Join a Cheshire Pension Fund webinar
Whether you have just joined the council (or the pension fund), you have reached mid-life, or you are thinking of retiring, you can sign up for upcoming webinars with the Cheshire Pension Fund.
The webinars will help you to understand, plan, and be actively ready for retirement, whether that is in two or 20 years’ time.
The webinars will cover three topics over five sessions. The topics are:
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I’ve just joined – what do I need to know?
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I’m thinking of retiring – what do I need to do next?
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Mid-life MOT – what do I need to do next?
The webinars are limited to 350 spaces per subject and are on a strictly first come, first served basis.
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Welcoming Orbitas and Ansa colleagues
In February, we welcomed back colleagues from Orbitas Bereavement Services, who are continuing to deliver services under the banner of Cheshire East Bereavement Services.
The handyperson service, which was also previously delivered by Orbitas, is now part of the housing service within the place directorate.
Next month, we’ll be welcoming colleagues from Ansa back into the council as part of our whole-organisation transformation programme.
1 April is the next major milestone in this project, and we will see operational frontline services - including waste and recycling bin collections, street cleansing, fleet services, parks development and maintenance of green spaces – brought back into the council along with colleagues from Ansa’s corporate services.
Colleagues will largely be joining the place directorate and existing teams sat within the planning and environment services, while others will be joining teams within the resources or chief executive’s office directorates.
Please give them a warm welcome!
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Macclesfield colleagues get an expert's help with their food waste
From left: Michael Moore, George Barker, Binyun and Ralph Kemp
Meet Binyun, here to help you understand what you can and can’t dispose of in our new food waste bins.
Binyun and his friends from Ansa visited Macclesfield Town Hall yesterday to spread the word about the new bins, which are being introduced across all kitchens and canteens in our buildings. Look out for them at Delamere House!
£25 to be won in our staff photo competition
This gorgeous view from Wildboarclough is one of the entries in our staff photo competition. We’re inviting colleagues to share their pictures of Cheshire East – whether that’s the panoramic views around Shutlingsloe, or the hidden gems of our towns and villages.
You can submit your photos until the competition closes on Monday 31 March. Entries may be used to promote the work of the council in any of our communications activities – and there’s a £25 voucher on offer for one lucky winner.
Help us improve our website’s search functionality
Next month, web team colleagues will be launching a new and improved search function on our website. This update aims to provide a more efficient and user-friendly search experience by returning fewer, but more relevant, results.
We need your help to make sure this new feature meets your needs and expectations. Please test out the new search function and share your feedback with us. Let us know if you find the new search experience better than the current one and if there are any results you think are missing.
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Improvement works in our main corporate buildings
 We recently shared the following updates with subscribers of our Delamere House and Macclesfield Town Hall news and updates newsletters. If you’d like to receive these messages, you can sign up for updates below.
Delamere House
Improvement works are taking place on Floor 4, where we are installing a wall along the short side where corporate leadership team (CLT) is based. This will create an additional meeting room for CLT use, replacing the current open-plan arrangement. We expect this work to be complete by the end of March.
Read the full message, or sign up to receive Delamere House updates
Macclesfield Town Hall
The former executive suite has now become a dedicated members’ area. As part of this change:
- The former members’ room is now the deputy leader’s office
- The former chief executive’s office is now the leader of the opposition’s office
- Meeting room ES2 is now a new members’ room.
Room ES1 will remain as a Teams enabled-meeting room available for booking by both staff and members. Consequently, staff will retain access to the members’ area for this purpose. Please ensure that the members’ area is not used as a corridor and only enter this area when you need to use room ES1.
Read the full message, or sign up for Macclesfield Town Hall updates
Welcoming Dami Awobajo and Sal Khan / Goodbye to Paul Goodwin
Dami Awobajo (left) and Sal Khan
We welcome Dami Awobajo as assistant chief executive. Dami started at the council on Monday (17 March), which allows for handover with Karen Wheeler, interim assistant chief executive. Karen will be shifting focus to support council improvement.
We also welcome Sal Khan as interim director of finance. Sal takes over from Paul Goodwin who is retiring.
Paul's team had this to say:
“This week is a sad week for many of us at Cheshire East, as Paul Goodwin is hanging up his calculator and taking an opportunity to retire and spend more time with his family and pursuing his other hobbies outside of finance.
"Having spent over 35 years with the council (and predecessors) the positive impact Paul has had cannot be underestimated, with a particular focus on improving financial knowledge and expertise across finance teams and the rest of the organisation, as well as providing sound advice to our members.
"We will particularly miss how much encouragement and enthusiasm he has for developing their careers, as well as encouraging new people to take up finance as a career. We will also miss his very dry sense of humour.
"Enjoy your retirement Paul!”
Chair of Children and Families update
Councillor Carol Bulman has stood down as chair of Children and Families Committee. Councillor Bulman has served in this role since 2021 and was previously portfolio holder under the cabinet system.
Councillor Laura Crane is taking over as chair of Children and Families Committee.
Councillor Crane will continue as vice-chair of Highways and Transport Committee until 31 March. From that date, Councillor Liz Braithwaite will assume the vice-chair of Highways and Transport Committee and Cllr Heather Seddon will take-up the vice chair of Environment and Communities Committee.
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Celebrating our colleagues on World Social Work Day
Tuesday 18 March was World Social Work Day, a chance to celebrate the amazing work of our social care teams. They work tirelessly to bring compassion, support and hope to those in need.
We hosted an event which included awards, reflections and presentations. Our teams also had the opportunity to expand their communication skills with training from Disability Positive, teaching the basics of British Sign Language.
Congratulations to all our award winners, and a big thank you to all of our social workers. Your dedication is inspiring and you continue to make a real difference to people's lives across the borough.
Support The Big Conversation and help shape the future of healthcare
Engagement sessions will take place on 28 March, 9.30am-12.30pm, at Nantwich Civic Hall; 29 March, midday, at Crewe Market Hall; 1 April, 10am-1pm, at Memorial Court Leisure Centre, Northwich; 8 April, 6pm-9pm, at Infinity House, Crewe; more dates will be added shortly.
Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has launched The Big Conversation. They’re gathering insights from staff, patients, and the wider community to help shape the future of healthcare, including care models, sustainability, and the development of a new Leighton Hospital.
Make your voice heard by attending an in-person forum, engaging in digital discussions, or completing the online survey.
Lifestyle gardeners break ground on a new orchard
Last Friday (14 March), our lifestyle community garden team got together with Macc Wild to plant an orchard at Macclesfield Leisure Centre, including a pear tree planted in memory of service user Julian Brahmhall.
The Lifestyle Group is a Cheshire East Council day centre facility for people living with autism, learning disabilities, epilepsy and limited physical abilities. The gardeners learned about planting and caring for their fruit trees and chatted with Macclesfield MP Tim Roca about their garden.
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