Elizabeth Wood

Businesses, community and voluntary groups and health sector representatives are among those being urged to help shape a new economic plan for Cheshire and Warrington.

Cheshire and Warrington Local Enterprise Partnership is working closely with the region’s local authorities to develop a new Sustainable & Inclusive Economic Plan as part of a collective ambition to be home to the UK’s healthiest, most sustainable, inclusive, and growing economy.

Using the latest data and evidence the fresh economic plan aims to ensure it reflects emerging trends and a changing world ranging from the war in Ukraine to Brexit, Levelling Up and the pandemic.

It also considers other factors such as, high inflation, energy prices, Net zero, supply chain and skills/labour shortages.

To ensure stakeholders’ views help shape the masterplan – businesses, community and voluntary sector organisations and groups, health sector and local authority representatives are being invited to have their say at a series of engagement workshops.

Warrington Borough Council, #CheshireEast Council and Cheshire West and Chester Council will co-host the engagement workshops in their respective areas.

List of the events – click on the link below for more details and to book a ticket

Cheshire East consultation event at Crewe Alexandra Football Club – Friday 21 July 9am-1.30pm

For more details about the SIEP and engagement workshops email:
strategy@cheshireandwarrington.com

To book your place and to learn more about the Sustainable & Inclusive Economic Plan please click here.

A Golf Day held at Marton Meadows golf club and sponsored by AstraZeneca has raised almost £6,000 in total for the Silklife Foodbank.

17 teams took part in the “Silklife Foodbank Charity Challenge”, including four from AstraZeneca.

The Silklife Foodbank, Macclesfield exists to provide emergency food parcels for people facing a hunger crisis situation in Macclesfield and Bollington.

All funds raised at the event will be matched by AstraZeneca and donated to the food bank.

Dan Blackman, Team Lead Co-Ordinator at the food bank said “With food donations down, we are now relying more and more upon fundraising to be able to continue.  We saw referrals more than double in the 2020/21 pandemic and this number has tripled since the cost of living crisis. Food poverty is now affecting families in our town more than ever before.”

Proprietor of Marton Meadows GC, Kelle Hares, already volunteers for the charity and the Club have a Foodbank Box in their Clubhouse collecting ambient food donations and toiletries from players & visitors; cash donations are also accepted at Reception.

Lisa Harrop, Assistant Manager said: “We were delighted to host the event and lend further support to the fundraising efforts of the Silklife Foodbank. Sincere thanks to everyone who participated in the Texas Scramble, bought raffle tickets and donated on the day, we’re thrilled with the monies raised and the opportunity to continue to help such a worthy local cause during these difficult times!”

For further information on the Silklife Foodbank or to discover ways to support them, visit their Facebook Page:

https://www.facebook.com/SilklifeFoodbank

Everyone is feeling the pinch at the moment and we can all do with a helping hand now and then which is why, when Chamber patron AstraZeneca chose the Silklife Foodbank as one of their nominated local charities for 2023/24 and then approached chamber member Marton Meadows Golf Course with the idea of a Golf Themed Fundraiser, the club jumped at the chance to lend their support.

Proprietor of Marton Meadows GC, Kelle Hares, already volunteers for the charity and so the club were delighted to not only agree to support the proposed event but also to host it.

This weekend will see the culmination of weeks of planning with AstraZeneca’s ‘Silklife Foodbank Charity Challenge’ taking place at Marton Meadows GC on Saturday 17 June 2023 from 1pm.

At the core of the event is a nine hole Texas Scramble Open Competition, with a live presentation for the winning team and the opportunity for one lucky team to walk away with tickets for this year’s 151^st Open Championship at Royal Liverpool in July. There will be virtual golf experiences available in The Bunker, Marton Meadows’ state-of-the-art golf simulator studio, and chipping challenges in the outdoor practice area.

Golfers can also take advantage of club cleaning services on offer on the day with the Silklife Foodbank Roadshow, DJ, Raffle, BBQ and outside Bar all on hand to help things go with a swing!

All funds raised at the event will be matched by AstraZeneca and donated to the Silklife Foodbank.

The Silklife Foodbank, Macclesfield exists to provide emergency food parcels for people facing a hunger crisis situation in Macclesfield and Bollington. Referrals come via professionals in the public emergency services; health and social care division; housing support division; education sector and public advice lines such as Citizens Advice and Cheshire East Emergency Assist. The foodbank saw referrals more than double in the 2020/21 covid pandemic and this number has tripled since the Cost of Living Crisis (based on what was given out on a monthly average in 2019). Team Lead Co-ordinator of the 60 strong volunteer team, Dan Blackman, states “What concerns me most is that our service has seen the number of families reaching out for support increase by 30% in the last 12 months, this means that food poverty is now affecting children in our town more than ever before.”

Dan continues, “With food donations down due to food prices at the tills on the increase, we are now relying more and more upon fundraising to be able to continue this great service. If you are a golfer, please pick up the phone and call Marton Meadows today and book a team on the event to raise important funds for the foodbank. Thank you.”

Dan finishes by saying, ” I am so very proud of all those involved in making the Silklife Foodbank what it is. From those who organise food collections to those who donate through the various donation points; school and workplace collections and those who donate through justgiving; those who sort, date, stock and manage the food; to those who bag and deliver the food; those in admin; those who organise events; to those who will sit and talk with clients and to those services we signpost to. What a team we have”.

For more information on the wonderful work the Silklife Foodbank do in our local community or to discover ways to support them, go to their Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/search/top/?q=SILKLIFE%20FIOODBANK

To find out more about AstraZeneca’s Silklife Charity Challenge at Marton Meadows Golf Course this weekend, call: 01260 224008.

TrunkBBI is delighted to announce it has won a three-stage competitive pitch to deliver the next exciting chapter in Auto Trader’s B2B digital evolution of the automotive landscape.

The 75 strong Manchester headquartered agency will be working with Auto Trader to evolve its brand proposition ‘Together, We Do More’ across multiple creative channels. ‘Together, We Do More’ was introduced in 2022, and encompasses the cutting-edge data available to Auto Trader’s partners to compete more effectively in an ever-changing digital world.

TrunkBBI will be supporting Auto Trader to refine its go-to-market strategy prior to activating across multiple owned channels. The main aim will be to challenge Auto Trader’s core market, and by association the automotive industry, to think and act differently.

John Hogan, Senior Marketing Manager from Auto Trader says, “We are delighted to be working with TrunkBBI to evolve our ‘Together, We Do More’ proposition. Through our partnership with the GO! Network we were on the lookout for a strategic, creative agency that could help Auto Trader deliver on our company purpose to drive change in the automotive industry, working in partnership to support our retailers and other industry partners. TrunkBBI were an excellent fit, based right on our doorstep here in Manchester and we’re pleased to have them supporting our ambitious plans to enable a smarter automotive ecosystem.”

Jon Butler, CEO of TrunkBBI said, “We are so proud to be working with Auto Trader, one of the most well-known and recognised brands in the UK. With their head office just down the road from our headquarters in the centre of Manchester, we are also looking forward to regular face to face meetings with our award winning creative and strategic teams, who have extensive experience in delivering creative B2B campaigns.

“We are confident that we can deliver fantastic results for the UK’s largest digital automotive marketplace whilst fostering an excellent working relationship with Auto Trader. This recent win is a reflection of the team at TrunkBBI’s dedication to offering a world class innovative service to achieve success for our clients.”

The multi-stage, competitive pitch process was handled by the GO! Network, and Jon Butler said that “GO! were very supportive and organised throughout the process, communicating effectively in order to ensure the process ran smoothly at every stage.”

For more information about TrunkBBI, visit https://trunkbbi.com/

Manchester Airport’s Managing Director, Chris Woodroofe, says passengers will enjoy a “great experience” this summer and believes an exciting few years are ahead for the Northern gateway.

Speaking on the airport’s new podcast – launched this week – Chris reflected on his first full year in charge and pledged a series of key investments that will transform the passenger experience for a generation to come.

That includes the £440m next phase of Terminal 2’s transformation, due to be complete by 2025, and the introduction of new security scanners that mean passengers won’t need to remove liquids and gels from their hand luggage.

The first six episodes of the podcast, called Manchester: Your Airport, MAN, takes listeners behind the scenes at the airport and is a first-of-its-kind in the UK, and are available through Spotify, Amazon Music and Apple Podcasts among other platforms.

Over the course of the six episodes, presenter Tom Fordyce – host of The Joe Marler Show and former panelist on That Peter Crouch Podcast – brings listeners a series of exclusive insights, including;

• What happened when Jay-Z and Beyonce flew through Manchester Airport;
• What “sells” Manchester when globetrotting airport bosses try to win new routes to far flung destinations;
• Why Manchester is the best airport for plane spotting in the world;
• How a living, breathing scarecrow works for the airport to prevent birds getting in the way of planes taking off and landing.

The podcast also tackles subjects like sustainability and what the airport does to inspire young people about a career in aviation.

Listeners also hear from travel expert Simon Calder, who shares his tips on bagging a bargain and having the smoothest possible airport experience.

In the first episode, Chris Woodroofe tells listeners how lucky he feels to be at the helm of what was his local airport growing up.

Looking forward to the peak summer season this year, he said: “We had probably one of the best Christmases we’ve ever had, and we really want Summer 2023 to be a great experience for our passengers. Airports have become much more of an experience, rather than just a service, and now compete with one another in that context.

The people in our catchment area, depending on where they’re flying, could be choosing other airports in this area. I want them to choose Manchester Airport and I want them to do that because they think they’re going to have a great experience.”

Reflecting on last summer, when the whole travel sector faced a challenging recovery, he added: “When I arrived [in June], heads were down a bit and job one was just to convince everyone that it was going to get better – and it absolutely did.”

He added: “What was clear right from the first day, when I went into the security areas, was that we have a group of people who really want Manchester Airport to be something they can be proud of.”