Welcome to my February newsletter, I’d like to start this month’s newsletter by countering the rainy weather we’ve had with a dose of sunshine. It was announced earlier this month that our community bathing water application for the Sandy Lane section of the River Dee could progress to the next stage. Following the local consultation in 2025, we now feature in the national consultation on the 13 designated bathing water applications for 2026, you can complete this here: https://consult.defra.gov.uk/water/13-proposed-bathing-water-sites/
In good news for Neston, I welcome the announcement about the funding for a new Railway Station at Deeside just across the Welsh Border. This is another sign of the improvements to come for rail users in Neston as the Wrexham – Liverpool Line continues to receive more investment.
If you have positive news in Chester North & Neston please do get in touch so I can help share this positivity to fellow residents. As always, if you have a situation in which you think I could help, please do get in touch. I hope you enjoy the rest of this month’s newsletter and thanks to all those who replied sharing their views on last months newsletter.
On the subject of positive announcements from the Government, I wholeheartedly welcome the Government’s National Cancer Plan. The plan sets out how the Government will improve cancer care so that 3 out of 4 people diagnosed with cancer survive for 5 years or more by 2035.
The second announcement I would like to highlight is that of the Local Power Plan, which aims to help Community Energy providers. Locally we have both Chester Community Energy and Neston Community Energy doing fantastic work to champion energy schemes in our area. I’d also like to take this opportunity to highlight the pre-application consultation of the Peak Cluster pipeline, this initial round of consultation closes on the 27th February. If you would like to have your say, please share your thoughts using the link above.
In Parliament, I’ve been busy introducing the Representation of the People Bill, which will deliver many of the commitments in the Labour Party manifesto to improve our democracy, civic engagement and help provide protections against foreign influence in our elections. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government in which I serve as a Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, has also been busy with the Draft Commonhold & Leasehold Reform Bill, which will help tackle several of the issues raised by leaseholders.
Staying in Parliament, I’m always encouraging schools and residents to come and visit. The Houses of Parliament are a fantastic place and belong to all of us. It was great to host Lexi and Grace for the day as part of their work experience. If you are in London and plan on visiting Parliament, please do let me know and I’ll try to meet you as part of your visit.
As we approach International Women’s Day, it’s great to recognise some of the amazing women we have in Chester North & Neston. This includes the formidable Chester FC Women’s team who are currently third in their league. On the subject of sport, I’d like to congratulate our Winter Olympians who competed in Milan-Cortina.
Next month, I’ll be hosting an International Women’s Day Coffee morning, it would be great to see some of my female newsletter readers there, please find the details below.
This week, I celebrated Chester Restaurants Week with a visit to Sergio’s by the Cathedral, one of the City’s many fantastic eateries. Further good news is the long-awaiting opening of H Beauty in the former Browns of Chester unit, this will bring an added vibrancy to our retail offering. This was boosted by the Chester Beauty Passport which aimed to help promote awareness of the fantastic offering in our city, including the newly refurbished beauty section at M&S. The next opening getting residents excited is the Mango set to open in Eastgate Square.
I’d also like to congratulate Chester Zoo on their recognition as an International Important Botanic Garden, the first for a Zoo in the UK. This provides Chester North & Neston residents with a second botanical garden in our area to visit, complimenting the beautiful Ness Botanical Gardens just south of Neston.
The start of this month, I visited Chester Crown Court to see first-hand the vital work undertaken by Judges, staff and practitioners everyday to keep our justice running. We remain fortunate to have access to both a Crown and Magistrates Court in Chester providing local people access to justice.
As always in these newsletters, I’d like to thank all the organisations in Chester North & Neston working hard to support residents. This month I’d like to thank the incredible team of volunteers at Soul Kitchen who help those facing food poverty and homelessness. While the hot meals are a tremendous benefit to those walking through the door, this is complemented by the warmth, support an kindness the volunteers provide.
As always, If you or someone you know is experiencing difficulty in navigating bureaucracy please reach out to arrange a surgery meeting or have your case dealt with directly through email.
Thanks again for taking the time to read this update.