Help shape plans to tackle the impacts of climate change

There is just over a week to share your thoughts on how the Council can continue to tackle the impacts of climate change. The Council is running an early-stage engagement activity to seek the views of residents, and other partners across the borough, as it develops the Climate Emergency Response Plan for the borough for the 2025-2030 period. Have your say on any of the six themes that the plan will focus on before Sunday, 1 September. A formal consultation on the draft plan will take place in the autumn.

Provide your feedback on Climate Emergency action in the borough

Fully-funded Home Upgrade Grants available for homes not heated by mains gas

As we head towards the cooler autumn months and our attention turns to keeping our homes warm over the winter period, now is a great time to look into energy efficient grants you maybe eligible to apply for.  The Council’s Home Upgrade Grant is fully funded for eligible homeowners whose heating is not supplied by mains gas and offers a variety of energy efficient improvements to help reduce energy bills, improve health and wellbeing and lower carbon emissions.

Find out more about the scheme and how to apply

Help support proposals for a Chester repair café

Chester Friends of the Earth is looking to start a repair café in Chester. Repair cafés are pop-up events held on regular dates where the local community can get their broken household items repaired for free or for a small donation by volunteers. The group is raising funding for the project through the crowdfunding platform Cheshire West Crowd. So far they’ve received over 50% of pledges to reach their funding target, which will help to reduce the amount of items ending up in landfill. 

Find out more about the initiative and make a pledge

Get around for £2 until 31 December 2024

The scheme that encouraged passengers to ‘Get Around for £2’ by bus has been extended to 31 December 2024.  All bus operators participating in the original campaign will continue to do so. Cheshire West and Chester Council has worked with operators to encourage as many as possible to participate, although some services will not be eligible.

Journeys starting in Wales are not eligible for the scheme, however local concessions have been introduced by some operators.

Check to see if your bus operator is taking part

Understanding what industrial decarbonisation means to local people

Enterprise Cheshire and Warrington, which support economic growth in the region, is working with public, private and voluntary organisations on a project to better understand the views of residents and businesses on industrial decarbonisation projects in the area. The first step of this project is to run a series of focus groups to gauge understanding and sentiment about ideas like industrial decarbonisation and net zero. If you are interested in getting involved get in touch with them by the 6 September.

Find out more about the focus groups and how to sign up

Local eco events taking place in the next month

Local sustainability group, Eco Communities has compiled a list of eco events taking place in the borough during August and September. Events range from the regular ‘People, Planet, Pint’ catch ups - for anyone who cares for the planet to come together to chat about climate action, to film screenings of environmental films. Chester Zoo has its fantastic Wildlife Connections event taking place on 14 and 15 September and the Winsford Salt Fair, which has received support from the Eco Communities team to make their operations more sustainable, also takes place on Saturday 14 September .

Read more about the events 

Council’s on-demand rural bus service celebrates its first birthday

The Council’s on-demand rural bus service, which aims to improve connectivity in some of the more remote parts of the borough, has celebrated its first birthday recently. The itravel service, which began on 31 July 2023, has clocked up an impressive 11,311 journeys with over 15,000 passengers jumping on board. The service is playing its part to help reduce car dependency, connect communities and reduce social isolation, as well as helping the borough reach its net zero targets.

Read more about the success of the itravel service

Trees planted at ice cream farm as part of agroforestry scheme 

A popular ice cream farm in Cheshire is set to introduce more flavours to its menu thanks to a selection of fruit and nut trees that have been planted on their farm this year as part of a wider agroforestry project. Funding through The Mersey Forest’s Trees for Climate programme was used to support Snugburys to plant over 2,300 trees on their 45ha farm in Cheshire. The tree planting season runs from October to March each year and The Mersey Forest is continuing to urge landowners with suitable land for planting to get in touch.

Read more about the agroforestry project

Student shortlisted for major national environmental award

Laura Tuckey, a soon-to-be graduate from the University of Chester has been shortlisted in the Sustainability Champion of the Year – Student category in the highly respected Green Gown UK and Ireland Awards. The awards recognise the exceptional sustainability initiatives being undertaken by universities and colleges across the world. Laura was nominated by the University’s Sustainability Team to recognise her dedication to giving students access to sustainability-related opportunities.

Read more about Laura’s nomination