News in Macclesfield

Cheshire East Council is asking residents, businesses and other organisations about its plans for a greener future for the economy and environment.

The council's new corporate plan sets out the vision and priorities for the council over the next four years.

A Macclesfield cyclist has produced a video of him touring the town in just 15 minutes to show it is a good way to get around and encourage infrastructure investment.

Richard Newstead set up the 'Active Travel Macclesfield' YouTube channel three weeks ago to highlight the issues faced by local cyclists and the potential there is to share the roads.

Macclesfield Hospital is set to install a second CT scanner with £500,000 in Coronavirus response funding.

The East Cheshire NHS Trust said the investment has been vital in delivering the imaging needs of the local population, enabling the hospital to dedicate one scanner to suspected or positive COVID-19 patients, and a separate scanner to routine and urgent patients.

Cheshire East Council is urging motorists to park legally and considerately after seeing a rise in illegal and irresponsible parking during the latest lockdown.

It comes amid concerns that vehicles responding to 999 calls could be prevented from accessing emergencies or getting the injured and sick to hospital.

The League against Cruel Sports is calling on voters in Cheshire East to urge their local councillors to ban fox hunting on public land.

Hunting with dogs was banned 15 years ago, but the League says it has compiled 30 reports of activities relating to suspected illegal fox hunting in Cheshire during the last cub and fox hunting seasons alone.

In her latest column, Cllr Sarah Bennet-Wake shares her thoughts on Remembrance and the importance of kindness during this difficult time.

Remembrance

A surge in Covid-19 infection rates in recent days in Cheshire East has prompted a call for a new test and trace system to be established.

The number of people testing positive for coronavirus in the borough jumped by 188 yesterday. That took the total of Covid cases reported over the last seven days (up to November 12) to 928, a rise of 16 per cent on the previous week.

Cheshire East councillors are set to vote next week on whether to adopt a new committee style of decision making in what would be the biggest shake-up of governance since the authority's establishment.

The move would see the scrapping of the current cabinet system and a move to politically proportionate committees being set up in different council areas of responsibility, such as social care.

A new crowdfunding platform could soon be established by Cheshire East Council, after cabinet members approved plans to procure a system for such work.

Councillors also approved a list of 'general purposes' and rules for which crowdfunding could be used at the cabinet meeting on Tuesday, November 10.

Cheshire East Council has stressed its bin collections will continue through lockdown - even if it gets extended beyond December 2.

Ansa Environmental Services, the council's waste company, has pledged to deliver a full service across the borough, including the fulfilment of its Christmas bin collection schedule.