea
• 4 March - Traidcraft Big Brew at Neston Methodist Church and Community Centre Welcome Café, 9.30am - 12.30pm
• Oldfield Primary School, Vicars cross and Kingsley St John’s CE Primary School, Frodsham will host a Fairtrade stall
• Chester Fairtrade shop, based in Wesley Church Centre, Chester, will be offering 10 per cent off everything during Fairtrade Fortnight

To find out more about how to take part in Fairtrade Fortnight in 2022, including online events, visit: www.fairtrade.org.uk/fortnight