Cheshire Independent Issue 201

MAY/JUNE 2025 4 YOUNG people across Cheshire East can now travel on local bus services for just £1 in a new bid to get them using pub- lic transport. Cheshire East Coun- cil has launched an enhanced bus saver pass for young people aged 16-19, offering a £1 flat fare for single journeys. It is valid on local bus services for journeys that start and/or finish within Cheshire East at any time. Care leavers – young people and adults aged 16-22 – across Cheshire East are also entitled to the pass, which will pro- vide themwith free travel on local bus services. The scheme is sup- ported by the govern- ment-funded Bus Service Improvement Plan devel- oped for the Department for Transport, to support increased bus services and passenger numbers within the borough. To receive their pass, NEWS IN BRIEF MACCLESFIELD’S annual two-day charity beer festival raised money for the Cheshire branch of the Motor Neurone Disease Association. More than 100 beers were on offer as well as food and live music. POYNTON Town Council’s community support team hosted its annual ‘Time for a Cuppa’ event in the Civic Hall council chamber in support of Dementia UK. MACCLESFIELD’S town rangers have been hard at work clearing, tidying and carrying out repairs on Wilwick Lane. BOLLINGTON Town Council has a vacancy in its West Ward to be filled by co-option. Anyone interested in becoming a town councillor should complete the application form on its website and return it by noon on Wednesday May 21. DISLEY held its annual parish meeting in the community centre, giving people the chance to raise any concerns or matters of interest to the village. DAN Price, Cheshire Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC), has called for small businesses across the county to increase their business resilience to protect them from cybercrime. WILMSLOW Town Council has spent £1,632 buying and installing bollards on Cliff Road to prevent pavement parking. A total of 16 reflective bollards are now in place after the council got the green light from Chesh- ire East. A town council spokes- person said: “The problem of pavement parking in this area on sunny days has long been recognised by local residents as being a significant safety haz- ard to wheelchair and pushchair users in par- ticular, as they have needed to go in to the dimly lit road to pass. “While Cheshire East Council is the governing authority for highways and footpaths, this issue has never been resolved. “Wilmslow Town Council has tried to tackle the problem park- ing in the past using its very limited powers in this respect. Efforts have included the tem- porary siting of plant- ers, cones placed along the pavement on sunny days, councillor attend- ance and signage. “Wilmslow Town Coun- cil was delighted when, a few weeks ago, the High- ways Authority gave approval for the town council to proceed.” Town mayor Tim Higgins added: “Over the years, all ideas to tackle the Cliff Road pavement parking have been exhausted.” “The issue has affected Wilmslow residents for far too long so we are thrilled to finally install what we hope will be a solution to the problem.” Bollards solution to pavement parking problems New look: The bollards in place on Cli! Road (Photo credit: WTC) Just the ticket! TAXI SAFETY DRIVE A MACCLESFIELD mum who was diag- nosed with cancer two years ago is now in complete remission thanks to a cutting-edge new experimental drug. Michelle Gidion, 56, is receiving the treatment as part of a clinical trial at The Christie inMan- chester for an aggres- sive type of blood cancer called AML. In February 2023, Michelle had been experiencing bruising and tiredness. She men- tioned this to a friend, Pamela, who insisted she went the GP where they took a sample of her blood for testing. Michel le sa id : “Pamela saved my life by making me go and get checked out. I put the bruising down to having a very active life- style, but now I realise it wasn’t normal. Running a home with four boys was always hectic so I didn’t think being tired was unusual.” The family were due to go on a holiday to the French Alps and at the airport waiting for the flight Michelle received a phone call from a hae- matologist who broke the news that the blood test results revealed she had leukaemia. The consultant advised her not to board the plane as the plate- lets in her blood were so low she could poten- tially bleed to death if she had an accidental injury. The whole fam- ily were in shock and had very little time to decide what to do. Not wanting to ruin the Cutting-edge treatment clears mum of cancer Holiday: Michelle and family at the airport long-anticipated dream trip, they chose to fly despite the risk. Michelle said: “I didn’t know anyone who had had leukaemia and had no idea how dangerous it was to travel. I’d been walking up hills only days before and wasn’t feeling unwell. I didn’t want to spoil things for my sons, but as it turned out it was the wrong call to make.” The situation was so stressful that Michelle became ill as soon as they arrived in France and the family returned home 24 hours later. Michelle was taken directly to her local A&E from the plane where she spent 48 hours before she was transferred to The Christie where she stayed for five days and had a bone biopsy which confirmed she had AML. She went straight onto a course of chemother- apy which she responded well to and went into remission, but after only five months the can- cer returned. It was suggested Michelle had a stem cell transplant to cure her of cancer and luckily a per- fect match was found with a stem cell donor from the international register. She had the transplant in March 2024. But despite going through the gruelling transplant procedure and being given an 80 per cent chance of it being successful due to her age and level of fitness, biopsy results in May 2024 led to the devastating dis- covery that the procedure hadn’t worked. By this point Michelle was frail, with no energy and could barely walk. So, in July 2024, with options running out, she was offered the chance to participate in research at the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Manchester Clinical Research Facility (CRF) at The Christie. Michelle takes two tablets of the trial drug everymorning and two in the evening and comes to The Christie every four weeks for monitoring. Last month she was told that the drug has got her into complete molecular remission which means there are currently no detectable signs of cancer in her blood or bone marrow. Michelle said: “I’ve been super active all my life. I was a fitness freak in my 20s and I was reg- ularly walking near our home in the foothills of the Pennines on the edge of the Peak District. “We are just a very outdoorsy family, so this diagnosis really turned our lives upside down. The trial feels like there’s light at the end of a very long dark tunnel.” Dr Emma Searle, a consultant haematolo- gist who leads the trial at The Christie, said: “We are very pleased with Michelle’s pro- gress on the trial. She has tolerated the drug well with minimal side effects, feels well and can enjoy life. “This could poten- tially be a new therapy for patients with AML who have specific gene mutations and have relapsed after initial treatment, or may in the future be added to stand- ard treatment for newly diagnosed patients to improve outcomes.” Remission: Michelle Gidion (Photo credit: The Christie) POLICE in Macclesfield joined forces with CheshireEast Council inan operation designed keep people safe. The two-night oper- ation revolved around inspections of both locally licenced taxis and those licenced in other coun- cil areas that operate in Macclesfield and Poynton. Officers were deployed to Poynton and Macclesfield train sta- tions and taxis ranks, a main hub for taxis regis- tered both in and outside of the two areas. A number of safety checks were carried out. the cars or minibuses are roadworthy, adhering to licensing regulations and driving safely. “The aim of this operation is to provide reassurance to thoseusing taxis in the Macclesfield and surrounding areas, that they are safe to use and roadworthy with enforcement action being takenwhere appropriate. “It was really reassuring to see that so many of the taxis that operate in our towns were compliant with the appropriate legis- lation, with the few found to be in breach being swiftly dealt with.” They also checked road tax and insurance, driv- ing licences, whether the taxi was registered cor- rectly and whether they had valid permits. Over the course of both nights, more than 60 taxis were stopped in Macclesfield and Poynton. Of those, 25 were issued with Traffic Offence Reports for a variety of offences. These including having tyres belowthe legal tread depth, driving without due care and attention, using the pedestrianised zoneas a cut through,mis- useof hazard lights, failing to maintain obligatory lights, adriver notwearing a seatbelt and a rear reg- istration mark light not lit during darkness. Fourtaxiswerereported to the local authority for licensing offences, includ- ing failing to display taxi plates correctly. Inspector Nick Rogers of Cheshire Police said: “It’s important for the safety of those using pri- vate hire vehicles that October 31 2026 or the day before the pass holder’s 20th birthday. In the case of care leav- ers, the day before their 22nd birthday. The scheme is being delivered by the Chesh- ire East Bus Partnership and all bus operators providing services in the borough are taking part, with the intention of encouraging more people to travel by bus. Lata Anderson, Chesh- ire East’s public trans- port member champion, said: “Our hope is that this new enhanced ticket will support an increase in the use of bus services across the borough. “The scheme encour- ages young people to travel independently.” young people can apply online via the Cheshire East Council website, to confirm proof of identity and age. The only qual- ifier other than age is that they are a Cheshire East resident. A smartcard pass will be sent to them, which they will need to present on the bus each time they travel to receive their £1 single fare. Care leavers will receive free travel on presenting their pass to drivers. Passes are valid until