Firstly, welcome to my April and May email newsletter. I hope you enjoyed my Chester North &Neston VE Day special newsletter. There’s a distinctly spring feel with my news this week with many of my visits having been to voluntary groups working on our natural environment. It was therefore fitting for the Government to recently announce a clampdown on fly-tipping which blights our green areas.
Last Friday, I visited the fantastic Ness Botanical Gardens to learn about their interesting work and research. The garden is a tremendous asset to our area and a great day out during the good weather. Part of the University of Liverpool, I was really interested to learn about the work being done on the site by staff, students and volunteers.
As your Member of Parliament, I work on numerous issues raised by fellow residents via email, telephone and at my surgeries held across the constituency. As always, if you have any issues or questions about Parliament I can help with, please drop me a line at samantha.dixon.mp@parliament.uk. I would also be grateful if you could take two minutes of your time to fill in this survey requesting your feedback on this newsletter.
Throughout this Spring, weather I’ve taken the opportunity to use my time in Chester North & Neston to visit various Friends and Eco-Groups. This included the Wesley Eco-Group who have taken it upon themselves to help the church achieve Silver Eco-Church status and they are well on the way to gold status.
On the top photo, I’m inspecting the excellent work of the Friends of Lees Lane Ponds group near Neston. The site features a range of different trees to complement the pond with its rich biodiversity. The “fairy” garden is a particularly popular attraction for younger children and can be found just off the Wirral Way.
I had the honour of opening the rebuilt Windle Hill Bridge on the Wirral Way between Neston and Willaston. I’d like to thank all those who worked on this project and The Friends of Lees Lane Ponds who did a fantastic job planting flowers either side of the bridge for cyclists to enjoy.
The new Bridge opening was attended by the Royal Engineers reserve unit from Birkenhead as the original 1968 bridge was constructed by the Royal Engineers. The reconstruction by Cheshire West and Chester Council will see the bridge continue for many decades to come.
I joined with local Councillors Louise Gittins, Keith Millar and local residents to see the progress on the bulbs we planted in the autumn. Our area is truly blessed with great access to green spaces and I’d like to thank all those who help take care of them. If you are involved in a Friends of group I’d love to visit so please get in touch.
Across Chester North &Neston I enjoyed visiting several community groups and official celebrations of the 80th Anniversary of Victory in Europe Day. If you missed the special VE Day newsletter from last week you can view it on my website here. I welcome the Government’s recent announcement of further support for our veteran community through the new VALOUR scheme.
I look forward to the commemorations for Victory in Japan Day in August and for the 80th Anniversary of the NHS in a few years time. Hopefully by the time of the 80th Anniversary of the founding of the NHS, the Government’s progress on cutting waiting times and improvements to GP Surgeries will make the anniversary a special one.
On the subject of victory, I’d like to congratulate Cal McIntyre and the team at Chester FC for their success this season and look forward to Sunday’s big match in Scunthorpe. Last month, I was able to meet with the Football Foundation at Chester FC’s excellent training facility in Blacon. It was great to hear about the work of the foundation to support grassroots football.
Last month, I had the honour of officially opening the newly refurbished Nationwide Chester branch. The branch now has a more welcoming and friendly feel. It was great to learn about Nationwide’s work with Dementia UK to host dementia clinics to help provide support to those suffering with this cruel condition, you can find out more and book to attend one of these clinics here.
In Neston I hosted a constituency surgery at the ever popular Neston Market. I’m proud to represent a successful market town and it was great to discuss issues and ideas with local residents.
I’d like to end this month’s newsletter by thanking all the organisations and residents who attended my Housing Surgery and Advice Fayre at the Parade in Blacon last month. I continue to have surgeries across Chester North & Neston and digital surgery sessions during the week so if you or someone you know needs help please do get in touch.
Thank you again for taking the time to read this update. I hope this brief outline of last month’s work is of interest. Please share these newsletters with your friends and family members.
I would be grateful if you could spend two minutes completing this survey providing your feedback on this newsletter.
As always, if you have any ideas or issues, please get in touch at samantha.dixon.mp@parliament.uk
With best wishes
Samantha Dixon MBE, MP
Chester North & Neston