Share your views on the proposals for Communities, Environment and Economy
The ‘Unprecedented Times’ budget consultation has now closed. Thank you to everyone who took part. Your feedback has made a difference by helping to shape the Council budget. A copy of the feedback report is available here. The Council budget and services were discussed by Council on 20 February 2020. Information about the meeting is available here. |
The Council provides a range of services that focus on communities, environment and economy. For example, maintaining roads, managing planning applications, licensing premises, collecting household waste, maintaining public spaces, supporting local economic growth and engaging with local communities.
Our key priorities, particularly as we move forward from COVID-19, are to grow our local economy and deliver good jobs with fair wages for our residents, and address the climate emergency.
We have developed a number of proposals to balance the budget and ensure there is enough money to tackle these priorities.
We want to hear:
- Your views on the budget proposals
- Ideas for further savings that could be made.
To find out more please watch our animation or read about the detailed communities, environment and economy proposals here.
Share your views:
There are lots of ways you can get involved, just click on one of the tabs below.
An easy read survey will be available shortly.
This consultation will be open until 3 December 2020.
Further information
-
Unprecedented Times Feedback Report (pdf format) (645 KB) (pdf)
-
Unprecedented Times full document (PDF version) (1.01 MB) (pdf)
-
Unprecedented Times easy read survey (PDF format) (7.77 MB) (pdf)
-
Communities, Environment and Economy detailed proposals (accessible format)
-
Glossary of terms used in the budget proposals (accessible format)
-
Unprecedented times - foreword and financial context (accessible format)
It has only very recently come to light that £13 million of Section 106 money received from developers has not been used and remains in the Council's budget. At a time of great need why has this not been used? It has been reported that Cheshire West and Chester Council has already sold more than £100 million of assets, important public buildings, public parks, and public farms, and the budget plan shows that more sales, to raise capital for 'development', are part of the overall plan. How has the money raised so far been spent? How long can this.. sales of parks and public farms..be endured by the communities of Cheshire West and Chester? Maria
How much have all the changes to Grosvenor bridge cost?
Why haven’t you funded free parking for Chester over Christmas? Shoppers will simply go elsewhere out of time and local businesses really need all the support they can get.
Why have you funded an increase in road capacity on A51 by Stamford Bridge only to reduce it at Boughton? Seems like a waste of money as both projects contradict the other on the same road.
Was hasn’t any of the tranche 2 active travel fund been allocated to chester?
What are the council doing to support those looking to cycle and walk rather than use public transport options due to the pandemic? Only seen investment in Bus Lanes when we need proper infrastructure.
When are you going to find proper cycling infrastructure and not bus lanes for Chester?
During the first lockdown I Cycled down the A41 it was the most terrible Experience
I have ever had when are you going to make the road safer for cycles and pedestrians
By creating safe cycle provision
We need to reduce the number of vehicles entering the city by properly funding Active travel proposals.
As you know the health of the people is directly related to the the Air that they breathe.
Which makes people more at risk from COVID
Has the council considered investment in public bike rental options to encourage more use of cycling?
Why has no investment been made in EV infrastructure for Chester to encourage for use it green transport options?
Could investment not be made in lighting for the greenway and towpath so these safe off road connected routes can be used properly in the Winter months to support the climate emergency?
The council has declared a climate energy but there is a severe lack of investment in areal active travel infrastructure to support it. Why aren’t the council investing in proper joined up and safe cycling infrastructure for Chester rather than unconnected and pointless bus lanes?
Public transport provision in the south of the county along the A41 and A51 corridors is particularly poor and lacks real investment. Yet the council are effectively punishing those people who have to travel along Boughton to enter the city by reducing road capacity to “force change”. Why haven’t the council either invested in public transport or cycling infrastructure for this areas or if this isn’t impossible return the already depleted road capacity to these users?
The A41 corridor from Christleton to Malpas is suffering from a complete lack of investment with a poor state of the carriageway including pot holes, blocked drains and poor surface quality almost along that whole length of road. The patchwork completed last winter have all but come loose or reappeared. This is such an important economic route, why hasn’t the council invested in it to bring it up to date?
Little investment has been made by the council in walking infrastructure for Chester with crumbling pavements particularly around Grosvenor Bridge and Boughton. The council seems happy to keep changing and adding cycle lanes and cones to the highway. Why haven’t the pavements been invested in as this is a key part of the climate emergency. There has been too much focus on cycling and not enough on walking infrastructure.
Has funding been allocated to Bridgegate which have been closed for a number of years with unsightly orange barriers. Why has nothing been done or allocated to fix the problem?
What work has been carried out fixing the city walls and why does little progress appear to have been made? The walls are a major tourist attraction and deserve proper investment to secure them for the future.
How much if the contingency budget for tranche 1 of the emergency active travel fund have actually been spent? If there is over spend how is this being funded?
How much was actually spent on each if the projects in tranche 1 of the Emergency Active Travel Fund? If there are any differences from the estimates in the application can you explain why?