November-December 2024 – Kay – The Equality Party

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’d like to discuss your priorities for Congleton. 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 out when the next one is.

Remembrance Day

As Mayor it was my job to host the Remembrance Day parade and event in the Town Hall. I was glad to meet the Princess Irene Brigade, who come from the Netherlands every year to join us. This Brigade was formed during WWII in Congleton and other parts of NW England, in order to return to the Netherlands and take their country back from the occupying Nazis. Now the Brigade is involved in training Ukrainian soldiers to do something similar.

I marched in the parade, laid the wreath on behalf of the Town Council and made the welcome speech in the Town Hall, exchanging gifts with the General from the Brigade. Then we gave them lunch and a tour of the Beartown Brewery.

It was an honour and pleasure to represent Congleton on this important day, and I was pleased to see the town centre was packed with people who applauded as the soldiers marched by.

White Ribbon Day 2024

White Ribbon is the UK’s leading charity that engages men to help combat men’s violence against women and girls. Congleton Town Council is a White Ribbon Accredited organisation (as is Cheshire Fire & Rescue, Cheshire Constabulary, and many other councils).

White Ribbon Day was 25^th November and the team had events and a campaign from that day until International Human Rights Day on 10^th December – this is the international ’16 days of activism to combat violence against women and girls’.

This year it felt more relevant than ever, with high-profile cases in the national news (Al Fayed and Pelicot) as well as several recent convictions of Congleton men who perpetrated sexual violence and domestic abuse.

The activities included

Flying the White Ribbon flag from the town hall and white ribbons on lampposts
A social media campaign featuring photos, videos and quotes from White Ribbon Ambassadors, and a ‘takeover’ of the Town Council social assets for White Ribbon Day.
A stall in the town centre and a ‘drop-in day’ at Bluey’s in the Town Hall
Talks at Congleton High School – one to the 6^th form, as we have every year, and another visit to talk to Years 10 and 11 for the first time. The message was very well received by them and we were inundated by young people wanting to make the White Ribbon Promise afterwards – so much that we ran out of white ribbons. We also met the leadership of CHS to discuss their future White Ribbon activities.
A White Ribbon tour of local pubs. Ambassadors went into several pubs and offered White Ribbon beermats and posters, and chatted to drinkers. The conversations were really positive, and the staff extremely helpful. We hope to do this again in 2025.
Participating in the National Association of Local Council’s White Ribbon campaign, with videos and photos of our Ambassadors. I am on the national Steering Group.

White RIbbon stall with Ambassadors and Cllr Kay, centre.

Members of the public making their White Ribbon promise.

The flagship content of our campaign this year was our ‘It Starts With Men’ White Ribbon video, produced by the brilliant Prickly Peach Films. This film featured our Ambassadors, local business owners, students from CHS, the Police and Crime Commissioner, local MP Sarah Russell and Cheshire Police and Fire Officers.

Part of our video was used in the national White Ribbon UK ‘round up of 2024’ Video.

If you want to get involved in White Ribbon, please email info@congleton-tc.gov.uk.

Equal Access Congleton

This group of people with disabilities, chaired by Deborah Lawson, is helping us to make Congleton more accessible for all.

The group has been advising us on the accessibility of communications. They have reviewed the new website design and also helped with other digital communications like the Mayor’s Christmas card. Their input has been very useful, and we are all learning more about how to communicate in a more accessible and inclusive way.

Image of Mayor's Christmas greeting saying 'Merry Christmas and Happy New Year' — The Mayor’s Christmas card uses an accessible font and good contrast for readability

The team has reviewed our proposed shops’ Disability Welcome Scheme and we plan to launch this early in the New Year.

Members of the group attended the Christmas lights switch-on, in which we had made a number of modifications to improve accessibility. Some of them worked well, like having the stalls configured to provide more space so people with wheelchairs and buggies could move around the town more easily, and offering quiet spaces. Others worked less well, as our big screen in the ‘inclusivity area’ was unreliable due to the Wi-Fi quality. Some good lessons were learned for the future.

Unfortunately, the attitudes of some other people were once more found to be a problem in the Christmas event. People in wheelchairs were pushed and shoved, stepped over and shouted at. Our next meeting of the Equal Access Group will focus on an educational program to build more public understanding.

Christmas Tea Dance

I worked with the Senior Forum to host a Tea Dance for elderly residents of Congleton in the Town Hall. We invited guests from the residential care homes and also knocked on doors of supported living areas and bungalows where elderly people live.

We had ballroom and sequence dancing to Christmas tunes, a delicious afternoon tea and a visit from Santa bearing gifts! (Thanks, respectively to Andrew & Jenny Bell, Mark Bailey and Congleton Lions).

It was a lovely event and everyone said they had had a wonderful time. Quite a few people who attended had not been out for months and it was great to see the smiling faces and people getting up to dance for the first time in years, in some cases. This was a perfect way to spread a bit of Christmas cheer, so thanks to all who helped.

Christmas Lights Switch-On

I volunteered at the Christmas lights switch-on, helping with one of the road closures and directing the public.

Then after a quick change into my Mayoral robes and chain, I had the enormous pleasure of walking behind Santa in the parade and speaking on the main stage to thank everyone who made this magical event happen.

Cllr Kay with Santa and friends in his sleigh.

The weather was good and everything went smoothly. Judging from the smiles on the faces of the children, the event was a great success so many thanks to Rachel McCarthy and team from the Town Council.

There were some accessibility improvements and also some challenges; see the Equal Access Congleton section for more about this.

I also attended and spoke at the Tree of Light switch-on the following day. This is a touching way to remember those we have lost at Christmas.

Working with the Police

I chair the Community Safety Working Group of the Town Council, and we work closely with the local Beat Team and other members of the Police to help prevent and combat crime.

The good news is that after our Design-Out Crime Days, we now have many more shops in the town centre connecting their own CCTV to the Police database. This has proven effective in combatting shoplifting, together with co-operation between shop owners. Several shoplifters who were active in Congleton are now in jail following conviction, or awaiting trial.

I attended a meeting with the new Inspector responsible for Congleton LPU to understand policing priorities and how the Town Council can support them.

We are looking at ways to combat problems in the town centre, including hate crime and antisocial behaviour. Some Councils have a code of conduct for their towns and we are investigating this.

Neighbourhood Plan

I helped with the Neighbourhood Plan ‘drop-in’ sessions in the Town Hall, in which people could come and talk to us about what they want Congleton to be like in the future. The Consultation period has now closed, and we will be meeting with Cheshire East’s planning officer in January as the next step. Many thanks to everyone who gave input to the Neighbourhood Plan!

You can access the Neighbourhood Plan here: www.congletonneighbourhoodplan.co.uk

Bromley Farm Hub

I helped out at the Christmas Party at the Wellbeing Hub on Parnell Square. We had lovely food, a very jolly Santa handing out presents, and some fun and games. Many thanks to the team who put this on, and to Plus Dane for the funding.

Cllr Kay making sandwiches for Bromley Hub party.

If you would like to volunteer with any of the Bromley Farm Hub Groups (gardening – the Bromley Bloomers, the Lunch Club, the Residents’ Forum, Women’s Mental Health, Stay-and-Play or Peer Support), please get in touch with bromleyfarmhub@gmail.com.

Mental Health Support Groups

We have had an amazing level of interest in starting a Women’s Mental Health peer support group at the Bromley Farm Hub. This will now start on the 13^th January; if you want to get involved please message me directly.

I was asked to help Mentell (Men’s Mental Health Support) find a new venue after the Old Saw Mill announced it was closing its doors. I suggested several options for venues.

Hybrid Meetings

When I first became a Councillor I helped procure and set up the technology we need to run ‘hybrid meetings’, with some people attending remotely. This really proved useful during the COVID pandemic. Now the national government has consulted on whether this should be normal practice, rather than requiring all Councillors to be physically present at all times.

Government web page showing title 'Enabling Remote Attendance and Proxy voting at local authority meetings'

We discussed this matter at a recent Council meeting, to see whether we could reach a Council consensus on a response to the government’s consultation.

Deborah Lawson, the Chair of the Equal Access Group, attended the meeting to advocate that the Town Council should support the government’s proposal, explaining that for people with disabilities, and also for those with small children or no transport, accessing meetings from home might make it possible for them to become Councillors, and would therefore make our democracy more representative.

Unfortunately, several Councillors were still opposed to the idea of remote access, and the meeting concluded that each Councillor should reply to the government’s consultation individually.

I responded to the consultation stating I am strongly in favour of allowing remote access. This is how my business – and the world – works these days, and it works very well, with the right chairing and processes. The second part of the consultation was about proxy voting, which I think should only be allowed in very specific (and rare) circumstances. I think generally in order to vote on a motion you should be there (in person or remotely) and listening to the debate.

New Council Website

I continue to support the project to deliver a new website. The build is underway and I’m giving input to design and accessibility. We hope to launch the new site before the end of this civic year.

Sustainable Transport

I attended the Cheshire East Bus Partnership Forum and learned that there is a new franchise appointment happening for Congleton bus services. This should be announced by March. I’m working with officers to set up a meeting with the CEC team to discuss what bus services we will need, including more services to the new expanded War Memorial Hospital.

I helped Congleton Sustainable Travel to present a paper to the Town Council Community Committee about ‘joining-up’ cycleways and paths in Congleton so that pedestrians and bikes do not have to travel along main roads or find their path coming to an abrupt end, as shown in the map:

Map showing green paths and cycleways joined up by small red lines at the key points.

The Committee voted to support the paper and the next step is to discuss the requirements with Cheshire East Council, and look at sources of funding.

Business Planning

I’ve been working with other Committee Chairs and Officers to put together the new Business Plan for Congleton Town Council for the next five years, and the budget for the next civic year. With Cheshire East trying to devolve more to local councils (such as the cost of running elections) it is a challenge.

Congleton Pride

I have booked the Town Hall for a Cheshire Prides’ event in February, Pride History Month. We are inviting the Prides and the Mayors from surrounding towns to share best practices around their work in the community and their annual Pride events.

I attended the Congleton Pride World Aids Day Vigil on 1st December, which is now an annual event.

People standing in a circle holding candles for World Aids Day.

Town Hall Decarbonisation Project

I am on the Town Hall Decarbonisation Project team and have attended 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.

Other activities

I have been helping some vulnerable residents access essential services and supporting one resident who is living next to a building site access support from Environmental Health due to noise and light nuisance.

I attended the ‘Meet the Funders’ event at the Town Hall and learned about the various organisations that make grants for projects in Congleton. You can learn more about these organisations on the Town Council Website here.

I brought a proposal to the Town Council that the Mayor’s Cadet should be drawn from any youth group in Congleton, not restricted to the uniformed groups. This is because there are a lot of young people taking part in activities that do not require a uniform but still provide a good grounding for a cadet (e.g. sports clubs, theatre groups, youth clubs, and so on). This resolution passed and I hope it makes the recruitment process more inclusive.

One highlight of this period for me was attending, and lighting (as Mayor) the Rotary bonfire!

Cllr Kay with President of Rotary, Consort Mike and Cadet Barney, lighting the bonfire.

The political party that Susan Mead and I were elected as part of, the Women’s Equality Party, announced that it is dissolving. I voted against dissolution, but it passed by a small majority. Some ex-WEP members have joined with Susie and I to create a new party, the Equality Party, and so Susie and I will represent this party in future. Its aims are very similar to WEP, and better reflect the type of work we have been doing in Council. You can learn more at www.equalityparty.org.uk (this website).

Meeting attendance

I have attended 85% of my Council meetings and working groups in the past 2 months (17 of 20). This is less than usual due to the huge number of mayoral engagements at this time of year.

My attendance rate for my compulsory Council meetings so far this year is 100%.

Mayoral Duties

As Mayor I have attended the following in the last 2 months, mostly with my husband and consort Mike, and often with our cadet, Barney. It has been a busy one!