Climate Emergency

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.

22 September 2021

Cheshire West and Chester Council is encouraging pupils across the borough to cycle to school during this year’s national Bike to School Week (27 September to 1 October).

The national event, organised by Sustrans and supported by the Bikeability Trust, celebrates cycling to school and the positive impact an active lifestyle can have on pupils’ health and wellbeing.

Choosing a more active form of travel to get to school, such as walking, cycling or scooting, will also help cut air pollution near the school gates and will help towards the borough’s target of becoming carbon neutral by 2045 as part of the Council’s commitment to tackle the Climate Emergency.

The Council’s Road Safety Team organises free Bikeability courses at both primary and secondary schools across the borough, providing pupils with important road safety knowledge and the bike skills to confidently ride their bike to school. Free courses for families and adult would-be commuters are also available.

Councillor Karen Shore, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Environment, Highways and Strategic Transport said: “It’s great that families have been getting active and heading out on their bikes to explore the local area. We’ve been encouraging families to keep this up as schools opened for the autumn term and lots of schools have signed up to our Bikeability courses to support their pupils to ride safely.

“Active travel, such as cycling, provides a range of physical and mental health benefits for our children and helps set them up for a great day of learning in the classroom. Using the journey to school to get active will not only benefit your child’s health but will also improve the air quality in our communities.”

Comments from parents and guardians about the Bikeability courses include:

“I couldn’t recommend this more and I’m hugely grateful for it. My youngest child has really struggled with confidence riding and the course has transformed his ability. Both instructors were so kind and helpful. I still can’t believe this opportunity was available, thank you so, so much.”

“George had an absolutely fantastic time and the whole experience boosted his confidence dramatically. Thank you.”

“We did our training with Mike. When we got home Seth couldn't wait to show everyone what he had learned. We really hope bike right offers more sessions in the next holidays. We really enjoyed, and Mike was amazing. Thank you”

Parents are also advised to check their school's website and social media channels regularly for the latest information from their school and details about drop off and pick up arrangements.

20 September 2021

Cheshire West and Chester Council is supporting Recycle Week which launches today, Monday 20 September.

The theme for Recycle Now’s 18^th annual Recycle Week is Step It Up. We can all take action to drive down emissions, clean up and shake up the climate crisis by recycling more, particularly aerosols and bathroom plastics.

The Council’s Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Environment, Highways and Strategic Transport, Councillor Karen Shore said: “Recycle Week this year is an opportunity to take things up a level. Look out for messages on how you can play your part on our social media channels.

“Residents have really boosted recycling in the borough during the pandemic and I would like to express my sincere thanks for that but now we can all Step It Up a level to really make a difference.”

Cabinet Member for Housing, Planning and Climate Emergency, Councillor Matt Bryan added: “By recycling more of the right things, more often in our home and everyday lives we can help tackle the climate emergency. Currently the UK’s recycling saves 18 million tonnes of CO₂ per year from being emitted. We’re ready to take this fight to the next level and Step It Up this Recycle Week.”

The Council is promoting recycling as part of its new Waste Management Strategy, find out more on the Council’s website.

Top tips for recycling:

1. Flatten cardboard boxes so that you can fit more in your green box.
2. All plastic bottles can be recycled, from water bottles to shampoo bottles, so put all of them in your recycling container.
3. It is not just newspapers that you can recycle at home. Also, recycle, envelopes, birthday cards and phone books.
4. All sorts of cardboard can be recycled, even toilet and paper towel tubes.
5. Recycle metal, such as empty spray cans and tin foil, and of course, all empty soda, fruit, vegetable and other food cans.
6. Keep a space in your kitchen so that you can recycle as you are cooking or cleaning. It will make it easier for you to put the recyclables in their proper place.
7. When going out, stop at your local recycling centre and drop off anything that cannot be recycled at the kerbside.
8. If you are ever unsure about what you can recycle, check the Cheshire West and Chester Council website.
9. Glass can be recycled endlessly; so be sure to always recycle your glass bottles and containers.

For more information on Recycle Now, visit www.recyclenow.com.

25 August 2021

Students at Blacon High School are set to benefit from a £2.1 million extension which has been completed ready for the start of the autumn term.

The new two-storey building, funded by Cheshire West and Chester Council and Blacon High School, has achieved net zero carbon status as the building generates more energy than it consumes.

This is one of several projects that will help the Council achieve its priority of tackling the Climate Emergency and achieving its objective of the borough becoming carbon neutral by 2045 and the Council, as organisation, by 2030.

The new facility will allow the school to increase its capacity by 150 students to 750 and includes provision to support students with special education needs, a dining area and two dedicated rooms to support the creative curriculum on the ground floor. There are also six new classrooms located on the first floor and additional bicycle storage has been installed on site to encourage more pupils to cycle to and from school.

The building, which is one of the first projects to be supported by the Council’s Climate Emergency capital funding, is powered from on-site and off-site renewable energy sources, including solar photovoltaic (PV) panels on the roof, with the remaining carbon balance offset to achieve net zero carbon status.

Building materials have been selected to ensure the extension is well insulated to help reduce heat loss and, in turn, the amount of energy needed to run the building.

The additional teaching block, which was designed and built by Pave Aways Building Contractors, has scored an A+ energy efficiency rating with a building emission rate of 0.08 kg CO2/m2 per year.

Headteacher Rachel Hudson said: “We are absolutely delighted to see the completion of this project, which will enable us to meet the demand and need for places within our local community. This is testament to the belief and confidence in Blacon High School by all those involved.

“This outstanding facility will help us to support students to achieve the best outcomes in a high quality learning environment.”

Councillor Bob Cernik, Cabinet Member for Children and Families at Cheshire West and Chester Council, said: “It’s great to see the new building completed and ready to welcome students when they start back in September. The additional facilities will be a great asset, providing them with an ideal base for their learning so that they can achieve their best.”

Councillor Matt Bryan, Cabinet Member for Housing, Planning and Climate Emergency, said: “It’s fantastic to see one of our new buildings achieving a net zero carbon status, something that will not only benefit the school, with lower running costs, but also the borough as we aim to reduce our emissions and become carbon neutral by 2045.”

Pave Aways Managing Director Steven Owen said: “We are delighted to have achieved such a highly sustainable building that will benefit the students and the environment for years to come.”

“Securing an A+ energy rating is always an achievement but is especially rewarding as it has been a challenging time for construction with the COVID pandemic and material shortages. Reaching this very high standard of construction is a credit to our team and sub-contractors.”