Westminster Park Residents Association

We have received some questions about our local bus service into the city and have been given the following advice by the Council:

• The 61/62 bus service is operating to its normal timetable.
• All passengers have to wear a face covering – from Monday 15^th June it will be a condition of travel.  People failing to do so may be refused travel.
• Carrying capacity has been reduced on buses to about 20% of normal. Buses on this service are 29 seaters, so the maximum carrying capacity observing social distancing measures will be about 6.  If the bus is full to its new capacity, then it will not stop.
• Frodsham Street will be closed for a temporary period from 15^th June to allow for social distancing. Therefore passengers returning from Chester on this service will need to board at Chester Bus Interchange stand B or at the bus stop at the top of Lower Bridge Street.

In recent weeks the Chester Residents’ Associations Group (CRAG) has been working with CWaC and CH1BID to ensure that Chester is a safe and welcoming place for residents and visitors. For those of you who have not ventured into the city for some time it will have quite a different look and feel, with widened pavements to allow for social-distancing/frontage queuing  and a one-way system on the rows. A multi-disciplinary ‘Welcome Team’ will be walking the streets and are a first point of contact for any queries when you arrive in the city.

Please see the attached CWaC and CH1BID Chester re-opening guide.

Also, there is a digital map on the CH1BID website  http://experiencechester.co.uk/chestertogether/

If you click on the drop-down menu and select ‘Plan Your Visit’ it shows pedestrian traffic flow, the location of public hand-sanitiser station (entrance to market) and public toilets (bus interchange).

Please note that this is the ONLY public-toilet that will be open.  Also, whilst many coffee shops and cafes are doing takeaway, they currently have no useable toilet facilities. Therefore plan your visit accordingly particularly if you have children, or anyone has a relevant medical condition.

This is a part of a phased opening of the high-street, with eagerly awaited hospitality sector to follow (hopefully) next month. The next few weeks and months will impact on the success of the high-street long beyond the summer, and so residents are being encouraged to shop safely.

Download (PDF, 267KB)

From Monday 15 June, charity shops will start re-opening across the borough.  They will need help to get back up and running as many of their existing volunteers may still be shielding.

You can sign up here as a volunteer if you have retail experience, customer service skills, have managed teams or just want to help out.

STRONGER FUTURES

Share your ideas on overcoming the challenges of COVID-19 and building a stronger future

Cheshire West and Chester Council has launched Stronger Futures – an engagement exercise to give everyone the chance to share ideas about how we overcome the challenges of COVID-19 and build a stronger future.

Throughout the pandemic people have acted together to do the right thing and support each other. We want that to continue so communities can emerge from the pandemic stronger. Please get involved and share your ideas:

• What does a stronger future mean to you?
• Which challenges do you think are most important to focus on to build a stronger future?
• How do you think the Council and your community can help build a stronger future?

Take part here – Stronger Futures 

A message from Razia Daniels, our Councillor:
Good Afternoon Everyone
I hope you and your family are well.
The fortnightly kerbside garden waste collection service will resume in west Cheshire on Thursday 4 June 2020.
It was suspended in March at the start of the coronavirus pandemic lockdown as staff sickness levels in the workforce increased, and this decision ensured the domestic waste and recycling service could continue to operate as normal.
Staff sickness levels have fallen in recent weeks and more staff are now available to collect residents’ garden waste in addition to providing the usual service.
Collections will return to the previously advertised schedule. Residents are asked not to overfill their bins or leave side garden waste, as they are not be able to collect any garden waste that is not in the green bin.
Please put your green bin out by 7am on your normal scheduled collection day.
They can only empty your garden waste container once on your scheduled collection day. Excess garden waste can be composted, taken to your nearest recycling centre or placed into your garden waste container ready for the next scheduled collection.
Household waste and recycling collections will continue as normal. They will continue to monitor the national COVID risk rating, infection rate, and the continued availability of staff in the weeks to come to ensure they can continue to run all services while ensuring staff safety.
I hope this information is helpful but if you would like any further information please do not hesitate to contact me.
Take Care and Stay Safe
Many Thanks
Best Wishes
Razia
Cllr Razia Daniels
Shadow Cabinet Member for Children and Families
HANDBRIDGE PARK WARD
Home – 01244 312392
Mobile – 07481 234411
https://www.facebook.com/CllrRaziaDaniels/
Twitter – @CllrRDaniels

Cllr Razia Daniels
⁠
Politician

I am not aware of any changes to the ‘shopping list’ that serves Westminster Park, but the ‘experiencechester.co.uk’ website, our digital high street, has been updated with businesses reopening, delivery services, car park info etc. Worth a look if you are thinking of heading into town.

The Secret Gardens of Westminster Park
Many of us have spent more time in our gardens than ever before. They are weeded, planted, clipped and watered to perfection … but we can’t invite anyone in to show them off.

And so to remedy this we are asking for photos – no more than two per garden – and these will be available to view online in the Westminster Park Residents Association Gallery as from Saturday 27 June.

Please send your photos to Mary Pole at pole.mary@gmail.com before Friday 19 June.
Remember, no more than two per garden and these can also include wildlife that visits your garden.

We will display as many as we can but may be constrained by the available digital storage space. No names or addresses will be displayed – the gardens will remain ‘Secret’.

Looking forward to seeing all your lovely gardens.

Westminster Park Gardening Club

Get them to try some free online courses for 13 + students

FutureLearn Schools offers free access to hundreds of online educational courses for school students aged 13+, to continue and expand their learning.  The courses vary from creating computer games to maths puzzles to finding out about the universe – there’s something for everyone.

Find out more about FutureLearn Schools, and get involved here.

Westminster Park certainly know how to party, even in lockdown! Thanks to Annemarie and Niall Macfadyen who cycled around the estate on their tandem taking photos of the celebrations going on. Their photos are on our Facebook page and we hope to post them here in due course. Well done all!