We have spoken to residents across both villages and listened carefully to what matters most. These are not priorities we have chosen from a national party leaflet. They are the issues you have told us about, time and again, on the doorstep and in the street. Here is where we stand and what we intend to do about each one.
The Green Gap is the open land that separates Wistaston and Willaston from the urban sprawl of Crewe. It is what makes these communities feel like villages rather than just another part of town. Once it is gone, it is gone for good.
We have already seen what happens when residents are not properly defended. The outline planning application for 660 homes on land east of Middlewich Road was approved despite the ward councillor and Wistaston Parish Council doing everything they could to fight it. Labour councillors from the neighbouring Crewe West ward moved and seconded the approval of that application. The casting vote of the acting chairman sealed it. That decision was a serious blow to this community and we will not forget it.
There will be more applications coming. Developers know this land is valuable and they will keep trying. Roger and David will be at every planning meeting, scrutinising every application and making sure the voice of Wistaston and Willaston residents is heard loud and clear before any decision is made.
What we will do:
- Attend and speak at every relevant planning committee meeting affecting the ward
- Challenge any application that threatens the Green Gap or the character of the villages
- Work with Wistaston and Willaston Parish Councils to co-ordinate objections
- Keep residents informed of any new planning applications as soon as they are submitted
- Push Cheshire East to strengthen Green Gap protections in the Local Plan
The state of the roads across Wistaston and Willaston is not acceptable. Potholes appear, get a temporary patch, and then come back worse a few months later. Residents have been putting up with this for years and it is not good enough.
On top of that, the way roadworks and diversions are managed in this area shows a complete lack of joined-up thinking. Temporary traffic lights and diversions seem to appear with no strategy and no consideration for the knock-on effect on residents. Streets are disrupted one after another with no attempt to co-ordinate the work or minimise the disruption to people trying to get on with their daily lives.
Cheshire East Council has claimed it is making the biggest investment in highways in a decade. That investment needs to be felt in Wistaston and Willaston, not just in other parts of the borough.
What we will do:
- Report every pothole and road defect to Cheshire East via TraCE and follow up until it is properly repaired, not just patched
- Challenge Cheshire East to co-ordinate roadworks and diversions properly across the ward
- Push for a proper long-term resurfacing programme for the worst affected roads
- Hold the council to account on its highways investment promises
- Encourage residents to report issues directly via our Report an Issue page
This might sound like small stuff but it is not. How an area looks and feels matters to the people who live there. Wistaston and Willaston are villages that residents are proud of and they deserve to be kept that way.
Residents have told us about bins not being collected on time, grass verges that are left to grow untidy, weeds coming up through gutters and pavements, and dog waste bins that are not emptied often enough. These are basic services that the council is responsible for and they are not being delivered to the standard residents have every right to expect.
A missed bin collection or an overflowing dog waste bin might seem like a minor inconvenience but when it happens week after week it sends a message that nobody is paying attention. We are paying attention.
What we will do:
- Report missed bin collections and follow them up with Cheshire East directly
- Push for more frequent emptying of dog waste bins in known problem locations
- Challenge Cheshire East on grass cutting frequency for verges and public spaces
- Report weed growth in gutters and pavements for treatment
- Work with Crewe Town Council Rangers on litter and general tidiness in public areas
- Keep a record of repeated failures and use them to hold the council to account
Residents should feel safe in their own village. That is not too much to ask. We have heard concerns about antisocial behaviour, groups of youths hanging around in ways that make people feel uncomfortable and intimidated, and a general sense that things need to be kept on top of before they get worse.
Wistaston and Willaston are good communities. The vast majority of people here look out for one another and take pride in where they live. But that does not mean problems should be ignored or brushed under the carpet. When residents raise concerns about safety, they deserve to be taken seriously and to see action taken.
What we will do:
- Work with the local Cheshire Police team to make sure concerns from residents are being acted on
- Support and encourage residents to report antisocial behaviour via 101 or anonymously via Crimestoppers
- Raise persistent issues directly with the Local Policing Unit at Crewe
- Keep residents informed about what is being done through our Facebook page and website
- Push for visible community policing presence in the villages
Parking is causing real problems in specific spots across the ward and residents have been raising it consistently. Two locations in particular keep coming up.
Church Lane school parking is a serious concern. The chaos around drop-off and pick-up times outside the school makes the road dangerous for other drivers, cyclists and pedestrians, and frustrating for residents who live nearby. It needs proper management and enforcement, not just the occasional visit when someone complains.
Kings Drive shops is another persistent issue. Inconsiderate and obstructive parking around the local shops is affecting residents, businesses and anyone trying to use the area safely. Again this is something that has been raised repeatedly and needs a proper, lasting solution rather than being ignored.
What we will do:
- Work with Cheshire East Highways and the local school to find a proper solution to Church Lane school parking
- Push for appropriate parking management and enforcement around Kings Drive shops
- Engage with residents directly affected to understand the full extent of both problems
- Raise both issues formally with Cheshire East if they are not being addressed
Our Promise to Residents
We will not make promises we cannot keep. What we will promise is this: we will turn up, we will fight your corner, and we will not go quiet when things are not being done properly.
If you have an issue that is not listed here, we want to hear about it. These villages deserve councillors who are genuinely working for them. That is exactly what Roger and David intend to be.