Climate Emergency

22 October 2021

Whilst west Cheshire has an economy valued at over £10.5 billion a year, not everyone is benefitting from this. Some areas have higher levels of deprivation and poverty, and lower life expectancy.

Cheshire West and Chester Council is working with residents and partners to create a new Inclusive Economy strategy, to ensure that all residents, businesses, and places can thrive.

Councillor Richard Beacham, Cabinet Member for Inclusive Growth, Economy & Regeneration said: “We want to hear your views on the economy in west Cheshire, and what should be done to make it greener, fairer and stronger for everyone.

“We want to create an economy that enables all of our residents, businesses and places to thrive. You might have concerns about the availability of good jobs or training, you might have thoughts on the role of businesses and large employers and how they can play a role in combating climate change or providing more opportunities for local people. You might have started working from home and be facing various challenges as a result, you might have ideas for regeneration projects or how to make our communities happier and healthier.

“We want to hear from everyone who has an interest in how our local economy works and how it can work for all of us in the future. So please do get involved, we're really looking forward to hearing from you.”

To take part visit: www.cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk/inclusive

There is an online survey, with an opportunity to respond to six planned action areas:
• Employment & Skills
• Building Better Places & Community Regeneration
• Protecting the Environment & Green Spaces
• Housing & Transport
• Business Best Practice and Support
• Anchor Institutions

The Council is working with key partners and to identify opportunities to improve existing services and new actions to take forward.

The engagement will continue with a conference at the Civic Hall in Ellesmere Port for stakeholders to share their thoughts on Cheshire West’s economy and to discuss opportunities to make it more inclusive.

This is a long-term vision for the borough. The conversation around an inclusive economy will not end with the closing of this engagement, there will be more opportunities to get involved in the future.

Action Areas:

Employment & Skills

‘We want everyone in west Cheshire to have access to the education and skills they need to fulfil their potential and to have the opportunity to access high-quality well-paid jobs.’

Unemployment in west Cheshire is lower than the UK average, but around 23 per cent of workers currently earn below the living wage. For certain groups, work pays less on average and is harder to find. There is a gender pay gap between men and women in full time work. Among working age residents with disabilities only 62 per cent are in employment.

By breaking down barriers to employment, all residents should have access to the right skills for the future, and local businesses will be able to recruit the employees they need. An Inclusive Economy will help to close gaps in employment opportunities and skills attainment, ensuring that everyone can play their part in a thriving economy.

Building Better Places & Community Regeneration

‘We will work with communities to ensure our main centres and least affluent neighbourhoods are developed in a way that improves places and links people to opportunities.’

The Covid-19 pandemic has served as a reminder that some areas are more disconnected from the quality of life and access to opportunity than the rest of the borough.

By working with residents, opportunities for regeneration can be identified. By designing services together, stronger communities can be built.
Protecting the Environment & Green Spaces

‘We will respond to the climate emergency by supporting businesses to cut emissions, promote green skills and jobs, and enhancing access to green spaces and locally produced food.’

West Cheshire is the 5th highest greenhouse gas-emitting local authority area in England, producing four million tonnes of CO2 emissions per year.

The Council has plans for west Cheshire to be carbon neutral by 2045. Local industry is already working with leading experts and the public sector to deliver change, through projects such as the HyNet low carbon and hydrogen energy project.

West Cheshire is a rural borough with extensive ‘natural capital’ – including land, green spaces, trees and woodlands, wildlife and water. An Inclusive Economy will make the most of this natural capital to support the wellbeing of residents and the health of the environment.

Housing & Transport

‘We will continue to work towards good quality, affordable housing and improved public transport links. We will support health and environmental goals - for example through supporting walking and cycling, and insulating homes to reduce fuel poverty.’

Demand for housing in west Cheshire continues to outweigh supply. An Inclusive Economy will support growth in good quality local housing and seek an increase in affordable housing as part of that.

Residents shouldn’t be held back from education or employment opportunities by a lack of suitable transport. The new strategy should support residents to take low-carbon transport where possible.

Business Best Practice and Support

‘We will continue to support local business to thrive , encouraging residents to shop local and helping businesses with different ownership models get started and grow, all as part of an economy that creates and shares wealth and opportunity within our borough ’
West Cheshire is home to both world leading major businesses, in key sectors such as energy and advanced manufacturing, and a diverse range of small, locally based businesses, including new start-ups and independents.

The Inclusive Economy should be a culture of enterprise and entrepreneurship across all communities. Recognising the benefits of generating locally owned community wealth, an Inclusive Economy can ensure that all support fully covers the needs of social enterprises.

Anchor Institutions

‘We will harness the influence of our major employers to support local people and strengthen local businesses, using their employment and buying power, the way they deliver services and use their assets to support community needs, and the way they take action on the climate emergency.’

An anchor institution is a large organisation or business within the borough that is fixed in place, employs many people, spends substantial amounts of money, owns and manages land and assets, and often delivers crucial activities such as healthcare, education or public services.

These anchors can support the success of smaller local businesses and social enterprises by enabling them to bid for more contract opportunities. This helps to build local wealth and enables enterprises to grow as money recirculates around the local economy rather than leaking out.

21 October 2021

Many different community projects across the borough are now crowdfunding on the Cheshire West Crowd and calling on your support to help bring their ideas to life.

The Cheshire West Crowd, which is being run by Cheshire West and Chester Council in partnership with Spacehive, is an exciting new digital crowdfunding initiative, providing an opportunity for community-led ideas to be created so the borough can become more vibrant, resilient and connected.

Projects currently crowdfunding on the Cheshire West Crowd are spread across the borough and provide a range of services, from coordinating food support to helping people with their mental health.

The Council has set aside five different funding pots to support local community projects.

• £125,000 Cheshire West Crowd Fund
• £50,000 Climate Change Emergency Fund
• £29,675 Suicide Prevention Fund (Public Health)
• £100,000 COVID-19 Recovery and Renewal Fund
• £15,000 Chester High Street Heritage Action Zone (HAZ) Community Engagement Fund

The different community projects will be assessed by the Council in the near future, looking at each of the ideas in detail and the level of local support already in place for them, so it’s the perfect time to get behind them.

Residents, businesses, donors and anyone else interested can donate to community projects through the Cheshire West Crowd and any payment, no matter how big or small, could make a real difference to these initiatives.

Councillor Louise Gittins, Leader of Cheshire West and Chester Council, said: “I’m very proud to be acting as a champion for the Cheshire West Crowd as it’s such an amazing way for community projects to raise funds."

“There are many fantastic projects on the Cheshire West Crowd and it’d be great to see residents, businesses, donors and anyone else get behind them. Each of these projects will have an opportunity to pitch to the Council’s funds and we look forward to helping as many of them as possible reach their targets."

“The COVID-19 pandemic has taught us how important it is that we all work together in our communities and this is a great way to support projects aiming to make a real difference to the lives of others.”

• Support community projects on the Cheshire West Crowd

There will be further funding rounds on the Cheshire West Crowd so, if you haven’t added your project to the platform yet, there’s still plenty of time for you to get involved in the future.

• Create your project on the Cheshire West Crowd

The Ellesmere Port Industrial Area is one of the largest industrial employment clusters in the North West region, and one of the most significant clusters of industrial uses in the country. The area is characterised by international and nationally significant industrial facilities and users, currently contributing to around five per cent of the UK’s CO2 emissions.

Cheshire West and Chester Council announced a Climate Emergency declaration in May 2019 with a target of 2045, ahead of the UK’s overall commitment to be net zero by 2050. Since this declaration the Council has engaged with a range of partners to develop its plans and response to the emergency.

The project presents a Development and Infrastructure Investment Framework containing a vision, themes and strategic objectives for the Ellesmere Port Industrial Area. The shared vision is to form one of the first Net Zero Carbon industrial clusters in the world, and one of the UK’s ‘Super Places’ linking clean and green growth and low carbon technologies. The project could bring in more than £1.8bn worth of investment for jobs and the borough’s green economy.

Vision

1. Become one of the UK's first 'SuperPlaces', supporting the UK Governments 'Green Industrial Revolution' by delivering a network of world leading clean industry, power and transport companies innovating new solutions to tackle the Climate Emergency.

2. Deliver one of the world’s first Net Zero Carbon Industrial clusters, at the forefront of research, development and implementation of a new generation of industrial processes that helps us respond to the Climate Emergency. This will act as a global exemplar for how a range of low carbon and sustainable technologies can be delivered at an industrial scale, and support the cleaning of heavy industrial practices.

3. Reinforce the areas role as the economic engine of Cheshire West and Chester and the wider region boosting its profile nationally, safeguarding existing employers, allowing expansion and indigenous growth, and helping to foster a diverse range of job growth opportunities which will create a sustainable future economy and supporting the UK's 'Levelling Up' agenda.

4. Connect local people to job, skills and training opportunities in high value, innovative and growing employment sectors. Improving the connections between local people and opportunities through awareness raising as well as sustainable travel connections to the area.

5. Deliver a nationally leading brand and business environment that will attract inward investment. The area will deliver a high quality, professional, well maintained, and attractive business environment which businesses and workers will be proud to locate in.

6. Improve the quality of place, and quality of life for local people. The area will deliver an improved public realm; safe and sustainable connectivity; amenity; and enhanced and protected environmental assets. This will create an attractive place to live, work, visit and do business.

Pupils at Victoria Road Primary School in Northwich recently completed Bikeability sessions and gained valuable knowledge of safe cycling. This video shows how Cheshire West and Chester Council works with its cycle training partner Bikeright to offer free Bikeability training to schools.

Cheshire West and Chester Council and The Mersey Forest are playing a leading role by acting as the legal accountable body for the national Trees for Climate programme.

The Mersey Forest is one of 12 Community Forests across England delivering the programme, transforming landscapes and communities across Merseyside and Cheshire.

Launched in November 2020, the programme is significant in the Government's commitment to address climate change and carbon mitigation. Across Cheshire and Merseyside, nearly 44 hectares of new woodland has been created in the last year, in urban parks and green spaces and on private land and farmland.

In west Cheshire, The Mersey Forest team works closely with the Council to identify suitable land to plant trees, as part of the drive for carbon neutrality as a borough by 2045.

One of the sites selected was Council-owned land in rural Picton, near Chester, with far reaching views across to the industrial area of Ellesmere Port - this industrial area aspires to be the world's first low carbon industrial cluster by 2030.

The site is on the North Cheshire Way national footpath, which provides 70 miles of waymarked walking from Wirral to the Peak District.

Woodland advisors identified the best species of trees to thrive on the land, along with a planting design.

The site offered an opportunity to establish six hectares of native broadleaved woodland with some areas left to conserve historical features and other, non-woodland, habitats for local wildlife.

A native woodland was planted, including some species such as beech and a standard oak tree, which predators such as owls hunt from. As the woodland continues to thrive, it will develop into an increasingly attractive habitat for wildlife, with two newt ponds recently created on its edge to enhance it further.

In total, 12,366 trees and 305 metres of hedgerows were planted at Picton. When fully established, it is estimated that these will store 2,326 tonnes of carbon over 100 years.

The funding sourced for Picton has gone further than planting trees. New infrastructure, including stiles and a footbridge, has been installed along the national footpath helping make the woodland more accessible. We have also sown six hectares of species rich native wildflower meadows to recreate the traditional floodplain meadows that would have once existed across the wetter part of the site, compensating for habitat loss in other parts of the borough.

These improvements will not only capture carbon and be a haven for local wildlife, they will also help to get communities out in nature, supporting health and wellbeing and connecting people with their local area.

The delegates at COP26, the UN climate change conference, are focusing their discussions on energy on the fifth day of the conference which is taking place in Glasgow between 31 October and 12 November.

Following Cheshire West and Chester Council declaring a Climate Emergency in May 2019 and the development of the Climate Emergency Response Plan, the Council’s Climate Emergency Taskforce was keen that the Council should show leadership on this agenda by reducing the organisation’s own emissions.

As part of the Council’s work to become carbon neutral by 2030, the Council has already switched their electricity tariff to one that is 100 per cent traceable and zero carbon* to ensure any payments to its energy supplier are funding renewable energy sources only.

To help reduce the organisation’s carbon emissions even more, the Council has taken forward plans to install a range of energy efficiency and heat decarbonisation measures on a number of Council buildings.

These works are possible thanks to £5.8 million of funding, secured through the Government’s Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme, which was secured with the help of colleagues at Qwest Services, a joint venture company between Cheshire West and Chester Council and Engie.

The energy efficiency works will take place across 14 buildings, which will benefit from the installation of a range of measures such as Air Source Heat Pumps, Hybrid Heating Systems, Solar PV (Photovoltaic), also known as a solar electric system, and light-emitting diode (LED) lighting.

PV panels on the Northgate Arena

Using renewable energy to run our buildings will not only help to tackle the Climate Emergency by providing a carbon reduction of 933 tonnes CO₂ but will also reduce the Council’s annual energy bills by over £50,000.

The Council’s Climate Emergency Response Plan sets out what we can all do to play our part to tackle the Climate Emergency in west Cheshire, so that we can all live in a cleaner, greener and more prosperous area whilst playing our part to tackle this global issue

Below is a full list of the Council buildings that will benefit from the energy efficiency measures.

Ellesmere Port Sports Village

Christleton Leisure Centre

Northgate Arena

Northwich Memorial Court

Neston Recreation Centre

Winsford Lifestyle Centre

Dee Bank School, Chester

Ellesmere Port Catholic High School

Green Bank School, Northwich

Helsby High School

Chester Crematorium

Grosvenor Museum

Northern Lights, office building in Ellesmere Port

Wyvern House, office building in Winsford

Share your stories on the actions you are taking to address the Climate Emergency on the Council’s Inspire site.

*Traceable means that the source of energy purchased can be tracked and zero carbon means using a form of energy that does not produce carbon dioxide emissions in its generation.

19 October 2021

Cheshire West and Chester Council has welcomed the news that Ellesmere Port has been chosen as one of two Carbon Capture, Usage and Storage (CCUS) projects in the country.

Greg Hands, Minister of State for Energy, Clean Growth and Climate Change announced today (19 October) that the CCS Infrastructure Fund of £1 billion will provide industry with the certainty required to deploy CCUS at pace and at scale, has completed the first phase of the evaluation of the five cluster submissions received by his Department.

The statement included confirmation that the HyNet and East Coast Clusters have been confirmed as track 1 clusters for the mid-2020s and will be taken forward into Track-1 negotiations. If the clusters represent value for money for the consumer and the taxpayer then subject to final decisions of Ministers, they will receive support under the government’s CCUS Programme.

Councillor Louise Gittins, Leader of Cheshire West and Chester Council said: “On behalf of the Council and our partners I’d like to congratulate the HyNet team, this is a major element of the plans to see Ellesmere Port as a national and international exemplar for the ‘Green Industrial Revolution’ and to drive forward the new low carbon economy of the future.

“We declared a Climate Emergency in 2019, following consultation with residents pledging to make the Council carbon neutral by 2030 and the borough carbon neutral by 2045. Today’s announcement is a giant stride towards this.”

Partners including the Cheshire and Warrington LEP and the University of Chester have added their congratulations.

Clare Hayward MBE, DL, Chair, Cheshire and Warrington LEP, said: “We are absolutely delighted by today’s announcement that HyNet North West low carbon and energy project will be one of the first two to be delivered in the UK.

“We have ambitious targets to reach net zero and make Cheshire and Warrington a world leader in low carbon technologies and innovation and this is a huge step forward for the decarbonisation of our region.

“The North West and North Wales is a region which has the largest number of people employed in manufacturing in the UK and has the skills base to drive the hydrogen economy and help us to create the green jobs for the future.

“HyNet is a result of a great partnership with all of the stakeholders involved from across the region. We look forward to working together to put our ambitions into action.”

HyNet is a low carbon hydrogen and Carbon capture, utilisation and storage project offering a low cost, low risk route to decarbonise the North West industrial cluster and other sectors of the regional economy. It will play a major role in starting the hydrogen economy, delivering a material contribution to net zero and considerable economic benefit.

The HyNet project aims to start the transition to a hydrogen economy delivering 80 per cent of the Prime Minister’s 2030 UK target for low carbon hydrogen.

Councillor Gittins acknowledged that HyNet will produce ‘blue hydrogen’ “The ideal for the environment is the production of green hydrogen, however today’s announcement will lead us towards the development of the UKs most advanced clean and green energy industrial cluster helping to reduce the environmental impact of industry, creating one of the UKs first ‘SuperPlaces’.”

5 October 2021

Council leaders in Cheshire West and Chester will hear about ambitious plans for the future of Ellesmere Port, which could bring in more than £1.8bn worth of investment for jobs and the borough’s green economy.

At its meeting on Wednesday 15 October, members of Cheshire West and Chester Council’s Cabinet will be asked to endorse the vision, themes and strategic objectives for the Ellesmere Port Industrial Area in the Development and Infrastructure Investment Framework (DIIF).

The document presents a shared vision for the area to form one of the first Net Zero Carbon industrial clusters in the world, and one of the UK’s ‘Super Places’ linking clean and green growth and low carbon technologies.

The Ellesmere Port Industrial Area (EPIA) has 1,300 businesses employing 24,100 people. There are four distinctive development zones, that have attracted over £400 million investment to date including Regatta, Jaguar Land Rover / DHL, Westland Horticulture, Marks and Spencer, ESSAR, Peel (Protos), URENCO, Cheshire Oaks, University of Chester (Thornton Science Park) with a further £1.8bn forecast. The Framework predicts an increase to 1,463 businesses, employing 35,500 people by 2040.

EPIA is already at the forefront of advanced plans to respond to the Climate Emergency through several transformational projects. Most significant is HyNet, an industry-led initiative to develop world-leading Carbon Capture Usage and Storage (CCUS) and Hydrogen Power. This project could transform the carbon balance in the area.

Councillor Richard Beacham, Cabinet Member for Inclusive Growth, Economy and Regeneration said: “The vision for The Ellesmere Port Industrial Area is ambitious and transformational, we want the area to be a national and international exemplar for the ‘Green Industrial Revolution’ and to drive forward the new low carbon economy of the future.

“The vision will have a direct impact on residents, connecting local people to jobs, skills and training opportunities in high value, innovative and growing employment sectors. Improved and sustainable travel across the area will also be a priority, including the new cycle route through Ellesmere Port and the work being completed on the A5117 shared use route.”

The EPIA has already seen huge investments including Fulcrum BioEnergy developing a new £600m waste to fuel plant. The project was shortlisted to receive funding through the Government’s ‘Green Fuels, Green Skies’ competition, it would make Manchester Airport the only airport globally to have a direct pipeline connection to a Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) refinery.

The Government released its Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution in November 2020. The overriding purpose of the plan is to ‘support green jobs and accelerate the UK’s path to net zero’. Cheshire and Warrington are at the heart of this Green Industrial Revolution as a renewably powered ‘SuperPlace’, ready to deliver the Ten Point Plan with clear proposals for decarbonising the economy and creating green jobs.

Added Councillor Beacham: “The Council declared a Climate Emergency in 2019, following consultation with residents pledging to make the Council carbon neutral by 2030 and the borough carbon neutral by 2045.

“HyNet has bid for Industrial Clusters Mission funding, the Cheshire and Warrington LEP has secured funding for sustainable travel improvements, and Peel, Essar, Vauxhall and other private sector stakeholders are investing significant amounts in delivering sustainable and low carbon technologies on their sites.”

Ellesmere Port has attracted extensive Public Sector investment including:

• £6 million Regional Growth Fund to support £200m private sector investment.
• £8 million Local Growth Fund that has contributed towards the £16m Ellesmere Port Public Service Hub and new Ellesmere Port Bus Interchange.
• Enterprise Zone status secured for 10 key sites.
• Town Centre Improvement Programme (46 per cent shops on Whitby Rd improved).
• Over £3 million combined investment from Local Growth Fund and Local Sustainable Transport Fund for improvements in new sustainable shared-use transport infrastructure at Stanney Lane and Sutton Way Boulevards; Thornton Way; Thornton Road; Lees Lane; A5117; and Canal Towpath improvements.
• £12.4m investment to modernise and refurbish Council housing stock at Sutton Way.

30 September 2021

More than 2,000 children aged up to 12 took part in this year’s Summer Reading Challenge in Cheshire West Libraries.

The Challenge had the theme of “Wild World Heroes”, focusing on how the children can help their local environment.

For the first time ever, a Mini Challenge was available for the Under-Fours, with 335 taking part.

The total figure for those taking part in either challenge was 2344 with 1226 (52%) completing the challenge to read six books over the summer holidays.

To support the Challenge lots of events took place in libraries these included 19 animal handling workshops, events by Cheshire Dance, Chester Zoo, Noodle Performance Arts, Radiate Arts, Jem Bear and lots of environmentally themed craft and other activity sessions. In total 972 people attended these events.

Online children’s events were also held. This was initially intended as a contingency in case physical events were not possible but still proved popular. Many children enjoyed a question and answer session with the popular author Onjali Q Rauf.

Children also enjoyed sessions from professional storytellers John Kirk, Robin Simpson and Mama G.

Chester Zoo put on an interactive Zoom event on making habitats for garden creatures, the first they have done online. The Mama G event broke new ground by being online but also shown on a screen at Neston Library, which was watched and enjoyed by children there.

Council Leader and Cabinet Member for Wellbeing, Councillor Louise Gittins said: “This year’s Summer Reading Challenge has been a great success – particularly the environmental theme.

“Our Libraries played their part in helping the environment by removing the need for children to fill in a card registration form this year. The service also stopped giving out plastic and other rewards, such as fridge magnets, to children and switched to medals that can be used next year if not given out.

“A big thank you to everyone who has made this year’s challenge and events possible.”

Councillors provided £5,500 in funding for the Summer Reading Challenge which was used to purchase materials to enable outside events to take place (such as gazebos and picnic blankets) and other items such as craft resources.

Those children who completed the Challenge were entered into a prize draw for either a World Wildlife Fund plush panda (for the Mini Challenge) and BeWILDerwood tickets and books (for four to 12 year olds).

Nationally, the Reading Agency continued its digital offer from last year with its website and events on Facebook. There were 273 active users and 56 completers from the borough on this website.

23 September 2021

Join the Friends of Parkfields this Saturday at 11am to help sow a new wildflower meadow to benefit bees, butterflies, and local young people to help them enjoy, learn and care for local wildlife.

The meadow will complement a pond recently created to attract wildlife at Parkgate, near Neston. Native wildflowers will also be sown on the pond edges along with other new wetland areas.

Wildflower-rich grasslands are essential for bees, butterflies, hoverflies and other pollinating insects. They also provide food and shelter for other wildlife, including birds and mammals.

Bees and other pollinators spend the spring and summer months collecting nectar and pollen to feed their young, in the process they pollinate our garden plants and crops, as well as other wildflowers.

By doing this, they play a vital role in the production of the food we eat. Without pollinators we would have no apples, pears and other fruit. In fact, most plants need help from pollinators.

A community orchard was planted adjacent to this area in the spring through Trees for Climate, a national multi-million pound woodland creation programme, part of the Government-led Nature for Climate Fund.

The orchard is already looking great, producing some initial fruit in its first year. The introduction of the new meadow nearby will only help this orchard thrive even more.

Council Leader and Cabinet Member for Wellbeing, Councillor Louise Gittins said: “What a wonderful event. I’m sure this wildflower meadow will look amazing next spring, not just for people using Parkfields, but for local wildlife too.”

The Council’s Cabinet Member for the Climate Emergency, Councillor Matt Bryan said: “Our bees and other pollinating insects are in trouble. Their populations have declined drastically in recent decades. We now have only a fraction of the abundance and variety of the insect wildlife that we once had so it is vital to support those that remain by providing habitats such as wildflower meadows as part of many actions to respond to the climate emergency in coming years.”

The project to create an educational area is being led by the Friends of Park Fields with support from Cheshire West and Chester Council’s Total Environment Team, the local ward councillor, Neston Town Council and Cheshire Police Commissioner.

Cheshire West and Chester Council declared a Climate Emergency in 2019 and has developed a Climate Emergency Response Plan that sets out the actions needed for the borough to become carbon neutral by 2045, including how residents can play their part. The Council has also recently approved its Environmental Management Strategy which covers wildflowers.

Please register if you would like to attend on Saturday at: Info@friendsofparkfields.org.

To find out more about the Friends of Parkfields, or to become a member please visit www.friendsofparkfields.org.

Find out about other Great Big Green Week events taking place across the borough on Eco Communities Great Big Green Week website.