Cheshire Independent Issue 216

JULY 2026 4 A LOCAL mother stepped up to walk 70 month miles to raise vital funds for the Special Care Baby Unit (SCBU) at Macclesfield Hospital, after the unit provided life-saving care to her premature twin boys. Sevenmonths ago, Katie Edwards and her partner, Luke, became parents to twins Ronnie and Ray, who were born unexpectedly at 35 weeks and 1 day and required a 17-day stay in the SCBU for special- ist support. Grateful for the ‘incredible’ care her family received, Katie walked 70 miles to give back and ensure other families facing similar challenges have the best possible experience. Katie said: “Luke and I are so incredibly thankful for the care our twin boys received. I really wanted to give back in some way, so I decided to take on the challenge of walking 70miles. “This is a cause so close to my heart, and every single pound raised will help support the next families who need the unit. “The money will go toward improving the family room and facilities to make their stay more comfortable, as well as providing essential supplies like nappies and wipes for premature babies or any newborns in need of extra care.” The Special Care BabyUnit (SCBU) at Macclesfield Hospital provides vital, specialised care for new- borns who are born prematurely or require extramedical support. NEWweekly food waste collections are coming to Cheshire East, and resi- dents will soon receive everything they need to prepare for the new recy- cling service. Thousands of outdoor food waste caddies are to be delivered to residents across Cheshire East ahead of the new service starting in autumn this year. The caddies will be deliv- ered in phases over sev- eral weeks – residents do not need to be at home to receive them. Each caddy will contain information about how to use the service, plus a sticker for the caddy lid, which has space for residents to add their house number. Residents living in flats or shared accommodation will be given either an indi- vidual caddy or be provided with a new communal 140- litre food waste wheelie bin. Generally, properties where there are three or more flats will be given a communal bin. Residents should not start using their caddy/wheelie bin straight away and should check when their start date is – and whether there is any change to their collection “With around 182,000 outdoor food waste caddies and bins to be delivered, it will take some time for everyone to receive theirs. That’s why we’re asking resi- dents not to start using their caddy/wheelie bin as soon as they receive it or put it out for collection. “The council’s website will be updated with resi- dents’ exact collection start dates by mid-September. Residents will then also be able to check if there is any change to their collection day, as collection routes and schedules are being updated to incorporate the new food waste service.” Once weekly food waste collections start – which are a requirement of Gov- ernment’s Simpler Recycling legislation – black bin (gen- eral waste) collections will move to three-weekly. Silver bin (recycling) col- lections, and garden waste for those who subscribe to the garden waste recy- cling scheme, will continue as normal. All food waste caddies are expected to be delivered by mid-September and will be distributed by an exter- nal company on behalf of the council. FOUR feathered friends have made them- selves comfortable amongst Macclesfield’s older community. Abroodof ducklings is settling into life at their new home at the Belong care village on Kennedy Avenue. James Pond, Dick Van Duck, Pancake and Theo were hatched as part of a project organised by the village’s experience team to create opportunities for residents to get involved, provide care, and give love to their little companions. Alexis Marsden, experience coordinator at Belong Macclesfield, said: “Our custom- ers have adored having the ducks around – it’s created a positive energy around our village. “They especially enjoy feeding them, helping clean their home, and having lots of cuddles.” The pet therapy is possible thanks to Incredible Eggs, an ethical provider of hatching kits. BelongMacclesfield’s customers and col- leagues will provide around-the-clock care, before the ducklings move on to their for- ever homes. Alexis added: “Our customers love ani- mals and whilst we put on a number of excursions, it’s also important that every- one gets to enjoy the benefits of furry friends, so we also look for ways to bring them into the village, too. “It is wonderful how much of an impact our new friends have on everyone.” A SENIORmanager at a law firmwho joked that a raffle winner could take a junior colleague’s vir- ginity has been banned from the legal profession. Darren Shaw, a chartered legal executive at personal injury firm Keller Post- man in Manchester, made the remark during a work dinner when a prize was revealed to be a “Virgin Experience Day”. A disciplinary hearing was told other women had complained about Shaw’s lewd behaviour that evening and said they had been har- assed after they went to a late-night bar. Shaw, of Bramhall, did not appear at the Solici- tors Disciplinary Tribunal hearing but said he had not intended to cause distress. The hearing was told that Shaw made the “virgin” comment during a dinner in October 2022, when he said the raffle winner would be spending “a night” with the woman, known as Col- league A. The tribunal heard that he joked “loudly” that a jun- ior female colleague was a “virgin”. It was claimed he then repeated his remark and that he “didn’t realise you could spend a night with” the woman. The hearing was also told that Shaw later tried to “inappropriately” coerce two female colleagues to dance with him at a bar. He is said to have told one of the women: “Has anyone ever told you you’re beautiful, gorgeous, really attractive?” The hearing was told that he put his arm around another colleague and told her: “You smell like coconuts.” Shaw also told another woman she was “too pretty to be single”, the tribunal heard. The women later complained to their manag- ers, with one saying she had been “shocked” and “wanted to cry”. The tribunal ruled that Shaw could only be involved again with the legal profes- sion with the prior consent of the Solicitors Regula- tion Authority. He was also ordered to pay more than £20,000 in costs. In an email to the tribu- nal , Shaw said: “I never set out to cause harm or distress to anyone – it is not inmy DNA. Never has been or will.” NEWSINBRIEF A LUXURY housebuilder has applied for permission to build six family homes on the vacant site of the former Collinwood Nurseries in Mottram St Andrew. PH Property Holdings wants to build three five-bed detached houses and three three-bed cottages on a triangular parcel of land between Wilmslow Old Road and Moss Lane. The land is in the green belt, but a planning statement submitted by Peacock and Smith on behalf of the applicant says it meets grey belt criteria. ALDERLEY Edge Village Show will be held on August 29. The show celebrates crafts, nature, creativity and the community. There will be an array of classes including fruit & vegetables, domestic crafts, photography, cookery and flowers, as well as exclusive categories for under 18s and newcomers. The show will be held at the St Philips & St James Church. All proceeds will go towards the North West Air Ambulance charity. Councillor David Je!eray, Cheshire East Council cabinet member for environment, sustainability and waste management, with the new outdoor food waste caddies and the lea"ets and stickers that will be delivered with them to residents (Image: Cheshire East Council) FOOD WASTE CADDIES ON WAY TO RESIDENTS day – on the council’s web- site at cheshireeast.gov.uk/ mycollectionday. Details of the new collection schedules will be available bymid-Sep- tember. Councillor David Jefferay, Cheshire East Council cabinet member for environment, sustainability and waste management, said: “New weekly food waste collections are a huge step forward for recycling in Cheshire East and means more of the waste that’s col- lected can be transformed into something new – in this case, compost. “Delivering a new recy- cling service takes a large amount of planning and work, and so it’s great news to now be at the point where our residents are about to receive all they need to pre- pare for food waste collec- tions starting. Mum steps out to help baby care unit Senior law boss joked about woman’s virginity being raffled Ducklings find new home at care village Belong Maccles#eld customer, Jeanette Bayliss, with one of the ducklings (Image: Belong Maccles!eld)