Here is an update on what I’ve been doing in the last two months since my previous blog.
I have spent a lot of time on Mayoral duties in the past two months. I will not detail them all here, but you can follow all my activities as Mayor on the Facebook page: Kay Wesley – Mayor of Congleton
Get in touch if you like. For Mayor related things, email mayor@congleton-tc.gov.uk
For everything else email cllrkay.wesley@congleton-tc.gov.uk or call or text 07711 459740
Or you can come to one of my surgeries – check out my councillor Facebook page to find one the next one is.
Equal Access Congleton
This group of disabled people, chaired by Deborah Lawson, is helping us to make Congleton more accessible for all.
We have completed a residents’ survey and had a number of sessions discussing events, transport, the town centre, shops, hospitality venues, and other aspects of living in and visiting Congleton
From all this we have created an Action Plan that was presented at Community Committed on 29th August. The committee agreed that we should
- Create a Disability Guide to Congleton
- Run an awareness campaign
- Design a ‘Disability Welcome’ scheme for shops and businesses
Several event organisers including Congleton Pride, Jazz & Blues, The Green Fayre, the Food & Drink Festival made modifications based on the advice of the group, and the Christmas Lights Switch on has been adjusted to make the event more accessible for all.
Working with the Police
I attended a Police Community Cohesion Group in Middlewich at which the public scrutinised the work of the police. This one had a focus on the use of force. The Police welcome members of the public to these, which are to support Policing by Consent. They are usually at Congleton Town Hall so if you want to attend the next one, get in touch and I’ll invite you.
I also attended a Police EDEI (External Diversity, Equality and Inclusion) Board. I and other members of the board created a set of questions based on the Baroness Casey Report, which Cheshire Police has now answered. Cheshire does have a good framework for tackling discrimination, abuse and prejudice and it is our job to scrutinise this and satisfy ourselves that it is effective.
Locally in our Congleton Community Safety Working Group, which I chair, we have had a focus on antisocial behaviour and drug dealing in the town centre. We have also discussed the presence of people living in caravans on the street. This is not apparently illegal but can be a nuisance for local residents, and my colleague Susan has been working with housing providers and the Police on this.
The group has been concerned about the lack of visible policing in Congleton and the Deputy Cheif Officer and I had a meeting with the PCC to ask for more resources in Congleton as we have a very active nighttime economy and the lowest PC- and PCSO-per-capita in the county.
White Ribbon
White Ribbon is a national charity that engages men to help combat men’s violence against women and girls. Congleton has a White Ribbon working group that consists of male ambassadors who go into schools and other organisations to talk about respect, gender stereotypes and positive masculinity. I am a member of this group and do a lot of behind-the-scenes work for them.
The White Ribbon team had a stall at Congleton Pride this year, and got a number of new people making their White Ribbon Promise and signing up as volunteers.
I updated the database with these. We have had over 500 people in Congleton make the White Ribbon Promise now. I also worked with the team doing our 2024 video to approve the script and recruit people to take part.
I’m a member of the National Association of Local Councils’ White Ribbon Steering Group, which is putting together a toolkit to help other councils become accredited, including a case study about Congleton.
If you want to get involved, please email info@congleton-tc.gov.uk.
Congleton Pride
Congleton Pride held its annual event on 20th July, celebrating its 5th birthday. I was delighted to lead the parade and open the event as Congleton Mayor. I also helped set up the gazebos and stalls at the start of the day, as a Pride volunteer.
I enjoyed the whole day, with fantastic performances on the main stage and community stage, some excellent stalls and food, and a great evening afterwards at Radley & Co, just one of several Pride evening events.
It was a fun-filled, family-oriented day and thousands of people attended; it has become one of the biggest events in the Congleton calendar. Here is a selection of pictures (many thanks to Jules Hill for the first and last photos here):
Sadly, some of the Pride advertising banners were defaced and a small number of protesters, purporting to be religious, turned up on the day. To me, this just demonstrated the need for Pride to be not only a celebration but also a statement of our determination to stand up for inclusion. The crowds of Congletonians were undeterred and a fantastic day was had by all, as reported by Nub News.
Town Hall Decarbonisation Project
I am on the Town Hall Decarbonisation Project team and have attended a couple of meetings with the experts who are surveying the Town Hall and putting together plans as part of our grant from the Salix public sector funding programme. So far the work has been concentrating on alternative ways to heat the building.
Domestic Abuse
I helped myCWA, the local provider, to access funding from the Inclosure Trust (thank you!) to restart the Congleton Domestic Abuse Peer Support Group and Clinic. I am now working with the team on getting a venue and promoting the service. Cheshire East is meanwhile reviewing all DA services and I’m on the CESAP board looking at long-term strategy.
The Cheshire East Domestic Abuse phone line, which supports everyone affected, is 0300 123 5101.
Health and Wellbeing
I attended the East Cheshire NHS Trust AGM and raised some questions about the War Memorial Hospital. It is great that we are getting a new diagnostic centre there but I want to see much better public transport provision and the current plans do not show an area for buses to turn. Further meetings are planned to discuss this.
Continuing with the WMH’s 100th birthday celebrations, I volunteered to help plant the new Wellbeing Garden and at the end of August I had the honour of opening it as Mayor. It is a wonderful colourful space in the fresh air for patients and staff to enjoy.
Bromley Bloomers
The Bromley Bloomers were part of the Britain in Bloom judging day and hope to get a prize in the In Your Neighbourhood category. I turned up to support them on the day, although I haven’t helped much in the garden lately due to Mayor duties.
The Hub is going from strength to strength. I introduced Pure Insight, the charity that supports care leavers, and they are now running a regular young parent and baby session there.
We are also planning cookery classes and Macclesfield College has offered a series of free training courses on employment skills (including English as another Language), starting in September.
If you would like to volunteer with any of the Bromley Farm Hub Groups (gardening – the Bromley Bloomers, the Lunch Club, the Resident’s Forum, Stay-and-Play or Peer Support), please get in touch with bromleyfarmhub@gmail.com.
New Council Website
I participated in the Co-creation workshop with the vendor who is building the new website. The insights from the members of public who attended were really useful. I also reviewed some initial designs that the company provided and these will be taken to another workshop in September.
Neighbourhood Plan
I am on the team developing the new plan and we have had several sessions working through the policies and detail. It is finally taking shape and we hope to go out to consultation soon.
Local Awards
I worked with the CTC Officers to produce a paper recommending we introduce a Civic Awards Scheme. Some other towns have such a scheme for rewarding people who volunteer in their community.
We have so many committed and hard-working people who contribute to our town, looking out for their neighbours, running craft and hobby groups, planting trees and wildflowers, leading sports teams and youth groups, supporting wellbeing, and much more. I wanted to set up a system where we can recognise today’s volunteers and encourage others to step forward in the future. The Community Committee gave the green light to this scheme and we will now plan it in more detail.
I also suggested we start a Mayor’s Retail and Hospitality Award scheme to reward businesses who have been in our town for a certain length of time (there’s a similar scheme in Knutsford) The high street can be tough and it seemed like a good gesture to say ‘thank you’ to businesses who have continued serving the residents of Congleton. The CTC Community Committee approved this too, and I will work on it, in collaboration with our Council officers and the Totally Locally group.
Other Activities
I did the Martyn’s Law training, which is for local councillors to understand the new rules around running public events safely.
I helped with a Town Tidy (in the rain!) in preparation for the InBloom judging day. Many thanks to everyone who volunteers to make Congleton look fabulous!
I volunteered for the Listening Tent in the town centre, in which residents let us know what their priorities are for Congleton. There were some really good ideas and insights.
I worked with Officers and committee Chairs on a format and outline for the next CTC Business Plan, which we hope to develop with the whole Council in the next 3 months.
Mayoral Duties
As Mayor I have attended the following in the last 2 months:
- Ruby’s Summer Lunch
- Priesty Fields Care Home Garden Party
- Congleton Tennis Club Mayor’s Charity Tournament
- Congleton Youth Orchestra Concert
- RHS 60th birthday garden festival Congleton Park
- Congleton Tennis Club Open Day
- Poynton Civic Service
- myCWA Charity Ball at the Cricket Club
- Tea at Park Lane Residential Home
- Mayor of Knutsford Family BBQ
- Congleton Pride Parade and opening
- Marton School Playground opening
- 5 Summer play days every Tuesday in Town Centre
- Visited Paddling Pool SEND session
- Mayor of Knutsford Dinner
- ‘Thank you’ to Ken Fieldhouse for maintaining war graves at St Stephen’s
- InBloom judging day – hosted judges around Congleton park and for lunch
- SOL Theatre School High School Musical
- Congleton Jazz ‘n’ Blues Umberella Parade
- War Memorial Hospital Wellbeing Garden opening
- Astbury Mere Care Home Summer Party
- Ruby’s Summer Festival
See my Mayor’s Facebook Page for more information.
My Council Meeting Attendance
For May and June, my Council meeting attendance was 92% for all council meetings and working/other groups (22 out of 24). For Council Committees I have attended 100% of meetings (6 of 6). I am bound to attend main Council but the other Committees are ‘ex-officio’ (optional) for me as Mayor.
I am now a member of 22 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.
Previous Posts
I have been writing this blog about my Council work for 5 years and, since 2023, so has my WEP colleague, Susan. You can see Susan’s posts here.
See my previous posts here:
May-June 2024
March-April 2024
January-February 2024
November-December 2023
September-October 2023
July-August 2023
May-June 2023
March-April 2023
The Equality Party 