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Welcome to my May newsletter. I hope you, your friends and family have enjoyed the last few weeks with the good weather we’ve been having.
This month has seen the prorogation of Parliament ahead of the King’s Speech setting out the Government’s legislative agenda for this Parliament. This also resulted in The Grenfell Tower Memorial (Expenditure) Act, which I guided through Parliament receiving Royal Assent.
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.
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May marks the end of the football season, I’d like to congratulate the Chester FC Men’s and the Chester FC Women’s teams. The Men’s team made it into the play-offs again, hopefully next season will be our year and the Women made it into a cup final, a tremendous achievement for both teams and I will continue to show my support through the bad times and the good.
May does however bring joy to fans of other sports as we welcome in the new season at Chester Racecourse. The races bring a welcome boost to hospitality businesses in our city and help ensure our high street remains vibrant. The end of last month also saw the return of the cricket season, hopefully the good weather continues for those watching the sport at Neston or Boughton Hall cricket clubs.
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This month, I caught up with the group at the Long Covid Clinic. The Covid-19 pandemic changed all of our lives and has left a challenging legacy for businesses and individuals. It’s sad to hear about those suffering from Long Covid but good to see they remain supported through the group, you can find out more here.
On the subject of health, I dedicated one of my recent columns in the Chester Standard to the Government’s renewed Women’s Health Strategy. to ensure women’s concerns are not dismissed as too many women feel is currently the case. The wider NHS Modernisation Bill announced in the King’s Speech will help better connect our Health Service to prevent unnecessary delays.
Early in May we recognise Firefighters’ Memorial Day. As a former Councillor and now as the Minister responsible for fire, I appreciate the tremendous sacrifice made by our brave firefighters, heading towards danger when we need them. If you do see a firefighter around Chester North & Neston please do thank them for the difficult job they do around the clock.
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As the National Year of Reading progresses I’ve continued my tour of our local Libraries. This month, I had the honour of reading a book chapter to pupils at Oldfield Primary School in Vicars Cross and witness the school’s work on it’s “Journey of a Reader” scheme.
Our lovely rural villages can also utilise our Libraries through the Mobile Library which tours around the borough. This is a fantastic scheme to ensure our libraries are accessible to those who may struggle to reach our libraries. This visit was in Puddington and it was great to see this service being utilised by a young resident and his mum.
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Last month it was good to join the team at Enterprise rent-a-car who have relocated from the centre of Ellesmere Port to the edge of Chester North & Neston on Dunkirk Lane. The team will continue to serve residents of Chester and Ellesmere Port and informed myself and Justin Madders MP about their work locally.
I’d like to thank the residents of Capenhurst, Ledsham, Two Mills, Dunkirk and Woodbank who attended my recent coffee morning at the Holy Trinity Church. Capenhurst is one of many lovely villages we have in Chester North and Neston, it was great to learn more about local issues including delays to postal deliveries.
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It was fitting that tea was available at the coffee morning as we celebrated National Tea Day. Residents remain divided on how to prepare our national drink, but where is your favourite spot in Chester, Neston or one of our amazing villages to grab a cuppa?
On the subject of national celebration, Chester again put on a great display for St George’s Day with the annual performance in front of our magnificent Town Hall. If you’ve not been able to witness the parade I’d recommend putting a reminder in your diary for next year!
In another tradition, the State Opening of Parliament is a day full of tradition and ceremony. The King’s Speech, at its heart, is where the Government sets out its legislative priorities for the coming parliamentary session.
In 2024, I was actually ‘held hostage’ at Buckingham Palace – yes, a real tradition from the time of King Charles I. This year, that role falls to my friend Sir Nic Dakin.
In the Commons the doors famously get shut in the face of Black Rod before MPs are summoned to the House of Lords. I was lucky to be in the House of Lords, listening to King Charles and seeing what’s next on the Government’s agenda.
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We are fortunate to have the amazing Wirral Riding Centre near Ness. It was lovely to visit the centre last month to hand out certificates to the young people who have been enrolled in the British Horse Society’s Changing Lives through Horses programme. The team delivering the programme at the Riding Centre are seen as a blueprint of success by the BHS with the children involved being visibly more confident than when they started the programme, you can find out more here.
I’d like to highlight the current opportunity available for Blacon residents. The Government has selected Blacon for the £20m Pride in Place programme. Now it’s up to Blacon residents how to spend this money, so applications for Chair and membership of the Nerighbourhood Board are open, more details are available on my website.
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.
Samantha Dixon MBE MP – Member of Parliament for Chester North & Neston