Storm Christoph set to bring heavy rain to Cheshire

Residents across Cheshire are being urged to be prepared following the arrival of Storm Christoph, which is set to bring heavy rain across the county this week.

A number of weather warnings are now active and Cheshire Constabulary is working closely with a number of other agencies to deal with any incidents and to reduce any disruption for the local community.

Due to significant heavy rain forecast over the next few days there is the potential for flooding across the county.

There are also a number of flood warnings in place, including the river Weaver in Northwich and Winsford.

At this stage there is no requirement to evacuate any residents. However, plans are in place should this change and anyone affected by the flood warnings are urged to keep up-to-date with the latest news on the Environment Agency website.

Superintendent Simon Parsonage from Cheshire Constabulary said: “We are working closely with other agencies in the community to monitor the situation and collectively we will do all we can to minimise any disruption across the county and keep people safety.

“All agencies continue to monitor the situation for potential for any flooding and I would encourage residents in the affected areas to monitor the alerts from the Environment Agency and take action if flooding has been forecast in your area.

“With heavy rain forecast, road closures are a possibility and anyone making an essential journey should allow extra time in case of any issues.

“We will continue to monitor the situation closely over the next 48 hours and issue regular updates through our social media accounts.”

Residents are reminded not to walk or drive through any flood water – this is often deeper than it looks, it may be moving fast and there could be hidden hazards underneath such as raised manhole covers, which can pose a danger.

Anyone concerned about potential flooding should sign up for free flood warnings on the Environment Agency’s website, follow them on Twitter@EnvAgencyNW or for the latest information or you can call the Flood Line on 0345 988 1188.

The decennial census is almost upon us.

Households across Cheshire West and Chester will soon be asked to take part in the nationwide survey of housing and the population. It has been carried out every decade since 1801, with the exception of 1941.

Information from the digital-first census will help decide how services are planned and funded in your local area. This could mean things like doctors’ surgeries, housing or new bus routes.

Households will receive a letter with a unique access code in the post, allowing them to complete their questionnaire online. Paper questionnaires will be available on request. Census day is March 21.

For more information, visit census.gov.uk.

The garden waste collection service will be suspended for a further four weeks from 11 January. This now means that garden waste collections will now resume on Monday 8 February 2021

Garden Waste is normally suspended for 4 weeks over the winter in Cheshire West and Chester, this year from 14 December 2020 resuming on 11 January 2021.

However, this is being extended until 8 February 2021 to enable CWR to use resources to support both recycling and household containers during the festive period and provide resilience to maintain the core waste and recycling kerbside collections over the anticipated exceptionally busy winter period, and as part of a proactive approach to the ongoing tiered Covid restrictions facing the borough.   

From April through to September 2020 the waste volumes collected via the domestic and recycling rounds, including food waste, increased by 17% as a result of the lockdowns and residents working from home, over the Christmas Holiday and ease of lock down restriction for a short time over Christmas, this may result in additional waste and carboard/plastic and paper recycling 

Residents will still be able to dispose of their real Christmas trees using the below methods:

• Christmas trees can be taken for reuse at:
  • Hooton Golf Club Chester Road, Hooton, Ellesmere Port, CH66 1QF
  • Whitby Park Stanney Lance Ellesmere Port, CH65 9 AQ
  • Stanney Fields Park Hinderton Road, Neston, CH64 9PE
  • Westminster Park Hough Green, Chester, CH4 8JW
  • Alexandra Park Canadian Avenue, Chester, CH2 3HH
  • Castle Park Fountain Lane, Frodsham, WA6 6SA
  • Knights Grange Sports Complex Winsford, CW7 2PT

Trees will be mulched for use throughout the year in your parks and gardens

• Charity collections

Just Helping raise money for local hospices by collecting and recycling your real tree. Find your nearest hospice to arrange a collection.

• Just Helping: Christmas tree collection

• Household Waste Recycling Centres

Premises near Frodsham, Cheshire

Avian influenza (HPAI) of the H5N8 strain was confirmed at a premises near Frodsham in Cheshire which rears broiler breeder chickens on 2 November 2020. On the 3 November further testing confirmed this to be a high pathogenicity strain (HPAI H5N8).  A 3km Protection Zone and a 10km Surveillance Zone have been put in place around the infected premises to limit the risk of the disease spreading. Public Health England (PHE) advises that the risk to public health from the virus is very low and the Food Standards Agency advises that avian influenzas pose a very low food safety risk for UK consumers. Properly cooked poultry and poultry products, including eggs, are safe to eat.

Further details can be found here:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/avian-influenza-bird-flu#movement-controls-and-licences

https://www.yourwestcheshire.co.uk/NewsArticle/%7B47F01839-50B6-4CEF-B60F-714BA53281EC%7D

National:

*The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) are posting and tweeting about the latest updates on Avian influenza.  Please share any relevant posts via your social media channels to help communicate the key messages and restrictions:

Gov.uk news story – https://www.gov.uk/government/news/avian-influenza-bird-flu-national-prevention-zone-declared

Message from Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA)

Top lines:

• An Avian Influenza Prevention Zone (AIPZ) has been declared across the whole of England to mitigate the risk of the disease spreading

• This means it is a legal requirement for all bird keepers to follow strict biosecurity measures.

• The risk level of avian influenza incursion in wild birds in Great Britain has been raised from ‘medium to ‘high’ following two unrelated confirmed cases in England this week and increasing reports of the disease affecting flocks in mainland Europe.

• Public Health England has confirmed that the risk to public health is very low and the Food Standards Agency has said that bird flu poses a very low food safety risk for UK consumers. 

• Bird keepers should remain alert for any signs of disease, report suspected disease immediately and ensure they are maintaining good biosecurity on their premises. 

• Avian Influenza is in no way connected to the COVID-19 pandemic which is caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus which is not carried in poultry.

Biosecurity actions for poultry keepers (both commercial and recreational/back yard keepers)

The prevention zone means bird keepers across the country must:

• Ensure the areas where birds are kept are unattractive to wild birds, for example by netting ponds, and by removing wild bird food sources;
• Feed and water your birds in enclosed areas to discourage wild birds;
• Minimise movement in and out of bird enclosures;
• Clean and disinfect footwear and keep areas where birds live clean and tidy;
• Reduce any existing contamination by cleansing and disinfecting concrete areas, and fencing off wet or boggy areas.

The prevention zone will be in place until further notice and will be kept under regular review as part of our work to monitor the threat of bird flu.

Poultry keepers and members of the public should report dead wild birds to the Defra helpline on 03459 33 55 77 and keepers should report suspicion of disease to APHA on 03000 200 301. Keepers should familiarise themselves with our avian flu advice.

Wild birds:

• There have been a number of confirmed reports of avian influenza in wild birds including geese and swans in the Netherlands and northern Germany in recent weeks. These wild birds are all on the waterfowl flyway from breeding grounds in western Russia, where the H5N8 strain was reported in poultry in mid-October.
• Wild birds migrating to the UK from mainland Europe during the winter period can spread the disease to poultry and other captive birds.
• All bird keepers and members of the public are being urged to prevent direct or indirect contact with wild birds.
• Public Health England (PHE) advises that the risk to public health from the virus is very low and the Food Standards Agency advises that avian influenzas pose a very low food safety risk for UK consumers. Properly cooked poultry and poultry products, including eggs, are safe to eat.

Chief Veterinary Officer Christine Middlemiss said:

“It is important now more than ever that bird keepers ensure they are doing all they can to maintain and strengthen biosecurity measures on their premises to prevent further outbreaks.

“Public Health England has confirmed that the risk to public health is very low and the Food Standards Agency advises that bird flu poses a very low food safety risk for UK consumers.

“We ask that people continue to report findings of dead wild birds so that we can investigate the extent of infection.”

With the support of grants from both the Police and Crime Commissioner and our CWAC Councillors, the Parish Council used funds from the Precept to purchase four interactive speed signs for the village. Data is stored 24 hours a day which records vehicle speeds both on their approach to the signs and at the point of passing the signs. This data is sent, on a monthly basis, to the Police and also to Cheshire West Highways department. It shows roughly a third of all traffic travels over 40 mph in our 30 mph zones.

The first two signs were purchased and positioned at Station Road and the Parish Rooms in August 2018. In November 2018 they were moved to Milton Rough and Acton Lane. Once we had a comparison of speed data at all four of sites, the Parish Council decided to move them permanently to Station Road and Milton Rough in February 2019, and to purchase a third sign for the Parish Rooms (March 2019). A fourth sign for Acton Lane was installed in December 2020.