Climate Emergency

8 June 2021

Cheshire West and Chester Council, working with Chester and District Friends of the Earth, has installed a series of colourful signs, designed by children, giving important messages about single use plastics and encouraging people not to drop litter at the Groves in Chester.

The signs were designed by the winners of a competition arranged by Friends of the Earth, Chester last year but the pandemic delayed them appearing in pride of place by the River Dee.

Now a series of 12 signs are in place along railing at the Groves for all to see. The overall winner was by Maddy Scott of Shocklach Oviatt C of E Primary school, who created a polluted ocean scene using a very creative, torn paper collage.

The Council’s Cabinet Member for the Climate Emergency, Cllr Matt Bryan said: “Plastic litter can be dangerous for both people and animals so we urgently need to keep up the fight against single-use plastics. These precious habitats, like our wonderful River Dee, are home to many species of wildlife at risk of permanent harm from litter pollution.

“The signs look wonderful and the children’s ideas for getting their message across are really impressive. We all need to play our part by using alternative to plastics where we can and not dropping litter.”

Helen Tandy, Chester and District Friends of the Earth said: “We achieved Plastic Free Chester in 2018 via a Friends of the Earth Chester & District Campaign working with Surfers Against Sewage. We then organised a competition with local schools around plastic pollution, working with Cheshire West & Chester Council we agreed the art would be shown along the River Dee to raise awareness.

“I am so pleased, after a delay due to Covid, we are now able to all view this fantastic artwork and the children can now visit and see the art in situ.”

There are lots of things we can do to reduce single-use plastic:

• Remember your refillable water bottle
• Take a reusable coffee cup and refuse single-use take away cup
• Refuse single-use packaging
• Resist a straw or a buy a reusable one
• Refuse a single-use plastic bag and take your own
• Take your own cutlery or use sustainable alternatives
• Avoid single-use plastics in the bathroom
• Refuse single-use condiment sachets
• If you visit a beach, grab a handful of plastic litter and recycle or dispose of it.
• Get local milk in reusable glass bottles

This project supports the Council’s Climate Emergency agenda and its target for the borough to be carbon neutral by 2045.

4 June 2021

Delegates attending the Cheshire West and Chester: Developing a World Class Location For Net Zero Carbon Growth webinar later this month (16 June) will hear from industry leaders about the ambitious plans to establish Ellesmere Port at the heart of decarbonisation delivery for Cheshire and Warrington, for the North West and the UK.

The Built Environment Networking webinar includes Myles Kitcher, Managing Director from Peel NRE, Richard Holden, Project Manager Essar, Rachel Perry, HyNet Project Manager, and Gemma Davies, Director of Economy and Housing at Cheshire West and Chester Council.

Councillor Richard Beacham, Cabinet Member for Inclusive Growth, Economy & Regeneration said: “Delegates will hear from Gemma Davies who will explain why the Ellesmere Port Industrial Area is one of the most important industrial and employment clusters in the UK. It has the potential to fast track the UK’s Green Industrial Revolution and help to achieve the UK’s ambitious carbon reduction targets. The plans are for the area to be employing 35,500 people by 2040.”

Peel NRE will be constructing a £7m waste plastic to hydrogen facility at the 54-hectare Protos site near Ellesmere Port. The development will see 14 full time permanent jobs created at Protos with over 100 jobs created in the North West during fabrication and construction. It will transform how plastic waste is dealt with in the region, treating up to 35 tonnes of unrecyclable plastics a day and using it to create a local source of hydrogen. This hydrogen could be used as a clean fuel for buses, Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGVs) and cars, helping to reduce air pollution and improve air quality on local roads. The facility will also generate electricity which could be provided to commercial users via a microgrid at Protos, helping to reduce the reliance on fossil fuels.

Progressive Energy develop projects which reduce carbon emissions across industry, homes and transport. The team are particularly focused on hydrogen and capturing and storing carbon (CCS). They are the lead developer of HyNet North West, a clean energy project which is centred in west Cheshire. Rachel will talk about projects which are needed to realise net zero Cheshire.

Essar Oil (UK) Limited has joined forces with Fulcrum BioEnergy Limited and Essar’s subsidiary company Stanlow Terminals Limited to create a new facility which will convert non-recyclable household waste into sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) for use by airlines operating at UK airports.

This innovative bio-refinery will convert several hundred thousand tonnes of pre-processed waste, which would have otherwise been destined for incineration or landfill, into approximately 100 million litres of low carbon SAF annually. The £600m investment project will use Fulcrum’s proven waste-to-fuel process, which is already being deployed at its pioneering facility outside of Reno, Nevada in the United States, where operations are due to begin later this year.

The Ellesmere Port Industrial Area currently has 1,330 businesses employing 24,100 people. This is expected to increase to 1,463 businesses, employing 35,500 people by 2040.

Registration is now open for the Cheshire West and Chester: Developing a World Class Location For Net Zero Carbon Growth webinar 16 June. Visit: https://www.built-environment-networking.com/event/cheshire-west-chester/

28 May 2021

Cheshire West and Chester Council has used two sources of funding to boost electric vehicle charging facilities right across the borough.

New facilities are available across West Cheshire to allow residents and visitors to charge their electric vehicles in more locations, especially in areas where residents have no off-street parking.

The project has been delivered by Council company Qwest Services in partnership with leading Energy specialist, ENGIE, using funding from the Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) and a Government Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV) grant, along with match funding from the Council.

As part of the Council’s commitment to tackle the Climate Emergency and to improve local air quality across the borough, a total of 29 new electric vehicle (EV) chargepoints have been installed. With the Government’s 2030 ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars just nine years away, the chargepoints will help residents, businesses and the Council to start making the switch to electric vehicles.

An Electric Charging Hub has been created in Ellesmere Port. At the Council’s Canalside Operations Depot up to 28 Council electric vehicles will be able to fully charge overnight and a further pair of rapid chargers will be available at the Canal & River Trust’s National Waterways Museum in Ellesmere Port (Boat Museum). These will give a full charge in as little as half an hour. As well as servicing the Council’s electric fleet, the Waterways Museum chargers will also be available for use by local businesses.

The LEP funding has created the Electric Charging Hub and OLEV funding has provided charging in Council-owned car parks.

Drivers of electric vehicles are now also able to recharge their cars using two dual-socket fast GeniePoint chargers, installed and managed by ENGIE EV Solutions at each the following car parks:

Bishop Street Car Park - Chester

Brook Street Car Park - Chester

Shrewsbury Road Car Park - Ellesmere Port

Moor Lane Car Park - Frodsham

Chester Road Car Park - Neston

Park Street Car Park - Northwich

These chargers are sited in car parks close to areas where residents lack off-street parking. The cost of charging an EV will be keenly priced to encourage people to make the switch.

The Council’s Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Environment, Highways and Strategic Transports, Councillor Karen Shore said: “The rapid chargers at the Boat Museum are in a prime position for use by businesses along the M53 and our facilities in car parks can benefit both local residents with no private driveway to install their own charging facilities, as well as shoppers and visitors.”

“We are grateful for the financial support received from the LEP and OLEV and have once again enjoyed collaborating with our partners to make this happen.”

Councillor Matt Bryan, Cabinet Member for the Climate Emergency added: “This is a positive step for Cheshire West and Chester to become a cleaner, greener borough and shows how important the environment is to the Council as we work to tackle the Climate Emergency.

“Our Low Emission Strategy seeks to accelerate the rate of electric vehicle take up within the Borough. Battery electric vehicles produce no tailpipe emissions, which is important for people’s health, and the power supplied to our public chargepoints is from 100% renewable sources. Providing a good network of public charging points throughout Cheshire West has been identified as critical to deliver this.”

Dee Humphries, Managing Director of ENGIE EV Solutions, said: “Local authorities play a vital role in helping the UK to achieve its goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2050, so it’s fantastic to once again be working alongside Cheshire West and Chester Council to deliver multiple electric vehicle charging provisions in the district.

“By improving EV charging infrastructure for council workers, local businesses, and the public, we hope to be able to encourage even wider adoption of electric vehicles in the local area – taking us one step closer to achieving net zero carbon emissions.”

Ben Cummins, Managing Director of Qwest Services, the Council company responsible for delivering the works, said: “Qwest is proud to support the Council in the transition to a zero carbon economy, these charging points will allow residents and visitors to transfer to electric vehicles with confidence.”

26 May 2021

Cheshire West and Chester Council is promoting Keep Britain Tidy’s Great British Spring Clean campaign and its Love Your Streets initiative is supporting clean-up events across the borough.

Keep Britain Tidy’s campaign, which runs from 28 May to 13 June, encourages residents and community groups to get involved by pledging to give their neighbourhoods a thorough clean-up.

The Council’s ASIST officers (Area Streets Information and Solutions Team) has prepared a toolkit for individuals and groups of no more than 30 to arrange clean-up events in their communities.

The toolkit, which is available throughout the year not just during the Keep Britain Tidy campaign, includes litter-picking grabbers, bags and full instructions for the collection of filled bags, etc. A jet washing machine is also available. To boost recycling, groups are asked to sort rubbish into different bags depending on whether it is plastic or general waste.

If you would like to make use of the toolkit to make a difference in your area, please email the ASIST officers on yourstreets@cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk.

You can pledge your support of the Keep Britain Tidy campaign on their website.

The Council’s Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Environment, Highways and Strategic Transport, Councillor Karen Shore said: “It’s wonderful that so many groups and individuals have already organised litter-picking events and clean-ups in their communities to join this campaign.

“I’ll be helping to start off this year’s Keep Britain Tidy’s Great British Spring Clean by litter-picking in Ellesmere Port town centre later this week. Littering just isn’t acceptable, we all need to play our part by putting our rubbish in a bin or taking it home if one isn’t available.

“I’m pleased we are able to promote the use of the toolkit through our Love Your Streets initiative to help individuals and groups make a difference in their area. I’m looking forward to hearing about the results achieved across the borough.

“I’d like to take this opportunity to thank the large number of volunteers who regularly litter-pick across west Cheshire – people of all ages are getting involved to help keep their communities looking clean and tidy.”

The Council’s social media channels will be showcasing some of the events taking place across the borough over the next two weeks. Find out more about Love Your Streets on the Council’s website.

May 18 2021

Farmers and landowners are invited to join others from across west Cheshire who have been providing new homes for great crested newts and other wildlife.

A total of 43 ponds were created in the borough over the last year as part of a new strategic licensing scheme, District Level Licensing (DLL).

Under District Level Licensing, developers make a conservation payment which is used to create or restore new ponds in locations that will benefit the species. It is helping to provide more homes for people and more habitat for great crested newts.

Ponds are created or restored in areas known to be most suitable for this yellow-bellied amphibian to thrive. The ponds will be monitored and looked after for at least 25 years – all funded by developers.

Natural England and Cheshire West and Chester are now seeking further landowners interested in creating or restoring ponds and habitats on their land.

Councillor Karen Shore, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Environment, Highways and Strategic Transport, said: “Ponds represent a rich wildlife habitat which support many important freshwater plant and animal species.

“The Council’s Total Environment Team have been working with local farmers and landowners to identify potential sites to increase the number of ponds within the borough.

“We are delighted with the positive response from farmers and landowners willing to create or restore ponds all of whom are helping to ensure the long term protection of this iconic species.

“In Cheshire West and Chester, landowners can fully engage in creating or restoring ponds under expert guidance, which has really incentivised people to get involved. We are looking forward to continuing this exciting work.”

Barnston Estate, at Sibbersfield Lane Field Farm in Chester, is one farm involved, having restored five ponds.

Owner Edward Barnston said: “Our 10-year environmental strategy at Barnston Estate includes restoring all 59 ponds, planting another 10km of new hedgerows and planting 7.5km of river bank. By restoring our ponds, we are promoting aquatic life, boosting biodiversity and enhancing the environment.

“We would encourage other landowners to take this funding opportunity. Creating more thriving habitats for species across our borough is good for our natural environment.”

Mark Jones, Habitat Delivery Manager at Natural England, said: “Operating at a landscape-scale, the district level licensing scheme is an example of how the environment and development can work together.

“The scheme in Cheshire West and Chester is providing enormous benefits for people and wildlife as the one-off conservation payment made by developers ensures ponds are created, restored, maintained and monitored for 25 years in the areas that need them the most.

“This benefits great crested newt and other wildlife including dragonflies, insects and birds whilst enabling developers and local authorities to deliver on their investment and home-building ambitions.”

The next round of applications is now open for landowners interested in making space on their land for pond creation. Applications must come from within the Natural England target areas. Ponds also must conform to Natural England’s design specifications for size, depth and profile.

Successful applications will receive funding of up to £2,700 per pond to cover the full costs of pond creation/restoration and include support and advice from the Council’s Total Environment Team.

To find out more information on the DLL scheme and to nominate a site within the borough of Cheshire West and Chester please contact Joe Gough via email joe.gough@cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk

The DLL scheme was set up as an alternative to traditional great crested newt licensing and is funded by developer contributions where planning applications fall within identified zones potentially impacting upon the species.

DLL schemes are now available across 155 districts. The approach was initially piloted by Natural England in partnership with Woking Borough Council and then working with local authorities across Cheshire and Kent.

13 May 2021

Journeys on Cheshire West and Chester Council’s e-scooters trial in Chester city centre have clocked up 64,191 miles – more than enough to travel two and a half times around the Earth.*

The Council, in partnership with e-scooter provider Ginger, launched a 12-month trial in December 2021, as part of a Department for Transport (DfT) initiative to encourage greener travel methods.

Now the scheme is being expanded with the 40 available e-scooters soon to become 100 across the city, with over 20 new additional dockless parking bays added to improve access at various locations including Sealand Road Park & Ride.

The new e-scooters will include the upgraded 2.3 model, which incorporates an internal tracking device rather than an external one. They have a dual kickstand rather than single stand to improve stability when stationary, and a tougher rear fender, among other vehicle improvements.

In supporting the successful expansion, Ginger working in partnership with local business Dandy’s Nationwide Landscape Supplies Ltd, now provides secure storage, the latest solar panels and Tesla battery charging facilities to power and recharge the escooter fleet. This means that every scoot across the City of Chester on a Ginger rental e-scooter is now 100 per cent powered by the sun.

The pay-as-you-go scooters are hired via a mobile app, that already has 5,810 registered local users who have taken an average of 15 rides each.

The Council’s Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Environment, Highways and Strategic Transport, Councillor Karen Shore said: “Our escooter trial offers cleaner, efficient and more affordable travel for local communities, complementing the Council’s wider transport initiatives. As lockdown restrictions are hopefully eased in the future the e-scooters will also help visitors explore our many attractions, supporting the city centre economy.

“The e-scooters have proved to be most popular with residents from Garden Lane who have made 2,287 journeys, followed by White Friars 1,473 journeys and then Chester Bus Interchange with 1,028 journeys followed closely by Chester Railway Station with 1,018 journeys.

Councillor Matt Bryan, Cabinet Member for the Climate Emergency explained: “E-scooters offer a healthier, more environmentally friendly alternative to using the car for shorter journeys and will also help tackle air pollution. Since the launch it has been calculated that all these escooter journeys across the city have saved around 18,836 Kg of CO₂ had those journeys been done in a petrol or diesel car.”

The scooters will not move unless unlocked by a valid driving licence holder, they will cut out if taken into a location that is not approved for their use and there is a speed limiter.

Ginger manages the e-scooters in Chester and full details, FAQs and location maps for the Chester scheme are available on their website. Users will need to download the Ginger Shared Transport App from the Google Play Store or Apple App Store. The e-scooters cost £2 per 20 minutes of journey time and 50p per 10 minutes of pausing time.

A few of Ginger’s customer comments:

Scooters will continue to charge their user until they are parked properly in a designated e-scooter parking area and the user has ended the ride on the app.

Anyone hiring e-scooters with Ginger needs to be aged 18 or over, with a valid driving licence (full or provisional) or a motorcycle licence. It is a criminal offence to hire the e-scooter for someone else.

21 April 2021

Cheshire West and Chester Council has confirmed that new electric vehicle charging points will be available soon across the borough.

From mid-May, new facilities will open to allow residents and visitors to charge their electric vehicles in more locations, especially in areas where residents have no off-street parking.

An Electric Charging Hub has been created in Ellesmere Port. At the Council’s Canalside Operations Depot up to 28 Council electric vehicles will be able to fully charge overnight and a further pair of rapid chargers will be available at the Canal & River Trust’s National Waterways Museum in Ellesmere Port (Boat Museum). These will give a full charge in as little as half an hour. As well as servicing the Council’s electric fleet, the Waterways Museum chargers will also be available for use by local businesses.

From mid-May, drivers of electric vehicles will also be able to recharge their cars using two dual-socket fast GeniePoint chargers, installed and managed by ENGIE EV Solutions at each of the following car parks:

Bishop Street Car Park - Chester

Brook Street Car Park - Chester

Shrewsbury Road Car Park - Ellesmere Port

Moor Lane Car Park - Frodsham

Chester Road Car Park - Neston

Park Street Car Park - Northwich

These chargers are sited in car parks close to areas where residents lack off-street parking. The cost of charging an EV will be keenly priced to encourage people to make the switch.

The Council’s Director of Environment and Communities, Maria Byrne said: “The charging points have been installed and will be connected to a power supply ready for use around mid-May.”

“The rapid chargers at the Boat Museum are in a prime position for use by businesses along the M53 and our facilities in car parks can benefit both residents with no private driveway to install their own charging facilities, as well as shoppers and visitors.”

The project has been delivered by Council company Qwest Services in partnership with leading Energy specialist, ENGIE, using funding from the Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) and a Government Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV) grant, along with match funding from the Council.

31 March 2021

Spring has arrived, signs of warmer days to come are already here, and Chester West and Chester Council has seen an increase in requests from residents wanting to get involved and help give the borough a spring clean.

From this week, groups of six are now able to volunteer together and meet up to carry out socially-distanced litter-picking activities in the borough. Individuals, households, or childcare bubbles can also carry out litter-picking if they would like to make a difference in their community.

Litter-pickers, bags, high vis vests are available for hire, along with a supply of dog poo bags, via the Your Streets team in the Council’s StreetCare Service.

The Council’s Head of Environmental Services, Mark Brazil said: “The arrival of spring is a very welcome milestone this year, as we all look forward to better days to come. The Council is incredibly grateful to anyone who wants to give up some of their time to help give the borough a spring clean. We are all spending most of our time in our own communities and this has seen in increase in residents wanting to get involved to make a difference to their area. It is important that everyone follows the current guidance and ensures their volunteering is socially distanced.

“Looking ahead we are planning to relaunch our Love Your Streets campaign and would love to hear from anyone who would like to be a Your Streets Champion – someone who would like to co-ordinate regular clean ups or litter-picking events in their communities as lockdown is eased and larger groups are able to take part.

“If you would like to hire some litter-picking equipment or become a Your Streets Champion later this year, please contact us on the Your Streets team on yourstreets@cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk.”

23 March 2021

More than 14,500 Cheshire West and Chester residents have given their views on Cheshire West and Chester Council’s proposed waste strategy.

Their feedback will now shape how the Council delivers waste and recycling services over the next 10 years.

The ‘Don’t let your future go to waste’ consultation which launched in January, has now closed.

The consultation described the current waste service in the borough, shared the challenges and opportunities the Council faces over the next 10 years and asked for feedback on proposed key priorities for the new Waste Strategy.

The scope of the consultation included the household waste and recycling collection service, and the way in which the non-recycled waste is processed.

Future proposals seek to address how the borough can continue to reduce the amount of waste it produces and encourage greater recycling.

The Council’s Director of Environment and Communities, Maria Byrne said: “To receive more than 14,500 responses to our consultation is wonderful and I’d like to thank everyone who took the time to complete our survey and give their views.

“We are preparing a new strategy to ensure that our vision and priorities reflect the needs of our communities, are aligned to emerging national plans and policies, as well as helping to address the climate emergency.”

All feedback will now be carefully considered and results will be published on the Council’s website ahead of bringing a recommended Waste Strategy for final approval by the Council in July 2021.

17 March 2021

The Leader of Cheshire West and Chester Council has today (Wednesday, 17 March) welcomed news of a £72m decarbonisation funding boost to create thousands of new jobs and place the borough at the centre of the country’s green industrial revolution.

The HyNet North West hydrogen and carbon capture storage project has secured funding from the government and from the project's consortium, to help transform the North West region into the world’s first low carbon industrial cluster.

The funding will also support Cheshire West and Chester’s aim to achieve ‘net zero’ greenhouse gas emissions by 2045.

West Cheshire forms a central element of the North West Industrial Cluster, which contains the largest concentration of advanced manufacturing and chemical production in the UK.

Under the plans, HyNet North West will begin to transform natural gas into low carbon hydrogen at the Essar Stanlow by 2025. This clean energy source will be piped across the region to power industry, provide fuel for public transport and commercial vehicles, generate electricity and heat homes.

The project is a collaboration between locally-based partners Progressive Energy, Cadent, CF Fertilisers, Eni UK, Essar, Hanson, INOVYN (part of the INEOS Group) and the University of Chester.

By 2030 HyNet North West will have cut carbon dioxide emissions by up to 10 million tonnes a year. The project should create more than 6,000 new jobs and protect many existing manufacturing jobs in the region. In total, HyNet North West will help to support 75,000 jobs across the country by 2035.

Cheshire West and Chester Council has shown a strong commitment to protecting the environment. In 2019 the council declared a Climate Emergency, recognising the need to act in line with world-wide agreement on climate change and agreeing to play a leading role on the issue. Since then the Council has been working with partners, climate experts, local groups and businesses to understand the challenges and opportunities presented by the Climate Change agenda.

Part of the Council’s response includes the Carbon Management Plan, which sets out how it will reduce emissions across Council services overthe next 10 years to be carbon neutral by 2030.

Today’s funding announcement comes hot on the heels of news that the Council has secured £5.8m from the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme.

The scheme provides grant funding for energy efficiency and heat decarbonisation measures across the public sector, targeting non-domestic buildings in England, as well as supporting green investment initiatives.

In welcoming the HyNet funding announcement, Council leader, Cllr Louise Gittins, said: “Cheshire West and Chester has an ambition to be at the heart of the UK’s leading decarbonisation cluster, and export skills and knowledge nationally and internationally to support global action on climate change. It has a unique collection of natural assets and technical expertise to make that a reality. The HyNet North West project is comprehensively supported by regional leaders as a means to address carbon emissions, which are among the highest in the country. This exciting and world-leading project is essential for retaining our economically vital industry which employs over 340,000 highly skilled people in our region, the most of any part of the UK. At the same time, it will create thousands of new green jobs here and across the country.”

David Parkin, Director of Progressive Energy and HyNetNW Project Director said: “We know we cannot reach net zero without decarbonising industry. HyNet North West is a game-changing project of strategic importance. It is uniquely developed to be low-cost and deliverable and will begin decarbonising the north west by 2025.

“Through the production of low carbon hydrogen and the capturing, and storing, of carbon dioxide, it offers a once-in-a-generation opportunity to create real change in how we produce and use our energy, establishing a cleaner world for future generations. It will unlock a low carbon future economy in North West England and North Wales, not only reducing emissions but also creating and safeguarding jobs. We are pleased to be working with Government on making the Green Industrial Revolution a reality.”