Mayor's Christmas Message

To All Cheshire East Residents,

Greetings to you all.

It’s that time of year again when the frost descends upon us, dark nights set in, and we begin to get into the festive spirit.

For me, the real magic of this time of year is found in spending time with friends and family members, and reaching out further to the wider community to extend the hand of friendship and companionship to more vulnerable members of our society.

At Christmas, I relish the time I spend with the many excellent voluntary organisations and schools across Cheshire East – seeing the excitement and enthusiasm of schoolchildren in our area in particular, never fails to remind me of what a special time of year this is.

It has without doubt been a fast-moving and eventful year, during which we have seen the introduction of our new Unitary Authority. We have seen the impact of the recession across the country, with recession task groups here in Cheshire East doing their utmost to minimise this impact, and many wonderful achievements for our Authority.

We were delighted to be awarded an ‘excellent’ rating for the care of adults with learning difficulties at the Wilmslow Supported Living Network, and to have our recycling efforts recognised in DEFRA’s figures for this year, with Congleton coming out top in the rankings for the North West.

We’ve seen the first of many British citizenship ceremonies take place at Crewe Hall, and the accreditation of our community wardens to give them greater powers to tackle crime and anti social behaviour.

I’m delighted to welcome on board at Cheshire East one of my former Crewe and Nantwich Borough Council colleagues, newly-elected Councillor Stan Davies. Councillor Davies will now represent the Cholmondeley Ward, following the sad death of the long-serving and much-admired Councillor Allan Richardson.

I also reflect now on the many events which took place across Cheshire East to mark Remembrance Day. It was a great honour to stand alongside our war veterans and local dignitaries, with the British Legion, to remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country. I’d take a moment now to remember our local troops in particular – of the Mercian Regiment – who are currently out in Afghanistan. Our thoughts are with them and their families at this time.

I take a great deal of pride in the work of Cheshire East Council throughout our first year, and I hope you agree, we are serving the diverse communities of our area well.

I look forward to continuing my work throughout Cheshire East, and meeting you in our schools, community centres, workplaces and charities, into the New Year and beyond.

I’d like to take this opportunity to extend my thanks to my Mayoral team, fellow Councillors, Cheshire East Council staff, the many community groups and organisations I have worked with throughout 2009 and, most of all, to you, the Cheshire East public for your continuing support.

Wishing you a very Merry Christmas, and a happy and prosperous 2010.

Best Wishes,


Councillor Margaret Simon
Mayor of Cheshire East