Connected Communities

Across Cheshire East we all have a responsibility to support each other for the good of our communities. We use an Asset Based approach to bring together and build upon our assets (organisations, places/buildings, knowledge and enthusiasm) in our communities. Cheshire East Council will support and engage with communities including the voluntary, community and faith sector and the many active volunteer-based partnerships, for more details you can view the council’s Connected Communities strategy.

We work collectively at a local level to make Cheshire East the best place it can be for its residents. Below are just some of the ways this is happening and information on the teams involved:

Social Franchise

We have partnered with a range of churches, community centres and other settings to create our Connected Communities Social Franchise and host a range of activities and support services closer to where people live.

Each setting delivers services tailored for their community, from coffee mornings, computer classes and line dancing, to learning a language, sharing a problem and support for stroke sufferers – there’s something for everyone!

We’ve provided support to the settings listed below to enhance their digital offer, and if you’re looking to start your own group then the Centres listed below may also be able to provide free room hire – contact them to find out more.

For more information email socialfranchise@cheshireeast.gov.uk

Nantwich

Nantwich centres and venues
TypeAddress

Centre

Nantwich Methodist Church, CW5 5RP

Centre

Nantwich Civic Hall, CW5 5DG

Centre

Audlem Public Hall, CW3 0AH

Venue

Hankelow Methodist Church, CW3 0JN

Crewe

Crewe centres and venues
TypeAddress

Centre

YMCA Gresty Road, CW2 6EL

Centre

St Andrew's Church Hall, CW2 6JL

Centre

Caritas Community Centre, CW1 2JX

Venue

YMCA Sherborne, CW1 4LA

Venue

Motherwell Community Hub, CW2 8RG

Venue

St Peter's Church, CW1 2AG

Venue

Shavington Village Hall, CW2 5DP

Sandbach, Middlewich and Alsager

Sandbach, Middlewich and Alsager centres and venues
TypeAddress

Centre

Middlewich Methodist Church, CW10 0EF

Venue

Willowmere Supported Living, CW10 9HW

Congleton and Holmes Chapel

Congleton and Holmes Chapel centres and venues
TypeAddress

Centre

Holmes Chapel Leisure Centre, CW4 7DZ

Centre

The Old Saw Mill, CW12 1HJ

Centre

St John's Community Centre, CW12 2ES

Venue

Mossley Village Hall, CW12 3HX

Knutsford

Knutsford centres and venues
TypeAddress

Centre

The Welcome, WA16 8PD

Venue

Knutsford Town Council Offices, WA16 6TA

Chelford, Wilmslow and Alderley Edge

Chelford, Wilmslow and Alderley Edge centres and venues
TypeAddress

Centre

Wilmslow United Reformed Church, SK9 1PR

Venue

Oakmere Supported Living, SK9 3NS

Venue

The Guild for Lifelong Learning, SK9 5HD

Macclesfield

Macclesfield centres and venues
TypeAddress

Centre

The Green in the Corner, SK10 2RJ

Centre

St John's Church, SK11 8RS

Centre

St Paul's Church, SK11 7AJ

Centre

St Barnabas Church, SK11 7RS

Centre

Church of the Resurrection, SK10 3HT

Venue

ArtSpace, SK11 7JB

Venue

Sutton St James Church, SK11 0DS

Venue

The Hope Centre, SK11 7NA

Venue

Gawsworth Village Hall, SK11 9QY

Bollington, Disley and Poynton

Bollington, Disley and Poynton centres and venues
TypeAddress

Centre

Poynton Civic Hall, SK12 1RB

Centre

Disley Community Centre, SK12 2BB

 Support for Ukrainian Crisis

We are providing a range of support Ukrainian families escaping the war in Ukraine, including the Ukrainian Family Scheme and Homes for Ukraine.

Community Grants

Cheshire East Council is developing opportunities for the VCSFE sector to apply for grant funding over the coming weeks to enable projects to start from 1 April 2023. Through utilising external sources of funding, grants will be available to organisations able to implement projects which support outcomes linked to the following themes:

  • Rural Community Transport
  • Health and Wellbeing
  • Cost of Living Crisis

We will be holding engagements events prior to the application deadlines, to provide an opportunity to discuss projects, ask questions and give further details on fund objectives. Please see our Community Grants web page for full details on each fund, including objectives, maximum application amounts and deadlines. 

Cheshire East Crowd

Cheshire East Council has recently launched our new crowdfunding platform, Cheshire East Crowd, with up to £10,000 available to support great community projects.

This exciting new initiative, in partnership with crowdfunding platform Spacehive, will enable local people, businesses, the council and other organisations to pledge alongside each other to crowdfunding campaigns that bring your ideas to life.

For more information please see our Cheshire East Crowd webpage, email communitygrants2@cheshireeast.gov.uk or visit Spacehive's website.

Neighbourhood Partnerships

We set up and facilitate Neighbourhood Partnerships to bring together a range of partners including the Voluntary, Community and Faith (VCF) sector, Police, children’s centres, schools, Youth Services, Youth Offending Team, local elected members and businesses.

The purpose is to understand local priorities based on local intelligence. We work as a partnership to create local projects that impact on those local priorities. Agencies and local residents work collaboratively to create and tailor projects to suit that community.

We have a number of Neighbourhood Partnerships across Cheshire East. Each of them serve an area across the borough where we have identified a need to reduce health inequality.

Contact your Community Development Officer to join an existing Neighbourhood Partnership or to set one up in your community.

Care Communities

Care Communities bring together Health and Social Care professionals to understand local priorities. They provide a range of integrated Health and Social Care services within a community and in primary care settings to best suit local residents and impact on local priorities.

We have eight Care Communities across Cheshire East, governed by local clinical leads. Each of our Care Communities serves a population ranging between 30,000 and 50,000 people. You may hear us use their acronyms a lot, so the handy table below shows which areas are covered by each community!

Care communities and the areas they cover
Care communityArea covered

Nantwich and Rural

Nantwich, Bunbury, Church Minshull, Wrenbury, Wybunbury, Audlem, Bickerton, Bridgemere, Hough

Crewe

Crewe, Wistaston, Shavington

SMASH

Sandbach, Middlewich, Alsager, Scholar Green, Haslington, Brereton

CHOC

Congleton, Holmes Chapel, Buglawton, Goostrey, Cranage

Knutsford

Knutsford, Mobberley, High Legh

CHAW

Chelford, Handforth, Alderley Edge, Wilmslow

Macclesfield

Macclesfield, Gawsworth, Langley, Wildboarclough, Rainow

BDP

Bollington, Disley, Poynton

Our team

Our team operates in four distinct workstreams;

  1. Community Development – to support local communities and develop new projects with local organisations
  2. Grants and Infrastructure – to ensure that groups have the funding and resources required to support our communities
  3. Community Connectors – to support vulnerable residents, including those who may need the help of a volunteer
  4. Community Liaison – to support hard-to-reach families, refugees and asylum seekers, veterans and others

You can use the key contacts below to get in touch


Community roles and contacts
RoleContact

Senior Community Development Officer

(Community Development)

Sharon Joynson

Email: Sharon.Joynson2@cheshireeast.gov.uk

Community Development Officer

(Nantwich and Rural)

Deb Lindop

Email: Deb.Lindop@cheshireeast.gov.uk

Community Development Officer

(Crewe)

Muka Khan

Email: Muktadir.Khan@cheshireeast.gov.uk

Community Development Officer

( SMASH )

Lucie Ferneyhough

Email: Lucie.Ferneyhough@cheshireeast.gov.uk

Community Development Officer

( CHOC )

Jonny Gribbin

Email: Jonathan.Gribbin@cheshireeast.gov.uk

Community Development Officer

(Knutsford and CHAW )

Val Burlison

Email: Val.Burlison@cheshireeast.gov.uk

Community Development Officer

(Macclesfield and BDP )

Mark Gleave

Email: mark@healthboxcic.com

Community Development Officer

(Social Franchise)

Joe Cosby

Email: Joe.Cosby@cheshireeast.gov.uk

Grants information

Email: communitygrants2@cheshireeast.gov.uk

Homes for Ukraine information

Email: RefugeeInfo@cheshireeast.gov.uk

Community Liaison information

Email: CommunityCohesion@cheshireeast.gov.uk

Volunteering information

Email: Partnerships@cheshireeast.gov.uk

Cheshire East Social Action Partnership

Delivered by Pulse Regeneration, the Cheshire East Social Action Partnership aims to develop a strong local social impact culture through effective social action, underpinned by a thriving Voluntary, Community, Faith and Social Enterprise (VCFSE) Sector.

The  VCFSE  sector in Cheshire East is close to communities; understands local needs; provides local services, resources and facilities; and has a vital role to play in reducing pressure on demand for statutory services such as social care and health services.

The Cheshire East Social Action Partnership supports the Communities team in four key ways;

  1. Increased capacity and sustainability of the  VCFSE sector
  2.  Builds better connections between individuals and the  VCFSE sector
  3. Supports partnership working between organisations and across sectors
  4. Work with businesses to foster collaborative working, helping them meet their social value,  CSR and employee volunteering commitments

More information on the Cheshire East Social Action Partnership website.

Connected Communities team - privacy notice

Connected Communities team - privacy notice

Connected Communities social media

Follow us on Facebook web site 

Page last reviewed: 04 January 2023