BRAND SHORTLIST ANNOUNCED FOR NEW CHESHIRE EAST COUNCIL

The public have a chance to give their views on a new logo for Cheshire East Council from today and they can choose from “hills & water”, a “wheatsheaf”, and a “rising sun”.

The three brand identities have been chosen from a selection created by in-house graphics teams at the councils which are to be merged to form Cheshire East.  The shortlist, made by members of Cheshire East’s Cabinet, will now be subject to feedback from the public and council staff, before a final brand identity is chosen later this year.

Announcing the shortlist, Councillor David Brown, the Cabinet Member Designate for Performance and Capacity, said: “Any new logo must be distinctive, recognisable, and needs to effectively communicate the values of the new authority to its audiences. So, we want to invite comments and suggestions for improvements from the public, our staff, voluntary organisations and statutory bodies. We’re hosting focus group meetings and inviting comments online through our website.  I encourage everyone to respond.”

Follow this link to take part in the online Cheshire East Branding Survey

The new authority takes over all local government services on April 1, 2009, from Macclesfield, Congleton, Crewe & Nantwich Boroughs, and Cheshire County Council.

Focus group meetings with the public are being held at venues across the Cheshire East area over the fortnight, including a session with young people. The online questionnaire will also be used to gauge opinion, running until Friday 22 August.

Councillor Wesley Fitzgerald,  Leader of Cheshire East Shadow Council, says:  “We’ve used the expertise of designers whom we already employ, so there’s been no additional expense to the taxpayer, and they’ve produced some very eye-catching work.  I look forward to hearing people’s views before we select and unveil a brand identity to represent a new flagship, credible organisation in the public’s eyes.”

The costs of implementing the new identity will be featured in a separate report to councillors, once the brand has been chosen and the Council’s requirements identified.

Photo: Cllr David Brown with the final three logo designs

The leadership of the new Cheshire East Shadow Council has been announced following the first full meeting of the local authority, which takes over all council services in April 2009.

Macclesfield’s Leader Wesley Fitzgerald was elected Leader of the new authority and Roland Domleo of Congleton was voted in as his deputy at the meeting in the Municipal Offices, Crewe, on Tuesday 13 May.

Councillor Fitzgerald told the meeting:  "I am honoured to be appointed and have a lot to live up to. This is untrodden territory and we have to work together. It is essential that we do have a united council going forward. The people who put us here expect it of us."

Councillors also voted in a Chairman – Margaret Simon – and Vice Chairman, Gordon Baxendale.

The meeting adopted a constitution, a Member code of conduct, a committee structure, and approved the designation of Julie Openshaw as interim monitoring officer and Lisa Quinn as Interim Chief Finance Officer. Councillor Fitzgerald also tabled a list of Cabinet and Committee appointees.

The Conservatives won 59 of the 81 seats at the May 2008 elections, with Liberal Democrats on 12, Labour 6, Middlewich First (3) and Nantwich Independent (1).

 Cabinet

• David Brickhill
• David Brown
• Roland Domleo
• Paul Findlow
• Wesley Fitzgerald
• Frank Keegan
• Andrew Knowles
• Jamie Macrae 
• Peter Mason
• Brian Silvester

Committees

• Governance and Constitution 
• Scrutiny
• Staffing
• Joint Liaison
• Advisory Panel – People
• Advisory Panel – Places
• Advisory Panel – Performance & Capacity
• Standards