Here is an update on my work over July and August across Congleton Town Council and in the wider community, following on from my previous blog.
If you would like to raise a local issue or discuss something in more detail, please do get in touch.
cllrkay.wesley@congleton-tc.gov.uk or phone/text 07711 459740
You can also keep up-to-date on my Facebook Page.
The last two months have been another busy period, balancing casework, meetings and community events, although we have fewer council meetings in summer.
Community Picnic
In July, I helped set up and support the Bromley Farm Community Picnic. The annual picnic has become an important summer event, bringing local people together.
This year’s event included free food, live music and activities for children, alongside a plant swap and opportunities for residents to help shape future community activities.
Many thanks to all the volunteers and entertainers, and to Plus Dane for funding the event.
Congleton Pride
July saw Congleton Pride take place in the Town Hall.
I helped with the event and was delighted to see so many people enjoying the stalls, entertainment and craft activities. Councillor Susan Mead, Heather and I were kept busy on our stall with children making rainbow rockets and wind chimes.
The Youth Council ran a very successful stall too, so well done to Isabel, Lydia and the team!
It was lovely to see people coming down from the craft workshops with the things they had made, and the entertainment throughout the day was varied and of a very high standard.
The event had a different feel in the Town Hall this year, but the Grand Hall looked amazing and lots of people came along to enjoy the day. It was wonderful to see Congleton embracing love, kindness and inclusion.
The Pride After Party was great fun too, and we danced the night away!
I am a member of the Cheshire East Trans support group and attended a meeting to discuss how we are supporting local transgender people in light of the recent EHRC guidance which excludes them from services. I also wrote to Sarah Russell MP on this and she replied to say she had signed the Early Day Motion objecting to the guidance.
I have been on the Pride Committee since the charity started in 2018 and this year I’m again leading on the Congleton Pride Survey. This asks questions to establish whether Congleton is a good place for LGBTQIA+ people to live.
If you haven’t already, please answer the survey here:
https://congletonpride.co.uk/survey/
The Congleton Pride team is now planning its Autumn and Winter activities including taking part in the Mayor’s Parade and a Halloween Quiz night.
The Neighbourhood Plan
During August, much of the focus was on the Congleton Neighbourhood Plan referendum. I encouraged residents to vote and shared information about what the plan means for the future of our town.
The Neighbourhood Plan was produced by Congleton Town Council in partnership with residents and local groups. If approved, Cheshire East Council must take it into account when making planning decisions.
I have been on the team that developed the Neighbourhood Plan and we ran a consultation on it in 2024. This referendum vote was about whether it should be ‘adopted’ or not – a simple Yes/No vote.
I have responded to questions from residents about the plan and about the ways in which the Council had sought to involve local people.
Transport
I was pleased to promote the free bus service during Congleton Pride in July, which had good uptake.
I also helped set up a Free Bus Day for the Jazz and Blues Festival at the end of August, thanks to Congleton Town Council and the Cheshire East Bus Partnership (funded from central government).
Free bus services can make it easier for people to attend major events while also reducing congestion and providing an accessible alternative to driving. We have also seen that it increases bus usage (22% during the Pride event) and I hope it encourages people to use the buses on other days too.
We are now coming up to two years since Congleton had a train service on a Sunday. I intend to join with activists and other Councillors to protest about this! We have had meetings with Network Rail and others but still have seen no progress.
Community Safety and working with the Police
I visited the CCTV suite with colleagues to learn more about how the system is used in Congleton.
The seven cameras are used to support observations and can assist the police with the investigation and prosecution of crime. I was interested to learn more about how the system operates, including how long images are retained and how privacy is protected.
Many thanks to the team for the tour and the information.
I attended a meeting with the local police to discuss how they police events in Congleton and elsewhere, after some concerns were raised about the Food & Drink Festival. Luckily none of our summer events this year have seen major incidents.
I attended a meeting of the Chairs of all the Community Cohesion Groups in Cheshire. These CCGs are groups made up of the public who scrutinise the work of the police, especially in relation to ‘Stop and Search’ and ‘Use of Force’. I Chair the Congleton group which covers Congleton, Holmes Chapel, Sandbach and Middlewich.
Our next meeting is on the 8th September in Holmes Chapel – if you would like to join in, please get in touch. Thank you.
Looking after our Environment
I took part in the Town Tidy in July, helping to clean benches in the community garden alongside volunteers who were weeding, cleaning and litter-picking.
I was delighted to support my colleague Cllr Susie Mead by meeting the InBloom judges while she was away, as they evaluated the progress of the Friendship Garden. They were very impressed with this community project and I hope will give the garden a top mark again this year.
I also joined the final Congleton Museum biodiversity walk of the summer at Rhead’s Meadow. Many thanks to botanist Jack Swan and CTC Ranger Andy Stubbs for a very interesting walk. I recorded and learned about more than 20 species that were new to me, including Great Burdock, Marsh Cudweed and the Alder Leaf beetle.
Whilst there we noticed some building pallets had been left and some fencing around hedges, so I contacted the developer, Bellway Homes, to get assurances the pallets will be removed and no hedgerows will be destroyed.
Disability and Equal Access Group
July is Disability Pride Month, and the Town Council once again ran a social media campaign in support of our residents with access needs.
I continued promoting our Disability Welcome Scheme for local shops. This is part of our work to make Congleton more accessible and welcoming for everyone.
Congratulations to Superdrug Congleton, which achieved the Disability Welcome Silver Standard.
If you have a shop or café in town, please join the Disability Welcome Scheme by completing our simple questionnaire leaflet that you can download from the Town Council website here: https://www.congleton-tc.gov.uk/community/business/disability-welcome-congleton/
Combatting Gender-based Violence
Our White Ribbon Ambassadors were once again invited to present the Congleton High School Allyship award this year. It is fantastic to see how the school has embraced the values of the campaign.
The White Ribbon Working Group decided that for this year we are going to run a White Ribbon Conference in the Town Hall. Last year’s ‘Growing Up Wired’ event was very successful and many people have asked for a follow-up to that.
We have invited schools, the police and other community groups to join in with this event on the White Ribbon 2026 theme of ‘It takes all of us’ to combat gender-based violence.
I am working with all these groups to plan the content, but for now the date for your diary is Tuesday 24th November 2026 at 6.30pm.
I’m also working with the Co-Chair of the Youth Council, Barney, on a White Ribbon workshop for Youth Groups in Congleton.
Youth Council
The Youth Council continued its work over the summer, including running a survey for young people aged 10–21 about leisure activities and, in particular, the possibility of developing a pump track in Congleton.
Meanwhile I met with Cheshire East officers to explore sites for a pump track and once we have local support we will be investigating funding. I also contacted colleagues in Staffordshire Moorlands and got some information about their pump track developments in Biddulph and Cheadle.
We showed the Youth Council initial ideas for the Town Hall café that we’d like to also use as a Youth Café, and got their input.
In addition the Youth Council spent some time filming TikTok videos for to promote the new Congleton Code, which is a set of guidelines to ensure everyone feels safe and welcome in our town centre.
Congleton Museum
I am a trustee of Congleton Museum and attended the opening of its new Disappearing Nature exhibition. If you haven’t been to see it I suggest you go along. It is fascinating.
The museum is going from strength to strength and has a wonderful programme of walks and talks planned. I took my grandchildren along for the summer holidays activities and they were wonderful.
I also took part in trustee meetings and a discussion about the museum’s website and the future integration with the online collection management system.
New Chief Officer for Congleton
After the interview process I helped with, in which we had some very high-calibre candidates, we have now offered the job of Chief Officer to Adam Keppel-Green, and he will start in November. Adam is currently Town Clerk at Knutsford and has a great many achievements including winning a national Clerk of the Year award.
I look forward to working with Adam.
Casework and Ongoing Work
I continued to deal with resident enquiries and ongoing casework throughout July and August. This was largely about road safety matters including following up on parking, speeding and obstruction issues.
I also got involved with discussions of some planning applications that I and residents are concerned about, including the Mossley House gates, Beech House and proposals to buy Priesty Fields. I have visited the old United Reformed Church and invited the new owners to come and speak at our Planning Committee about its proposed change of use.
I joined the Cheshire East Neighbourhood Partnership meeting that brings together community groups and public services, and from that I made a connection with the Citizen’s Advice Bureau. This led to a meeting with CAB with a view to bringing a weekly service back to Congleton.
Meetings attended
During July and August I attended 93% (14 of 15) of all meetings and working groups, and 100% (4 of 4) Council Committee meetings.
In the years since I became a councillor (since 2019) I have attended 96% of all full Council meetings.
The Equality Party 