Westminster Park Residents Association

Three new COVID-19 local testing sites will open in west Cheshire within the next two weeks, enabling residents with Coronavirus symptoms to book a test.

The sites in Ellesmere Port, Frodsham and Blacon are walk-through sites and will be open from 8am-8pm, seven days a week.

The Ellesmere Port site is located on Wellington Road car park. Installation has started today, Monday, and the site will start offering tests in the next few days.

The Frodsham site will be located at the back of Frodsham Leisure Centre, in Princeway, and the Blacon site will be located in the Sealand Road Park and Ride car park. Work is expected to start on these sites within the next two weeks.

Residents with symptoms can book an appointment at the new sites on the national portal at: www.gov.uk/get-coronavirus-test or by calling 119. The symptoms of COVID-19 are a new continuous cough, a fever, or a loss or change in sense of taste and smell.

Visitors to these local testing sites will be required to self-swab the back of their own throats and their noses and will receive guidance and instruction from staff.

They will need to wear a face covering at the sites and keep a two-metre social distance from others.

Residents who have been in contact with someone who has had COVID-19 symptoms do not need to go for a test unless they have symptoms, or have been advised to do so by a health professional or the Test and Trace Service.

Our other local testing site is in the Little Roodee car park in Chester.

A message from Evergreen Club Chairperson:
After the initial Coronavirus lockdown in March, I think we all hoped there would be some return to normality, certainly by the end of the year. However, this was too optimistic. Now as a consequence of the recent increase in reported infections, particularly across the North West and the latest tightening of restrictions, at our Committee meeting on 15th October we have taken the decision to cancel our annual Christmas Lunch, which was to be held at 1539 and there will be no further ‘Evergreen’ activities for the remainder of the year.
Nevertheless, we are still hoping the situation will improve in 2021, so we have drafted our 2021 programme and will continue to monitor the situation carefully and we will let you know as soon as we feel confident that it is safe and practical to resume our ‘Evergreen’ 55+ Club.
Membership subscriptions for 2020 will be carried over as 2021 subscriptions.
If anyone has any questions please contact Sandra Magilton on 01244 677373 or Penny White pennywhite@sky.com

A ban on people travelling to Wales from coronavirus hotspots elsewhere in the UK has come into effect.
First Minister Mark Drakeford announced the rules on Wednesday after twice asking Boris Johnson to stop people from English hotspots from travelling.
The ban covers all of Northern Ireland, England’s tier two and three areas and the Scottish central belt.

2020 has been a year like no other for the RNLI. Our lifeboat crews and lifeguards have continued to risk their lives to save others during the lockdown.

Over the past 6 months, all of the RNLI’s stations continued service every single day. Our crews have been missing family occasions and dinners to answer the call from those in peril. Unfortunately, our ability to raise funds has been significantly impacted by the lockdown and we are currently projecting a £60m downturn in income at a time when our services are being called upon more than ever.



I really appreciate that fundraising is quite possibly the last thing on many people’s mind at present, but I wondered if members of the Residents Association including the Evergreen Club might be interested in participating in one of the RNLI’s major fundraising campaigns next year; the RNLI Open Gardens 2021.



An Open Garden can be any shape or size, country or urban, private, or public, a grand hall garden or a driveway plant sale.

An online page will be available to register interest in Open Gardens and where people will also be able to download a ‘how to’ guide. More resources, (posters, adverts etc) will be available later in the year. If anyone is interested in taking part, there’s still plenty of time to get involved.



By pledging to host an Open Garden, neighbours, family and friends can get involved too. If anyone would like further information on RNLI Open Gardens, please email: opengardens@rnli.org.uk



The RNLI is also inviting people to join their Open Garden Facebook group where people can share garden images, tips, stories and ask any questions they have.

You don’t have to open your garden to be part of this group. The more who join, the more we will all hopefully benefit and have some fun. mso-fareast-font-family:”Times New Roman”;color:blue;mso-fareast-language:EN-GB”>https://www.facebook.com/groups/270252550739018/



Thank you for your time and if there are any questions, do please feel free to contact me.



With very best wishes and warmest regards.



Bryan


Bryan Hughes – RNLI volunteer
Mobile + 44 (0)7768 928 942 / email bjh0307@btinternet.com

New Approach To Community Policing – Handbridge Park

Cheshire Police has today launched its new approach to community policing, which will see dedicated police officers assigned to each of the county’s 122 policing areas to tackle crime and support communities.

The initiative has been developed by Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) David Keane who is striving for Cheshire to be the leading police service for delivering community policing.

It builds on the already successfully delivered initiative to provide a dedicated PCSO and police community base for each area.

The new community police officers will work with their fellow PCSO, the wider policing team, and key partners to build relationships within the community, sharing the same mission to solve problems at their root-cause before they become more serious.

They will spend more time in the heart of their dedicated communities and be given time to deal with issues that matter most to local residents.

Another benefit of the changes is local residents will have more opportunities than ever before to directly contact their officers – either online, through social media, or face-to-face during police surgeries.
The work of the new community policing teams will be supported by a funding package for each community, made available from money seized from criminals under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.

This will consist of a £1,000 funding pot for all 122 communities and an additional £10,000 for all eight policing units that local people can bid for to deliver projects which work with the local policing team and key partners to address specific issues.

This now means that you have:

– A local community police base
– A dedicated PCSO
– A dedicated PC
– Regular community policing surgeries
– Funding for your local community

Details of your local police officer, PCSO and community base can be found below:

PC Helen Roberts
PCSO Cain Jones

St Marys Community Centre, Overleigh Road, Chester, CH4 7HL

Message Sent By
Peter Caldwell (Police, Digital Media Manager, Corporate Communications)

The new cycle lanes are in place for a 6 month trial period and anyone opposing the changes becoming permanent must object within that time.  You can comment by emailing: transport@cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk or writing to: Kieran Collins, Highways Commissioner, Cheshire West and Chester Council, Highways Office, Guilden Sutton Lane, Guilden Sutton, Chester CH3 7EX.

A new walk-through testing site for local residents with Covid-19 symptoms is being set up on the Little Roodee car park, opening on Saturday 5 September. From 6 September it will be open 7 days a week from 8am-8pm. Residents must arrive on foot of by cycle.

https://www.chesterstandard.co.uk/news/18692792.new-walk-through-coronavirus-testing-site-open-chester/