All information is correct at the time of publication. For details of any changes or amendments to the Festival arrangements and schedule please refer to the organisers own website as per the supplied link and the individual venues taking part.
Volunteering is an excellent way of meeting new people, expanding your skills and knowledge and gaining valuable experience for the future. If you have existing expertise that you can share, volunteering is an invaluable means to improve your community and give your time to worthwhile activities and groups.
Working in partnership with the Cheshire East Community Development team and local organisations, we will post all the upcoming opportunities as they arise.
If your organisation has a new volunteering opportunity you would like to promote or if you are interested in volunteering in your local area, please email: clerk@middlewich.org.uk for more information.
Now internationally famous, with guest appearances on numerous TV shows and programmes, Jackie Weaver heads a small dedicated team at Cheshire Association for Local Councils. She holds key responsibility for delivering training and promoting the interests of town and parish councils within the Cheshire, Warrington and Halton area.
Jackie’s key skills are providing face to face; telephone and e-mail advice and guidance to member councils and also provides key areas of support as a professional counsellor and qualified mediator.
Throughout February and early March, Jackie is holding a series of Webinars about what it takes to become a Local Councillor. if you are interested contact:
sharonanguscrawshaw@chalc.org.uk or nikkiroberts@chalc.org.uk indicating your preferred date/time
Cheshire East Council’s election team will host a number of briefing sessions for potential borough, town and parish council candidates.
Seven sessions relating to borough council elections and seven separate sessions for town and parish council elections will be held at locations across the borough during February and March.
This is due to elections being held on Thursday 4 May for all 82 borough council seats and for all contested town and parish councils in Cheshire East. For the first time, photo ID will be needed to cast your vote in person. You do not need photo ID to vote by post.
Nominations for the elections close at 4pm on 4 April – meaning all paperwork and other documentation must be submitted and approved by that date.
Anyone seeking to stand as a candidate in the May elections is urged to attend one of these briefing sessions:
All briefing sessions start at 5.30pm for borough candidates and at 7pm for town and parish candidates except for the briefing on Sunday 26 February, when the briefing for borough will start at 2pm and the town and parish will start at 4pm.
Returning Officer Lorraine O’Donnell, who is chief executive of Cheshire East Council, said: “I would urge all potential candidates to attend one of these briefing sessions as there will be important information we need to give relating to these elections, the process for nominations, protocols and legal rules. Nomination packs and other relevant paperwork will also be available for collection at the briefings.
“It is important that all paperwork for candidates is completed correctly, prior to the deadline for nominations, to avoid any difficulties that could prevent a candidate from standing.
“The council’s friendly and efficient electoral services’ staff will be able to offer advice to candidates on the paperwork that they need to complete.”
The briefings will include important information including:
Due to limited space, it is important that potential candidates contact Cheshire East Council’s elections team to reserve their place as soon as possible. They should telephone 01270 685922 or email: electoral.information@cheshireeast.gov.uk
This will enable the team to ensure they have the relevant documents available for you to collect at the briefings.
Anyone who wants to have their say in the local elections in May must also be registered to vote. It only takes five minutes to register online at: gov.uk/register-to-vote
Anyone registered to vote, who does not have one of the accepted forms of ID required by the new government legislation, can apply for free ID online via the gov.uk website before 25 April, or by completing a paper form.
ENDS
Photo captions:
1) Lorraine O’Donnell, Returning Officer and chief executive of Cheshire East Council
2) Ballot box image
Media and Reputation Manager: Tim Oliver
Mobile: 07879 117185
Email: tim.oliver@cheshireeast.gov.uk
Click on the following link to find out where other Warm HUB’s have been set up across the Cheshire East area:
FIND A WARM HUB IN CHESHIRE EAST
Could your venue become a Warm HUB? Click on the following link:
HOW TO BECOME A WARM PLACE IN YOUR COMMUNITY
Ofgem is Great Britain’s independent energy regulator. They work to protect energy consumers, especially vulnerable people, by ensuring they are treated fairly and benefit from a cleaner, greener environment.
A range of information is available on their website which will give you advice about your options, rights and other organisations that can help:
Getting Help If You Cannot Afford Your Heating Bills
The Citizens Advice has put together a comprehensive set of information and links which provide details of the help available including vouchers, Winter Fuel Payments, links to the main energy suppliers and available grants etc. Click on the header below to go direct to the link:
Middlewich Town Council and Cheshire East Council are introducing a new monthly service to complement the weekly existing Warm HUB facility which occurs every Wednesday in the Victoria Hall between 3pm and 5pm. From the 18th January, a number of organisations will be offering their help on a wide range of subjects once a month.
For the first time, residents in Cheshire East will need to show photographic ID to vote at this year’s local elections.
Residents are being urged to make sure they are ready to vote in May by checking they have an accepted form of ID.
Accepted forms of ID include a UK, European Economic Area (EEA) or Commonwealth passport; a UK, EEA or Commonwealth drivers’ licence; and some concessionary travel passes, such as an older person’s bus pass or an Oyster 60+ card. Voters will be able to use expired ID if they are still recognisable from the photo.
Anyone who does not have one of the accepted forms of ID will be able to apply for free ID online via the gov.uk website, or by completing a paper form.
The full list of accepted ID is available on the Electoral Commission’s website, along with more information about the new requirement and details of how to apply for the free ID, at: electoralcommission.org.uk/voterID.
Middlewich Town Council, in conjunction with the The Graham Fulford Charitable Trust are hosting a Prostate Screening day at the Victoria Hall on Saturday January 14th 2023.
It’s a simple PSA blood test that will just take a couple of minutes.
It’s available to ALL men aged over 40 and can be booked online at: https://www.mypsatests.org.uk/Events/
The charity charges £22.00 per booking and the money raised is allocated for further research into the disease.
There is a small amount of donated funds that can be used from donations that have already received so if there is genuine hardship in raising the necessary fee for a test please email Councillor Garnet Marshall at: CllrGarnetMarshall@middlewich.org.uk
The Graham Fulford Charitable Trust (GFCT) was set up by Graham Fulford to promote awareness of Prostate Cancer following the diagnosis of a close friend who died at the age of 58 and a close family member who died in 2007 from prostate cancer after a valiant fight.
Since 2004, together with their partners, the GFCT has been involved in testing over 131,984 men and conducting 210,258 tests so far [30/11/2022].
Consequently, there have been over 2,204 known cancers identified that otherwise may not have been discovered.
In 2013 the council introduced its Emergency AssistanCE scheme. The scheme is designed to support vulnerable people facing immediate hardship, to prevent homelessness, and to keep families together. The scheme provides rent deposits, furniture, white goods and emergency food to help those in need.
Full details on the current scheme can be found at www.cheshireeast.gov.uk/emergencyassistance.
To ensure the scheme is meeting need and providing value for money a review of it is being undertaken by the Benefits Team and the council’s Corporate Policy Committee. The review is being undertaken to ensure that the right advice and guidance is provided to people who might be facing an emergency.
Click here to view more information and feed back on the Emergency AssistanCE Scheme Review
Please feed back your views on this review by 2 January 2022.