Your ideas for building a stronger future

I think stronger integrated system between Health and Social Care with more input from people with lived experience in both Health and care

More green spaces in the city. Could each new development be obliged to include plants, trees etc?

Invest in renewable energy and energy efficiency

CWaC has invested in LED street lights and that is to be commended. There are many more opportunities to invest in conservation of energy use, which is hugely cost effective when compared with generating more. There are also opportunities for the Council and private sector to install renewable energy, and facilitating this should be a priority. CWaC should also invest in renewable elsewhere than with the CWaC region.

You have declared climate change an emergency, so treat it like one.

We are running out of time to prevent warming of over 2 degrees. Some effects of this would include over 90% of corals bleaching and pacific islands such as the Maldives and Nauru rendered uninhabitable by rising sea levels. This council has a responsibility not only to take immediate action by helping make it possible for people in Cheshire West live more responsibly and sustainably but to promote this and, alongside the youth senate, get other local authorities on board. This pandemic has shown that councils are capable of responding to disasters quickly, the climate must be treated the same. Also, using solar panels to at least partially power schools is a brilliant idea and something the council should try to roll out as quickly as possible.

Green Building

The Council has built 4K+ new homes in the last 5 years with almost no green features. Stop wasting opportunities to build with green options like solar, ground source, water capture, shared highways. Innovate to put a green score on building

Establish a new Working Group to map out realistic local living costs and examine what constitutes quality and sustainable employment.

This group could sit within the Poverty Truth Advisory Board, assess what the support/resource needs may be in identifying opportunities within the private sector but also with regards to Council contract renewal in re-shaping the local economy alongside dedicated Eco-Community Co-Op Hubs. Community-ownership, particularly forms based on flatter pay structures such as http://belfastcleaningsociety.com, can play their part in providing a meaningful route out of the crisis of low income and are an extremely positive, empowering means of galvanising local people within low income communities around shared projects that address local need. They have potential to re-build participation, confidence and viable incomes in more environmentally sustainable ways.

Concentrate on environmental issues - look forward for future generations

Allow grass verges to grow and invest in wild flower seeds rather than mowing them down. This will encourage insect and birds to thrive. Rotherham Council have planted 8 miles of wild flower verges saving £25K in mowing costs!

Provide more cycle racks in parks, town centres and all car parks to increase cycle use..

Marbury Maid

Provide dedicated spaces in low income communities to bolster against the economic and health crises

These could be low-cost eco-builds that provide a base for communities to increase their knowledge and confidence in tackling the issues that directly affect them, inviting in expertise to help explore and implement solutions to the crisis that best meet the new and evolving needs of the community in relation to low income, climate, health, hunger, education, democratic voice, tackling anti-social behaviour and community safety etc. They could be managed by communities and be a home for resident-led, council and partner-supported community wealth-building, rather than part of an ‘outreach’ service.

Graveyards

Our graveyard at St Laurence Church is closed and adopted by Cheshire West. Frequent concerns are expressed about its tidiness and grass length. Is it possible that local people could be encouraged to work with Cheshire West rather than being reliant on them? Could the insurance be sorted to allow that to happen?

More supported volunteering

The Council needs to invest more in volunteer organisers, for example Green Space Rangers so that more volunteer hours can be effectively managed. This will have the added benefit of reducing demand on health and social care are members of the community will also have improved health and wellbeing

Just do something

One of the better aspects of the pandemic has been people looking out for neighbours and offering help. Sometimes we can all be too backwards at asking for, or offering help from friends and neighbours. So many things that sounds small add up to bigger things. We can't all do eveything, but we should all try to: support local shops, restaurants, cafes and pubs, vote, give blood, recycle, home compost, walk or cycle short journeys, pick up some roadside litter ocasionally, talk to people, join a local group or society and so on.