Community News: Free Tickets to Cheshire's Top Attractions - Get Yours Now!

After the success of the first release of free Resident Festival tickets to some of Cheshire and Warrington’s top attractions, hundreds more free tickets will be available to download from today (27th Feb), with another batch available on 8 March. 

The festival, taking place between 17 March – 25 March, is a way of thanking local residents for welcoming more than 62* million tourists into the county each year. The Festival coincides with VisitBritain’s English Tourism Week and is being supported by Cheshire East Council, Cheshire West & Chester Council and Warrington Borough Council.  For tickets and further information, go to visitcheshire.com/cheshireresidentsfestival.

In addition to the existing attractions, tickets are now available for the National Waterways Museum in Ellesmere Port. The museum offers interactive and virtual reality technology to help visitors experience what it would have been like to work on the waterways. The number of tickets available will vary according to the attraction and everyone applying must have either a Cheshire or Warrington postcode.

Brendan Flanagan, Head of Rural and Cultural Economy, Cheshire East Council, said: “There has been huge demand for the Resident Festival tickets and I am delighted. This is a wonderful way to celebrate the county’s tourist industry and recognise the importance of residents. Our residents make a vital contribution to what we can offer and the welcome given to visitors.

“Cheshire East has a great mix of outdoor experiences, unique events and high-quality experiences. We look forward to welcoming residents from across the county to enjoy sites like the world-famous Jodrell Bank, Nantwich Museum and the Silk Museum. Residents can also visit magnificent gardens like the Jacobean splendour of Macclesfield’s Capesthorne Hall and Gardens, the quintessentially English gardens of Arley Hall and the award-winning gardens of Tatton Park.”

“As a local resident it is sometimes easy to think that because you’ve been to an attraction some years ago, it won’t have changed.  But Our top attractions are always thinking of new ways of engaging visitors and offering new experiences. For instance, we are delighted that this January, Jodrell Bank applied for the outstanding prestigious UNESCO World Heritage Status.

Elsewhere, attractions that are opening their doors to Cheshire residents include industrial gems like the ‘Cathedral of the Canals’, the Anderton Boat Lift; Port Sunlight Museum, Congleton Museum; Tarporley’s Cotebrook Shire Horse Centre and Sandbach’s fully working pottery, the Potters Barn.

Katrina Michel, chief executive of Marketing Cheshire, said: “This is a great chance for Cheshire residents to have a great free day out and celebrate the amazing tourist attractions on our doorstep. We hope as many residents as possible join in the fun.” 

For further information contact:  Fiona Young at 01244 851867 or at f.young@marketingcheshire.co.uk

*VisitBritain/VisitEngland plays a unique role in building England’s tourism product, raising Britain’s profile worldwide, increasing the volume and value of tourism exports and developing England and Britain’s visitor economy.

Working with a wide range of partners in both the UK and overseas, its mission is to grow the volume and value of inbound tourism across the nations and regions of Britain and to develop world-class English tourism product to support our growth aspirations.

Tourism is currently worth £127 billion to Britain’s economy and as Britain’s seventh largest export industry, inbound tourism’s economic contribution is currently valued at £26.2 billion.

Out & About:

In My Free Time ...

Yay! We’ve had two days of gardening weather at last! I have been longing to get out and tidy up my garden for weeks and last weekend we set-to and blitzed and pruned almost everything. Now we have to sit tight and cross our (green) fingers and see if we have done it at the right time and amount: like my cooking, I am an experimental gardener!

I have also enjoyed my final week of a sewing evening class at Brine Leas school. I have fiddled and faffed about and am really pleased with my cushion, eight metres of bunting and wonky bag. I thoroughly recommend looking at the Brine Leas evening classes: great facilities and a super range of courses. I think Garden Design or Cookery is next on my hit list.

Nantwich Show 2018

The Nantwich Agricultural Society’s AGM took place last Monday at Dorfold Hall. About 60 people attended and heard a full summary from Michael-John Parkin and his team of volunteers. Unfortunately, gate entries were down by about 3,000 people on the day last year due to the weather, so can we all start the sun dances a bit earlier this year as I am convinced we are due a good one!

On a serious note, the Nantwich Show relies heavily on volunteers and sponsorship from local companies and I am helping to recruit both. If you can offer any kind of assistance, either in the run up to, or during the event, please get in touch via hello@redshiftonline.org or call me on 01270 440 750.

Big Day Out 2018

On Tuesday we had a Big Day Out meeting and I am delighted to say that we have some exciting news to share. This year, the family day out will take place on Sunday 29th July from 12 - 8pm and there will be lots more music in the schedule. We can also announce that the two charities who will benefit from the fundraising activities on the day are Hope House and RABI (Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution).

Once again, we are seeking volunteers and sponsors for this event and I would love to hear from you if you would like to help. We are also hosting a Big Day Out launch night, creatively called the Big Night Out at The Studio in Nantwich on Friday 8th June. More details to follow but do save the date: it's going to be a great night of live music for all to enjoy.

RedShift Radio: #ListenOnline2018

Over the last week I have interviewed Sarah Callander Beckett, the High Sheriff of Cheshire, Sarah Hunter from the Cancer Research UK’s Race for Life team and a Valentine's Day special chatting to Anabel Hannam from introductions agency Intro North West and her associate Andrea Crump who coaches women in confidence and communication skills to improve their dating success.

My favourite show of the week however had to be another of our Junior School Run Taster sessions, funded by the Baker Wynne and Wilson Community Grant we received last year. I spent a rather warm, and snug, 1.5 hours in the studio with 10 children from Pear Tree Primary School. We had a great time: I love how chatty and relaxed children are in the studio, usually after the first five minutes!

The children shared their experiences during their special STEAM week (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Maths). You can “Listen Again” to this, and most of our community radio shows via www.redshiftonline.org/listenagain.

Obituary: Peter Bebbington

I will finish by dedicating my article this week to Peter Bebbington about whom I wrote a few months ago. Sadly Peter lost his battle with cancer and was buried at St Margaret's Church in Wrenbury last Friday. It was a lovely service and so nice to hear all about Peter’s life, his achievements and his dedication to his community.

As Captain of the Tower, I think Peter would approve of my invitation on behalf of the St Margaret's Bell Ringers to anyone who may be interested in having a go at bell ringing. My fiance Michael-John would be happy to show you the ropes (literally!) and introduce you to campanology in memory of Peter. If you are interested, then please email me on hello@redshiftonline.org or call 01270 440 750.

Out & About: A Plethora of Guests on #LoveYourCommunity Month and a Shout Out for Support for CRY for Matthew

Love Your Community Month

#LoveYourCommunity has been a weekly theme at RedShift over Valentine's Day for a few years now. This year, as part of our #ListenOnline2018 campaign, we have made a whole month #LoveYourCommunity, as we believe there are hundreds of ways in which we, as a community radio station, can share and promote our superb community here in South Cheshire.

Already this month we have interviewed artists, performers, faith groups, charities, a chef, a food blogger, a pre-school, a hula-hoop instructor and a singer. We have also interviewed the Mayor of Cheshire East, Cllr Arthur Moran; the ex-Mayor of Nantwich and now Chairman of the Food Festival, Christine Farrall; the High Sheriff of Cheshire, Sarah Callander Beckett; the owner of Nantwich Bookshop & Coffee Shop, Steve Lawson; Michelle Shipman, owner of Offbeat Brewery in Crewe and Mike Lenz from the Crewe Heritage Centre.

Guests due in over the rest of our #LoveYourCommunity month include Camille Renaudon from Hibberts Solicitors, who are one of our longest supporting sponsors of both RedShift and numerous other community organisations; Peter Mascarenhas talking about the Primary School Enterprise Challenge; Chris Edwards, Dairy Trainer and new member of the team at the International Cheese Awards and Georgina Lamb, fundraising managhttps://www.mixcloud.com/RedShiftRadio/playlists/fresh/er for the RABI (Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institute).

We are also running a competition each week of February to win a Google Mini speaker so you can listen to RedShift all around your home or office just by saying “Google, play RedShift Radio”. Please visit www.redshiftonline.org/google to enter the very easy competition.

Most of our programmes are made available via our Listen Again service found via our website: www.redshiftonline.org/listenagain. Hopefully this sample of diverse guests will inspire Chronicle readers to tune in and catch some of our community programmes which are all produced and presented by volunteers.

During March we will be hosting a #BigBroadcast month, this means that instead of our live programmes starting at midday and running until 10pm, we are going to be broadcasting live for an additional five hours a day. I will be swapping my night owl habits for early starts to present a daily breakfast show and Steve and Helen will pick up the baton with a daily mid morning and lunchtime show to take up through the day.

If you would like to join me on the breakfast show (or indeed, any other shows), please call 01270 440 750 and we can book you in.

Shows at Crewe Lyceum

Last week I experienced two very different moods when leaving the same venue. On Sunday 3 Feb, I took my mum and fiance Michael-John to Crewe Lyceum Theatre to see Totally Tina, the most superb Tina Turner tribute act (MJ is a big fan!). I have to say, she was brilliant and we all thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and left the theatre on a high and singing our hearts out to Simply The Best.

Two nights later, last Tuesday, the three of us were back at the Lyceum, this time to see Birdsong, an adaptation of the WW1 story by Sebastian Faulks. This was a very powerful play that really hit home the horror of war. Needless to say, we left the theatre in a much quieter and thoughtful state than after Tina Turner!

CRY for Matthew

On Saturday night Michael-John and I ventured over to Oswestry to attend a dinner-dance in aid of CRY for Matthew, a charity that we have supported since our friends Sue & Chris Dewhirst lost their son Matthew to an undetected heart defect five years ago. We had a super evening, and although I fell off my extended “Dry January” wagon and had a few vinos, it was well worth it! I am not sure of the total raised but the raffle alone brought in £600 so that was great.

The charity is looking for corporate sponsors as well as raffle prizes for their Gala Ball to be held on Saturday 10th November at the Chester Grosvenor. If you can help in any way, please visit the website where Sue's contact details can be found.

Radio Stoke's Louise Stones on RedShift Radio

My final mention of the week goes to Louise Stones from BBC Radio Stoke who very kindly made time for our presenter Caroline Taylor-Mullington to interview her about her career in broadcasting. I gate-crashed as I had not visited Radio Stoke before and was overwhelmed with how welcome Louise and her colleagues made us. The interview on Caroline's show, Fresh, will be available very soon via the Listen Again function on our website.

Community News: Bar Mock Trial for Sir William Stanier Students

For the very first time Sir William Stanier (SWS) students have taken part in the Bar Mock Trial competition organised by The Citizenship Foundation. 

RedShift Hub Members Hibberts Solicitors kindly sponsored the school to participate in this aspirational competition where students take on the roles of barristers, ushers, clerks and jurors to recreate an authentic Crown Court trial to give them an insight into what it would be like to work within the legal profession.

A team of solicitors from Hibberts, including former SWS student Michaela Warner were joined by Barrister Philip Robson and Crewe Town Councillor, law graduate and former student, Benn Minshall to help mentor and prepare the students for their day in court. 

Students not only had to get to grips with the technicalities of the law and the complex evidence in the two cases but also had to learn how to behave as a professional clerk, usher or barrister in preparation for the regional heats of the competition which took place on December 2nd at Liverpool Crown Court.

For more information visit www.youngcitizens.org/mock-trials.

Community News: Dance and Dementia project hosts monthly tea dances

Residents at Pickmere Extra Care in Crewe are enjoying monthly tea dances led by Cheshire Dance therapist Shirley Brocklehurst. At the last dance in December, residents donned their finest outfits and Santa and Mrs Claus also took time out of their busy schedule to pay them a visit.

Some residents are reviving their dancing skills whilst others are learning new moves. A couple of residents have even been out and bought new dancing shoes. The residents are benefiting from the dances through exercising and also by having fun and socialising.

The daughter of a couple who recently moved to Pickmere and have attended all the tea dances asked staff at the last tea dance “What have you done with my parents? We couldn’t get them out of the house before but since they moved here we can’t keep them in!”

For more information, call Shirley on 07760 428 554 or email her shirley@cheshiredance.org.  More details can be found on her website cheshiredance.org
.

Community News: Cheshire East’s finances are on track ... but Council Tax set to rise

Cheshire East Council’s sound financial management is protecting frontline services and easing the pressure to find additional savings.

Cabinet today backed several key pre-budget reports that reveal the authority is on course to deliver a balanced budget in 2018-19, while protecting key frontline services and delivering on its core outcomes for residents.

It follows a pre-Budget Consultation 2018-21, launched in November, which set out initial proposals for how the council could target resources more effectively and save money – while achieving balanced finances. 

Key proposals include earmarking £2m from the New Homes Bonus scheme, to be used in our communities via a method under consideration.

Following extensive consultation, the proposed revenue budget is balanced for 2018-19 with net revenue spending of £267.9m and total capital investment of £326.1m identified over the next three years. A total of £197m is estimated to be spent over the next three years on maintaining and improving our highways network.

Cheshire East invited feedback from residents, businesses, councillors, staff, town and parish councils and other stakeholders to inform decisions. This consultation will be an ongoing process over the next three years.

As a listening authority, the council has reflected on people’s comments and amended some of its proposed savings. These include:

• Keeping all libraries open – axing proposals to close those in Alderley Edge, Disley and Prestbury;
• A reduction in the savings to be found from highways from £500,000 to £150,000; 
• Scaling back a reduction to bus route subsidies from £1.57m to £1.1m – ensuring 97 per cent of subsidised services are retained.

The latest financial reports take place against a challenging national background of an overall public sector deficit – which is being partly met by big reductions in government grants to councils – and rising demand for both adult social care and children in care.

For Cheshire East, this means expected reductions of central government grants, inflationary costs and rising demand totalling more than £70m over the next three years.

The council proposes to meet this financial challenge via a mix of tax increases and changing our service offer. The aim is to make the council financially self-sufficient by reducing its reliance on central government revenue support grant from £40m in 2015/16 to nil in 2020.

It is now proposed to increase Council Tax by 5.99 per cent to invest in essential frontline services. This would add up to £1.28 per week to the average household Council Tax bill. A Band D property bill would rise from £1,324.92 to £1,404.28 – an increase of £1.53 per week.

Importantly, three per cent of the proposed tax rise will boost services for the vulnerable elderly. It follows a similar 4.99 per cent increase in 2017 and a 3.75 per cent increase in 2016, after five years of Council Tax freeze.

Tough choices have to be made, once again, to ensure Cheshire East can target services to people who need them most. Locally funding services puts control back with local people but also comes with the responsibility to fund them in a sustainable way.

Councillor Paul Bates, Cheshire East Council Cabinet member for finance and communications, said: “These reports, backed by cabinet, outline how the council has continued to build on the achievements of recent years and maintains strong overall financial health, performance, resilience and value for money.

“This financial year presented a number of challenges for all UK local authorities, as issues such as inflation and increasing demand in care services for children and adults were compounded by falls in government funding – a funding reduction totalling £12.4m for Cheshire East. This is set to fall by a further £12.9m in 2018/19.

“In Cheshire East, the number of residents receiving care and support from adult social care is increasing by four per cent a year and the number of children in social care placements has increased by 17 per cent in the last year, in line with other councils.

“Adult social care services across the whole country experienced rising caseloads and increasing complexity of care needs, as well as rising costs from minimum wage requirements for care providers. However, these factors were particularly significant for Cheshire East, as the number of people aged over 65 is already above the national average – and is rising faster than average.

“The council’s net expenditure on adult social care services was almost £100m in 2016/17, which is equivalent to three-times the required spending on any other service area. This council will always prioritise services for vulnerable people, despite the financial challenges. But this means other services will have to deliver savings.

“Robust action is being taken across the authority to reduce budgetary pressures and ensure balanced finances – as we have successfully done in previous years. And we will be lobbying the government again to ensure future financial settlements will continue to allow us to achieve this, while protecting essential frontline services.

“We are aware, however, that local areas have differing priorities and, to support this, the budget contains a proposal to set aside £2m of revenue from the New Homes Bonus over the next two years.

“Against a backdrop of challenging circumstances, it is pleasing to note the council is set to deliver a financial outturn within 0.05 per cent of its net budget in 2017-18, in line with our forecast, with a projected overspend of just £100,000 out of a net budget of £264.8m. It is also delivering significant achievements against the council’s corporate plan and wider business plans that will help ensure Cheshire East remains a great place to live, work, visit and do business.”

Jan Willis, Cheshire East Council’s director of finance and procurement, said: “There is a fine balance between making efficiencies in services and still enabling services to meet residents’ needs. This council will continue to look for innovative ways to make every pound deliver the best outcome for local people.”

Cheshire East Council is the third-largest unitary authority in the North West, responsible for delivering more than 500 services, supporting more than 370,000 local residents.

● The budget and Council Tax for 2018-19 will be decided by a vote of elected members at the February 22 meeting of full council.

Community News: Cheshire East takes great strides to reduce bed blocking in hospitals

Cheshire East hospital patients are among the least likely to be delayed being allowed home – according to national figures.

Statistics for October 2017 put Cheshire East top out of 151 local authority areas in England for avoiding ‘bed blocking’ – the term used to describe delays to people being discharged from hospital due to a lack of suitable NHS services or social care to support patients in the community. Figures for November also ranked the authority 85th out of 151 for performing well.

Cheshire East is also bucking the regional and national trend, which saw 89 out of 151 councils missing their target for beds being ‘blocked’ due to delayed transfers of care.

The ‘top table’ performance shows Cheshire East Council and its health partners in the NHS are working well together to provide the care that people need.

Councillor Liz Wardlaw, Cheshire East Council cabinet member for health, said: “This is excellent news for patients and their families as no one wants to be in hospital longer than is absolutely necessary. These new figures highlight how health staff and our care teams are working effectively together to improve outcomes for inpatients and freeing up vital beds for those awaiting hospital care.

“This is especially important during winter – when there is increased pressure on our hospitals. However, there can be no room for complacency and we know there is still work to be done to ensure better joined-up working between hospitals and the council’s care teams to ensure hospital beds are used efficiently and effectively to be available for those most in need.

“This collaborative work with our NHS colleagues is part of our joint commitment to provide the right care in the right place at the right time. As with wider adult social care support, we know that most people want to be cared for and supported at home – where practicable – and we are working with our health partners to achieve this and give people greater choice.

“As winter continues to really pinch, we also need all members of the public to play their part in helping us achieve this, by using A&E services wisely and using alternatives, where appropriate for less serious health matters, so as not to unduly burden our under-pressure emergency teams.”

Cheshire East’s performance in the latest reports is the result of new arrangements between hospitals and other care providers for planning the discharge of patients who are likely to have ongoing care and support needs after a hospital stay.

John Wilbraham, chair of the Eastern Cheshire A&E Delivery Board and chief executive of East Cheshire NHS Trust, said: “This good national ranking is a reflection of the Cheshire East health and social care systems working together to provide improved services for people.

“For advice on warding off winter ailments and choosing the right care at the right time, visit www.easterncheshireccg.nhs.uk and search for ‘stay well this winter’.”

Tracy Bullock, chief executive of Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and chair of the Central Cheshire A&E Delivery Board, said: “Teams at Leighton Hospital have been working incredibly hard alongside local partners to ensure our patients do not stay in hospital for longer than they need to. As a result, our delayed transfers of care (DToC) rate has recently been the lowest it has ever been and at one stage was the best in the country.

“It’s pleasing to see the success of this collaborative working and, more importantly, that it is benefitting patients.”

Targets for reducing DToCs were introduced this year by the Department of Health and Department for Communities and Local Government to encourage the NHS and local government to work better together to reduce the number of people remaining in hospital because of health-related or social-care related delays.

Each month, local authorities receive their ranking regarding health and social care partner working together to reduce DToCs. Cheshire East was ranked top in October and 35th in September.

More information about staying well this winter can be found on the council’s website under Winter Wellbeing at: www.cheshireeast.gov.uk/livewell

Community News: Invitation to Consultation Event - Transport for the North, Strategic Transport Plan

Earlier this month, Cheshire East Council launched its draft Strategic Transport Plan, which sets out how they want to drive economic growth and create a more successful North through improving transport connections.

For the first time, the North is speaking with one voice on what is a transformational vision for the region. To ensure that the Plan continues to meet the needs of everyone across the North, there will now be a 13-week public consultation.

Members of the local community are invited to a consultation event in Crewe on Monday 19 February where you can find out more about the recommendations and provide feedback that will influence the final Plan before it is submitted to Government later this year.

Strategic Transport Plan Consultation event – Crewe
(Crewe Alexandra Stadium)

February 19 @ 4:00 pm - 7:00 pm

Crewe Alexandra Stadium, Gresty Road, Crewe, CW2 6EB

For more information about the event and to register visit the consultation event website.

A full list of events and more information on the consultation are available here. Please do register your details via the website to be kept up-to-date.  If you have any questions, please do get in touch.

Community News: Half Term Workshops Plus for Children at Nantwich Museum

Half Term Workshops for children themed on the forthcoming exhibition "The Face of Nantwich" will take place at Nantwich Museum on Wednesday 21 and Thursday 22 February. It's an opportunity for children to enjoy a variety of crafts, quizzes etc. 

All workshops are drop in any time between 11.00 am and 3.00 pm. The cost is £2.00 per child who must be accompanied. Large groups are requested to book in advance.

Also, for the holiday the museum will be launching "Exploring Nantwich - a town trail for all the family". There will be a charge of £2.00 per family to cover costs.

For further information Nantwich Museum on 01270 627104, enquiries@nantwichmuseum.org.uk, www.nantwichmuseum.org.uk, 
www.facebook.com/nantwich.museumoffical, Twitter: @NantwichMuseum