Here is an update on what I’ve been doing in the last two months since my previous blog. In November, I went on a long holiday in North America so my meeting attendance is less than normal, but I did set up a lot of things before my break that continued whilst I was away.
I would love to hear from you. What should I and the Council be prioritising? What particular challenges are you facing, if any? Do you have ideas for how we can improve things in Congleton? Please get in touch with me and let me know your thoughts:
Email cllrkay.wesley@congleton-tc.gov.uk Call or text 07711 459740
Or you can come to one of our surgeries – text or email to find the date of the next one, which will be in January.
Disability Positive Congleton
Following the Community Committee supporting our Disability Positive Paper in October, the Deputy Chief Officer and I have been talking to people who might like to be on our Consultation Group. I’m happy to report we have had a number of people with different situations volunteer for the group and will set up the first meeting early next year.
Meanwhile as a result of the publicity we have had a number of disabled people reach out to us for support.
Transport and Travel
I was happy to see that a couple of items I reported to Cheshire East earlier in the year have been actioned. First of all, the blocked drain on Reade’s Lane, which always caused flooding after rain, has been unblocked, and our Town Council team have swept the leaves away so that it doesn’t block again.
Secondly the bus stop at Roseville Drive, which was very broken down and dilapidated, has been replaced by a brand new stop. Nice work!
I hope the new stop will encourage more local people to take the bus instead of the car to town. There are 3 buses an hour from that stop into Congleton (Monday-Saturday 9-5pm), the Number 91 and the Number 94.
Breastfeeding Welcome
Following our Council work with Cherubs on getting the Town Hall to be a Breastfeeding Welcome venue, several local businesses have also become Breastfeeding Welcome organisations too, which is great.
If you’d like to get Breastfeeding Welcome certification, please get in touch with the Town Council or Cherubs direct.
Working with the Police
I chair the Community Safety Working Group, which has been discussing challenges in Congleton including a cross-agency effort to address problems at the Meadows, as well as shoplifting and drug dealing in the town.
Antisocial behaviour in the town has gone down since the last period which was good to see, and retailers are doing a great job of working together to combat shoplifting, with considerable success.
White Ribbon
White Ribbon is an international organisation engaging men to stand up against men’s violence towards women, and the behaviours and attitudes that lead to it. Congleton Town Council is a White Ribbon Accredited organisation and our goal is to ‘eradicate men’s violence against women and all gender-based violence and abuse from Congleton’.
White Ribbon Day is the 25th November and begins a 16-day period when the White Ribbon teams up and down the country run a campaign to say what they are doing to end men’s violence against women.
Before my holiday in November I spent time preparing the White Ribbon Campaign, whose theme this year was to #ChangetheStory to end violence against women and girls.
I helped set up and organise the following:
- The White Ribbon flag flying from the Town Hall, and white ribbons around lampposts and on the Town Hall gates
- Market stalls
- Press and radio coverage
- A series of videos of White Ribbon Ambassadors, Champions, the Police and young people.
- Social media posts explaining all the different ways we can #ChangeTheStory and end violence.
- Helping the National Association of Local Councils with its White Ribbon Campaign (I’m on its Steering Group).
- Supporting the Cheshire East/myCWA White Ribbon Campaign.
We reached over 11,000 people online and more than 40,000 in total with the campaign.
You can see a full report of the activities and the impact here on the Town Council Website.
Visit to Congleton High School
Two White Ribbon Ambassadors and I gave a talk about White Ribbon to Years 12 and 13 at CHS.
The gendered nature of the problem was clear in one interactive poll, in which 71% of girls said they’d avoid walking home alone compared to 26% of boys. 51% of girls say they would ‘cover my drink’ when out, compared to just 13% of boys.
The students responded to the session well, with more than 70 per cent of those present saying they wanted to make their White Ribbon promises, and 29 doing so there and then.
Congleton Pride
Congleton Pride, of which I’m a Trustee, held a vigil for World AIDS Day on 1st December, and the Town Council flew the HIV/AIDs flag on the Town Hall. Many thanks to my colleague Richard Walton for organising this.
I attended the vigil and sent the story to the press afterwards, as public awareness is important.
I also went with the Pride team to accompany the Rotary Club Santa in Biddulph to spread some Christmas cheer and collect money for charity.
Council Website
The Request for Proposal for the new website that I helped draft has been signed off by the Council at a meeting and has gone out to vendors. We will receive the responses for review in January.
Civic Events
As Deputy Mayor I represented Congleton at the Winsford Carol service, the Crewe Carol Service and the Congleton Choral Society Christmas Concert. All were very enjoyable. I also attended the Congleton Carol Service as a Councillor.
Bromley Farm Hub
Bromley Farm Hub Group organised a Christmas Party in the Wellbeing Hub on Parnell Square, and I went along to help. It was great fun! (image courtesy of Sharon Neild).
The Bromley Farm Friends Group which which I volunteer, is planning a lunch club from 2nd January. If you’d like lunch, just pop along to the Hub on Parnell Square from 12pm on that day.
Elizabeth’s Group
We had a meeting and agreed on the timetable for publishing our book of writings inspired by Elizabeth. The team is also planning to get involved with mentoring, which I have put my name forward for.
Congleton Cares
I supplied some copy for the new Congleton Cares leaflet that we publish for everyone in our town. It includes lots of places to get support (practical, emotional and financial) and friendship across Congleton.
Women’s Equality Party
The national party leader, Mandu Reid, is on maternity leave, and I have been appointed as one of three Deputy Leaders of WEP. In this role I will be expected to conduct national media interviews and other communications and I have been attending training to prepare for this.
This role is only until May 2024, when it is expected I will become Mayor of Congleton, a non-political role. Someone else has been appointed to the Deputy role from May onwards.
The Cheshire East Branch of WEP organised a protest in support of women’s reproductive rights, which I attended.
My Council Meeting Attendance
My Council meeting attendance in these two months has dipped due to my holiday in November. It was 67% for all council meetings and working/other groups, either face-to-face or virtually (12 out of 18). For the principal council committees my rate is 100% (2 of 2). (This includes the full Council and the Community Committee, which I Chair. All other Committees are ‘ex-officio’ for me as Deputy Mayor, although I attend them when I can, and I’ve been to 6 out of 8 Committee meetings.)
I am a member of 21 other Groups as well as the Council Committees, some of which are council-related, some are other local charities and community groups.
The Town Council’s remit does not include things such as Social Services, Health, Transport, Waste, Recycling – these are the domain of Cheshire East, but we can lobby in these areas.
The Equality Party 