Westminster Park Residents Association

Cheshire West and Chester Council services affected by lockdown restrictions
Cheshire West and Chester Council has announced how its services in towns and villages across the borough will be affected by the national lockdown.

Council officers have been assessing the potential impact of the new lockdown and the continued effect on services of the coronavirus pandemic.

Covid-19 infection rates in Cheshire West and Chester are too high and the public residents have been urged to stay at home to slow the spread of the virus. The council is looking at how keep both residents and staff members safe and prioritising resources for frontline services that many people rely upon.

Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Wellbeing, Councillor Louise Gittins said: “Following the Government’s third lockdown announcement, there will be some changes to how our services are delivered.

“We are doing everything possible to continue to deliver vital services to support the borough. However, to keep everyone safe some facilities do have to close or reduce the services available during the lockdown period. Our aim is that the vast majority of our services will continue to be operational.

“Stay safe, be kind and above all let’s all play our part to turn this around during these challenging times.”

The effects on Council services are as follows:

Parks, open spaces, outdoor play and youth areas will remain open for the purpose of daily exercise. Visitors should follow government guidance regarding social distancing, follow any signage and wash their hands when they return home. Residents are able to meet outdoors with one person not from their own household for their daily exercise.
The outdoor gyms located at Westminster Park, Chester and St Anne’s Field in Chester have closed.
Public toilets remain open (between 10am and 5pm) in the following locations:
Ellesmere Port Town Centre (Wellington Road)
Castle Park, Frodsham
Whitby Park, Ellesmere Port
The Groves, Chester
Princess Street (near the Market), Chester, these facilities are temporarily closed, there is alternative portable provision located close by, next to the Market
Grosvenor Park, Chester
Stanney Fields, Neston
Marbury Park, Northwich
Westminster Park, Chester
Moor Lane, Frodsham
Frodsham Street, Chester
Malpas
Parkgate
Tarporley
Shakerley Mere, Little Budworth (disabled toilet only)
Farndon
Hadlow Road, Willaston
Brook Street, Neston
Little Budworth Car Park, Coach Road

Allotments remain open.Again, social distancing should be maintained and residents are permitted to meet outdoors with one person not from their own household.

Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs) remain open but we ask that people only travel there for essential reasons and be patient to ensure distancing can be maintained on sites.A proof of residency will need to be shown to HWRC staff.

All fixtures and training for indoor and outdoor youth and adult grassroots football will be suspended. (Further information is available on Football Association website). Tennis, golf, bowling and croquet facilities will be closed.
All libraries, including the home and mobile library service, will close. An Order & Collect service will be available from 7 January from selected libraries. For more information or to place an order visit the Order and Collect web page or telephone the libraries during the times shown.


Library

Order and Collect orders via telephone:

Northwich

Monday
10am to 1pm

Thursday
10am to 1pm

Saturday
10am to 1pm

Winsford

Tuesday
10am to 1pm

Friday
2pm to 5pm

Saturday
10am to 1pm

Neston

Monday
10am to 1pm

Thursday
2pm to 5pm

Saturday
10am to 1pm

Ellesmere Port

Monday
10am to 1pm

Thursday
2pm to 5pm

Saturday
10am to 1pm

Lache

Monday
10am to 1pm

Thursday
2pm to 5pm

Saturday
10am to 1pm

Upton

Tuesday
10am to 1pm

Friday
2pm to 5pm

Saturday
10am to 1pm

Frodsham

Monday
2pm to 5pm

Thursday
10am to 1pm

Saturday
10am to 1pm

Many library services will continue to be available via online and digital methods including eBooks, audio downloads, eMagazines, eNewspapers and eResources visit www.cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk.

Existing loan periods have been extended until 1 March 2021 and overdue charges are suspended. You can check items on loan by logging in to your account or by calling 0300 123 7739 (24 hour line).

The Education Library Service will continue to supply resources to subscribing schools and educational settings.
The majority of volunteering activities within Council settings will stop. The Council’s Community Champions network will continue.
Ranger stations, pavilions and community centres remain closed except where existing community food distribution is currently being provided.
All museums in the borough will close to the public, including school visits.The museums’ website and social media channels will have up to date information and interactive activities.
Public access to the Cheshire Record Office is suspended but online services will continue to be available and staff are still responding to enquiries.
The Registration team will continue to provide death registrations by telephone.
Weddings and civil partnership ceremonies will not be permitted to take place except, in exceptional circumstances and where one of the couple is seriously ill and not expected to recover, or is to undergo debilitating treatment or life-changing surgery In these limited circumstances a maximum of 6 people would be allowed to attend.
Funerals up to a maximum of 30 may take place at Chester crematorium and at Council cemeteries. Social distancing must be maintained at the funeral between individuals who are not from the same household or support bubble.
The Council will continue to monitor all its front-line services and will review the impact of COVID-19 on service delivery as the lockdown progresses.

Information on the Council’s website will be updated regularly.

If you did not receive a copy of our December 2020 newsletter, you can download it here.

Download (PDF, 7.22MB)

WPRA Committee wish all Westminster Park residents a happy and healthy new year. If you haven’t already please join or renew your membership to WPRA, the form and details are on page 11 of WP News, or you can email me at sec@wp-ra.org.uk.

Date: 30 December 2020
Reference Number: 4954

New Tier 4 restrictions for Cheshire West and Chester (updated 30 December 2020)
Cheshire West and Chester will move into Tier 4 (Stay at Home) from the beginning of Thursday, 31 December 2020, after the Government reviewed the borough’s high infection rate of 266 cases per 100,000 population and decided tighter restrictions were needed to suppress the spread of COVID 19. Three quarters of England’s population will now be in this category of restrictions.

This means that as the borough enters Tier 4:

residents must stay at home, apart from limited exemptions set out in law such as medical care
people must work from home if they can, but may travel to work if this is not possible, for example in the construction and manufacturing sectors
non-essential retail, indoor gyms and leisure facilities, and personal care services must close
people should not enter or leave Tier 4 areas, and Tier 4 residents must not stay overnight away from home
you cannot meet other people indoors, unless you live with them or they are part of your support bubble.
individuals can only meet one person from another household in an outdoor public space
communal worship can continue to take place
those in tier 4 areas will not be permitted to travel abroad apart from limited exceptions, such as for work purposes
Cllr Louise Gittins, Leader of Cheshire West and Chester Council, said, “This latest news is clearly disappointing, although we have a duty to act in the best interests of our residents. We now must stay at home except for specific reasons such as work, outdoor exercise or medical care. We realise that as well as affecting all of us individually, many of our businesses will be hit hard. The announcement was not subject to prior notice or consultation with the Council, but we will be working with a range of local organisations and the government to get assistance to those that need it.
“We must follow these rules to slow the spread, protect the NHS and save lives. As we roll out the vaccine, it would be an even greater tragedy if we don’t follow the rules and we lose more lives that in a few months could be saved. We will all need to pull together once again. We’ve brought the infection rate down before, and we can do it again.”

Read the full guidance on GOV.UK

If you are coming into Chester during the Christmas break, please take extra time and care if you are unfamiliar with the new Clockwise route for the inner ring road while Chester’s new drainage tunnel is built.

As part of the second phase of works, the Nicholas St. section of the inner ring road will be closed to southbound traffic from Monday 11th January 2021.

As a result there will be no right-turn into Nicholas Street from the Watergate Street/New Crane Street direction.

Please use your smart phone’s sat-nav (handsfree) to get the best routes, journey time information and live updates on traffic- even if you know the route.

For more details and FAQs see www.clockwisechester.com

Scam warning: Fake DPD emails and texts.

Action Fraud has seen a surge in reports relating to fake emails and texts purporting to be from DPD. The messages claim that DPD was “unable to deliver your parcel today” and provide instructions on how the recipient can arrange another delivery. The links in the emails and texts lead to fake websites that are designed to steal money, as well as personal and financial information.

Victims of this scam have reported losing over £242,000 since June. For more information, please visit https://www.actionfraud.police.uk/alert/fake-dpd-messages-lead-to-over-200000-in-losses-since-june


How you can protect yourself:
If you’re unsure whether the email or text is genuine, then don’t use the link. Instead, visit the DPD website by entering the official web address directly into your browser’s address bar, or search for it and follow the search results.
Remember, your bank will never ask you to transfer money to another account, or contact you out of the blue to ask for your PIN or full password.
If you have received an email which you’re unsure about, you can report it by forwarding it to report@phishing.gov.uk. You can report suspicious text messages by forwarding them to 7726.


For more information about how to protect yourself from fraud and cyber crime, please visit www.actionfraud.police.uk/cybercrime
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Message Sent By
Action Fraud (Action Fraud, Administrator, National)

St Clare’s RC Church, 27 Hawthorne Road, Lache Christmas Mass Times

As space is limited and to avoid disappointment could anyone please let us know if they would like to attend by emailing Pat Riddell at patriddell31@aol.com 

Please visit our website stclares.co.uk or visit us at Facebook.

Many thanks

Jenny Szczyglowska

Changes to garden waste collections in the new year
Cheshire West and Chester Council will suspend its garden waste collections for a slightly longer period this year to ensure core waste collection services continue during the ongoing pandemic.
Garden waste collection is normally suspended for four weeks over the winter in the borough and this year was scheduled to happen between Monday, 14 December and Sunday, 10 January, 2021. Recently kerbside collection service calendars have been delivered to every household in the borough confirming the four-week garden waste suspension period.
However, a decision has been taken to extend this suspension of the garden waste collection service from Monday, 11 January to Monday, 8 February, 2021. This will provide Cheshire West Recycling (CWR) with greater flexibility, to ensure that core waste and recycling collections can be maintained over the busiest period of the year, whilst mitigating the added risks presented by Covid-19.
A scheme to assist with the collection and deposit of Christmas trees will be promoted through local charities and supported by the Council’s Street Care service.
For charity collections, Just Helping, raises money for local hospices by collecting and recycling real trees. Find your nearest hospice to arrange a collection – Just Helping: Christmas tree collection.
After Monday, 4 January, 2021 real Christmas trees can be dropped off for the Council to reuse them in parks and open spaces at:
Hooton Golf Club Chester Road, Hooton, Ellesmere Port, CH66 1QF
Whitby Park Stanney Lane, Ellesmere Port, CH65 9AQ
Stanney Fields Park Hinderton Road, Neston, CH64 9PE
Westminster Park Hough Green, Chester, CH4 8JW
Alexandra Park Canadian Avenue, Chester, CH2 3HH
Castle Park Fountain Lane, Frodsham, WA6 6SA
Knights Grange Sports Complex Winsford, CW7 2PT
Trees will be mulched for use throughout the year in your parks and gardens
Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Environment, Highways and Strategic Transport, Councillor Karen Shore said: “By extending the suspension of our garden waste collections we will give Cheshire West Recycling the resilience to cope with the added pressures caused by the on-going pandemic.”

Library services move on-line during the Christmas period
Most Cheshire West and Chester libraries will close over the Christmas period but services will continue on-line until Monday, 4 January 2021, when libraries re-open.

With the exception of Storyhouse in Chester, all libraries in the borough will close at 1pm on Thursday, 24 December. Storyhouse will be closed on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day and at 8pm on Christmas Eve.

It will open from 10am until 11pm on Boxing Day, with normal opening hours throughout the rest of the festive period. For further details: visit: https://www.storyhouse.com/visit-storyhouse

The mobile library will not visit Malpas on Tuesday, 22 December.

Leader of Cheshire West and Chester Council and Cabinet Member for Wellbeing, Councillor Louise Gittins said: “Although the majority of our libraries will be closed across the festive period, don’t forget that you can search, reserve and renew items on-line, at any time of the day or night, on the council website.”

All loans have been extended until Monday, 11 January 2021.

You can also find out more about the wide range of free eResources available. A 24-hour telephone line for renewals is available too, by calling 0300 123 7739.

For more information visit www.cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk/libraries. You can also follow Cheshire West and Chester Council’s Libraries Service on Facebook or Twitter.

The Cheshire Record Office will also be closed from Wednesday, 23 December until Tuesday, 5 January 2021, but Cheshire Archives’ online resources are still available at www.cheshirearchives.org.uk. Information about visiting from 5 January onwards can be found on the Archives website.

PLANNING NOTICE – Amendments
We have received amended plans/additional information in respect of the following:
Single storey side and rear extensions. Raising of existing roof to create a first floor. at 63 Vincent Drive Chester Cheshire CH4 7RQ
The reference number for this application is 20/02228/FUL
Please submit any comments you wish to make by 10th January 2021
You can use the Planning pages on the Council’s website at www.cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk to:
 View all the plans and other documents
 Make comments online
 Use the Council’s interactive mapping service
 Sign up for email notifications
If you are unable to view documents or comment online please email planning@cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk or call 0300 123 8123. If you want to send us comments in the post, please write to the address at the top of this letter, quoting the reference number above.
NEI202

NEI202
Please note your comments will be published on our website, in full and unmoderated, along with the first line of your address. Please ensure that your comment does not include any text you do not want to appear online.
For further information about what we do with your information please view the Planning privacy notice https://www.cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk/system-pages/privacy-notices/planning.aspx Yours faithfully
Ms Rhian Chitty
Planning Officer
Direct Dial: 01244 972490
General: 0300 123 7027
Email address: rhian.chitty@cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk Web address (to submit comments and view the plans): http://www.cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk
Please note that in the event that an appeal is made against a decision of the Council to refuse to grant planning permission for a proposed householder development or minor commercial development, and that appeal then proceeds by way of the written representations procedure, any representations made to the Council about this application will be passed to the Secretary of State and there will be no opportunity to make further representations.
This notice has been served because to do so is required by one or more of the following: the Town and Country Planning (Development Management Procedure) Order 2015, Town and Country Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990, Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) Order 2015 and Town and Country Planning Act 1990 Section 191 or as amended or re-enacted.