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Written by Super User

Category: News

Published: 28 October 2024

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Celebrating 30 years of The Mersey Forest The Mersey Forest is celebrating a milestone anniversary 30 years after the first forest plan was developed for the area. Partners and friends of the forest came together recently at the University of Chester to celebrate the occasion and reflect on how the Mersey Forest partnership has been instrumental in transforming the landscape of Merseyside and Cheshire. Over the last three decades, the area’s Community Forest has planted nearly 10 million trees, created 600km of accessible pathways through 10,000 hectares of thriving habitat, brought in over £150 million of external funding and delivered the award-winning Natural Health Service. Read more about The Mersey Forest’s work

Residents urged to sign up for group solar buying scheme ahead of November deadline The date for people to join the latest round of Solar Together Cheshire has been extended until Friday, 15 November 2024. Residents and businesses can register for free for the group-buying scheme by providing some simple information about their property.  Over 3,300 people have registered so far for the scheme, which provides the option of purchasing solar panels with optional battery storage and EV charge points at a competitive price. Find out more about Solar Together and register £5 billion investment confirmed for Cheshire and North West industries The Council has welcomed the news that the government has given a major decarbonisation project in the region the go ahead. The HyNet project will help to unlock the decarbonisation of industry in the area, providing employment opportunities, whilst helping to reduce carbon emissions in the borough. The project will secure £5 billion of private sector capital to enable re-industrialisation of the region and help local companies compete in international low carbon markets. Read more about the investment announcement Tips for making your home more energy efficient With energy bills remaining high, many of us are looking for ways to power our homes and keep them warm and cosy in the most cost effective way. Read our latest article on the Energy for Everyone hub for tips and advice on simple steps to make your home more energy efficient this winter. The article also includes a list of schemes available in the area to help eligible homeowners make improvements to their home. Read the full article Minister for Nature visits community forest projects Mary Creagh MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, who has responsibility for tree planting, forestry and domestic biodiversity, visited several woodland sites in The Mersey Forest when visiting the area recently. The visit, hosted by England’s Community Forests (ECF) and Cheshire West and Chester Council, provided the opportunity to highlight the work of ECF and their partners and see the difference that woodland and access to nature can make to an area and its communities. Read more about the visit   ECO4 Flex scheme to help improve inefficient homes Grant Store have been appointed to help deliver the Council’s ECO4 Flex scheme, which will help to reduce the carbon emissions of some of the borough’s most inefficient homes. The national ECO4 scheme offers insulation and clean-heat technology to eligible homes, helping to reduce energy bills and improve thermal comfort for residents’ health and wellbeing. To be eligible residents must have a low household income or a qualifying health condition and a property Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of Band E, F or G. Find out more on the Council’s home energy webpage Energy efficiency café for landlords Cheshire West and Chester Council is working with Pure Leapfrog retrofit team, who support landlords to provide clean powered and cosy homes, to put on an energy efficiency session at Garden Social café in the Garden Quarter, Chester. The session, which is taking place on Friday, 1 November between 1pm-3.30pm, will provide landlords with the opportunity to learn about energy efficiency in rental homes, with the option of taking up a free retrofit assessment of their property.  Find out more about the drop-in sessions More Council pledges to support local community projects through the Cheshire West Crowd The Council has handed out more than £71,000 as part of the latest funding round on the Cheshire West Crowd. Projects have been pitching to the Council for funding through the Community Innovation Fund and Climate Change Emergency Fund, with projects including a fruit garden in Little Sutton, an Eco Park in the Neston area and a number of projects looking to install energy saving measures on community buildings. Whilst some projects have hit their crowdfunding targets others are still calling on the support of local communities.  Read about the latest projects and how to back them Council asks for views on active travel proposals for Northwich The Council is asking for people’s views on updated plans for two routes to boost active travel in Northwich town centre. This project aims to create safer and more accessible routes for walking, cycling or wheeling from Northwich railway station to the town centre. A public engagement exercise on the project took place late last year, with the feedback being used to create the detailed designs. Two routes were proposed and the intention is to deliver both. The deadline for responses for both routes is Wednesday, 30 October 2024.  Find out more about the project and how to share your views First Chester repair café held The first ever Chester Repair Café was held in Hoole this month on International Repair Café Day. Organised by Friends of the Earth (Chester and District) the session brought together skilled volunteers who helped residents repair a range of items, breathing new life into household appliances that may have ended up in landfill. Thanks to donations from the public and Cheshire West Crowd, the area’s crowd funding platform, enough funding has been secured to run the Repair Café for 12 months. The next session will take place on Saturday, 16 November Read more about the Chester Repair Café

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Written by Super User

Category: News

Published: 28 September 2024

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Council’s libraries service all set for Green Libraries Week National libraries week is taking place between 7 and 13 October with the theme “Every Library is a Green Library.” The Council’s library service is taking part by hosting coffee mornings or an afternoon tea where people can drop-in and chat with experts about energy saving tips, including the Council’s Climate Change Team. There will also be a chance to have your favourite worn clothing repaired or learn how to do it yourself with the “Pop-up Patchers” group.  Find out more about the events taking place at your local library

Council is one of three in the country to boost active travel rating The Council has been recognised for its ambition to plan and deliver projects to boost walking, wheeling and cycling in the borough. Active Travel England (ATE), the governments executive agency responsible for making walking, wheeling and cycling the preferred choice for everyone to get around, has announced that the Council has increased its Active Travel Capability rating from a Level 1 to Level 2. The Council is one of only eight councils in the country to move up a level, and one of just three that will move up to Level 2. Read more about the rating Community apple pressing day to take place at Westminster Park Incredible Edibles and Friends of Westminster Park are hosting a community apple pressing day on Sunday, 29 September 2024. The team will be set up outside the café at Westminster Park, Chester ready to turn apples in to juice. Residents are invited to come along with their apples and a container so that they can take home the juice to enjoy.  Find out more about the event Use pedal power for Cycle to School Week 2024 The Council has been asking schools across the borough to make a ‘pledge to pedal’ this Cycle to School week (23 – 27 September). The annual, nationwide initiative highlights the many benefits of cycling to school, from improved health to reduced carbon footprint. The Council’s Road Safety team works closely with Bikeright to ensure everyone has the training they need to take to pedal power, from sessions for schools to free family training or adult training. Find out more about Cycle to School week and the training available Thousands of people register for latest round of Solar Together scheme Over 2,300 people across Cheshire and Warrington have signed up for the latest round of the Solar Together scheme. Cheshire residents can join the group-buying scheme, which offers solar panels with optional battery storage and EV charge points, as well as retrofit battery storage for residents who have already invested in solar panels and are looking to get more from the renewable energy they generate. If you are interested in receiving a no obligation quote, sign up before the 18 October deadline.  Find out more and sign up today Funding still available for energy efficiency improvements through Council’s Home Upgrade Grant scheme If you live in an inefficient home which is not heated by mains gas and have a household income of less than £36,000 gross per year, or are on a qualifying benefit, you may be eligible to apply for the Council’s Home Upgrade Grant. Grants are fully-funded for eligible homeowners.  Private rental landlords with an eligible tenant can also apply, though a contribution is required by the landlord. Queries can be directed to: homeupgradegrant@cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk Find out more about the scheme and how to apply Chester Green Expo Youth Conference and Careers Fair Chester Green Expo are hosting a Youth Conference and Careers Fair in Chester on Friday, 8 November,10am - 4pm, during Green Careers Week. The event is suitable for students from secondary schools, academies and colleges. Workshops from the University of Chester and Chester Zoo will take place in the morning followed by a discussion on green skills and pathways in the afternoon, where students can ask a panel of experts questions. Then, there will be time to find out more about the growing range of green careers from Cheshire based employers.  Find out more about the event and how your school or college can sign up Understanding what industrial decarbonisation means to local people Enterprise Cheshire and Warrington, which support economic growth in the region, is working with public, private and voluntary organisations on a project to better understand the views of residents and businesses on industrial decarbonisation projects in the area. The first step of this project is to run a series of focus groups to gauge understanding and sentiment about ideas like industrial decarbonisation and net zero. If you are interested in getting involved get in touch with them by Friday, 4 October. Find out more about the focus groups and how to sign up New solar-powered ‘Duck Feeder’ installed at Sandy Lane Park An innovative, solar-powered duck feeder, has been installed at Sandy Lane Park in Chester thanks to the Feed Ducks Initiative and support from the Friends of Sandy Lane group. The new feeder is designed to promote responsible duck feeding by dispensing a special mix of food that is healthy for the duck and discourages the harmful practice of feeding ducks bread, which can make them ill and pollute the water. Find out more about the new duck feeder Gladstone Village Hall in Burton goes green with solar power Gladstone Village Hall is embracing renewable energy technology with the installation of a new solar photovoltaic system. The project, funded by a generous grant from FCC Communities Foundation and Gladstone Village Hall, will allow the popular community venue to significantly reduce its carbon footprint and operating costs. An unveiling ceremony to celebrate this environmental achievement will take place on Friday 18 October at 3pm, where there will be a talk by the installers and a few words from Samantha Dixon, MP and Cllr Louise Gittins. Read more about the solar project in Burton Term starts back with climate change career talks from HyNet HyNet, the project focused on decarbonising industry across the North West and North Wales, has reached a milestone in its school support outreach as their education outreach programme has reached over 1,000 young people across the region. The visits to local schools included interactive workshops on glorious gases, carbon foot printing, solar and wind power testing and presentations, aimed at sparking interest in science, technology, engineering, and maths (STEM) subjects. Read more about the school outreach programme

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Written by Super User

Category: News

Published: 01 October 2024

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Each week of the year Christians in Kingsley pray specially for people in a different area of the village and its surroundings.

During October we think of, and pray for people living in: -

W/c Oct 6th Bradley
W/c Oct 13th Brookside
W/c Oct 20th Lower Brookside and Well Lane
W/c Oct 27th Hollow Lane and St John's School

We invite you to add your own prayers

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Written by Super User

Category: News

Published: 08 September 2024

Hits: 1985

Rising dramatically from the Cheshire Plain, the Cheshire Sandstone Ridge is a unique landscape covering 230 sq km of rolling hills and sandstone escarpments, punctuated with glacial meres and mosses  and stretching from Frodsham in the north to Malpas in the south.   The Ridge attracts thousands of visitors every year, and recently the area has been shortlisted for potential Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) status. To support the process for obtaining AONB and to provide insights into who visits the Sandstone Ridge and why, the Sandstone Ridge Trust, in partnership with the University of Chester, is currently undertaking a Visitor Survey.   (This project is funded by the UK Shared Prosperity Fund). The aim is simple – we need to get as large a sample as possible of people who visit the ridge,  but also importantly those who don’t.

The online survey takes around 5 minutes to complete, and the data gathered is entirely anonymous. Please click here to access the survey Sandstone Ridge Visitor Survey.  Deadline for completion is 30^th September 2024.

The final survey report and findings will be published in early 2025 on the Sandstone Ridge Trust Website: https://www.sandstoneridge.org.uk/