Hello fellow residents! I’m James Pratt, your local councillor for Crewe St Barnabas. I live right here in the heart of our St Barnabas community, in the West End of Crewe.
I’m proud to represent our area on both Cheshire East Council and Crewe Town Council, working to make sure your voice is heard and local priorities are delivered across Crewe & Nantwich.
From Minshull New Road, to Underwood Lane, West Street to Wheelman Road, Badger Avenue, Frank Webb, Rolls Avenue, Chassagne Square, Kettell to McNeill Avenue and all roads and communities in between – we are all Crewe St Barnabas.
I’m your local councillor – and a fellow resident of our community. I’m working hard to tackle the everyday issues that matter, including potholes, litter, fly-tipping, parking problems, street lighting and anti-social behaviour.
If there’s something you’d like me to look into, please get in touch – or you can report issues online.
Read my latest news updates or check my recent facebook posts to find out what I’m up to!
Please follow and share my Facebook and Instagram and TikTok accounts, or sign up for my Email Newsletter so I can keep you up to date on local issues.
You can also take a look at my video looking back at some of our achievements in 2024!
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I wrote to every household in the area and delivered residents surveys to to find what issues you’d like to see tackled in our community. You can still complete this survey online if you have not already. |
If you would like to contact me about any local issue please do get in touch.
Thank you for your support!
Here’s what I’ve been up to recently…
Councillor James Pratt - Crewe, St Barnabas
JUST SORTING IT OUT!!
I've been out this morning doing one of my regular litter picks.
It's Friday, which means the weekend starts tomorrow and our park will be busy. Not ideal when the playground bins are already overflowing. I've emptied two of them this morning. Not my job, but someone's got to do it.
While the recent Labour-led budget cut £200,000 from the street cleaning team, including the loss of five vehicles and their crews, this is the sort of thing we end up with. BTW, I voted against this budget - although it was still passed.
So here I am, literally picking up the pieces.
I'll ask again for more frequent bin emptying, but I'm not holding my breath.
In the meantime, if it needs doing, I'll keep getting on with it.
(And yes my arms ache from dragging around 6 bin bags of waste all morning!)
Councillor James Pratt - Crewe, St Barnabas
PICNIC IN THE PARK THIS WEEKEND 🎶🌳
Don’t forget, Picnic in the Park is happening this weekend at Queens Park!
I’ve put together a short video with some highlights from last year to help get everyone in the mood for what’s set to be another brilliant afternoon.
🎤 Live music featuring:
• Small Horse & The Plan • BLAG BAND • Vavoom • Chasing The Fall • Acrylic
🍕🌭🍦 Fantastic Food! Including Jacob Pizza , Amakas Food Truck, YMCA Cheshire , Tom's Ice Creams and Sweet Dreams Donuts! 🍩
📅 Saturday 20th June
📍 Queens Park, Crewe
⏰ 12pm - 6pm
🚌 FREE SHUTTLE BUS FROM CREWE BUS STATION 10.30AM - 7 PM 🚌
Bring a picnic blanket, gather your friends and family, and enjoy a relaxed summer afternoon in the park with fantastic local talent, a range of food outlets and a great community atmosphere.
🎟️ Free entry and everyone is welcome
A big thank you to colleagues at Crewe Town Council and everyone involved in making this event possible.
Find out more here
www.crewetowncouncil.gov.uk/whats-on-events/picnic-in-the-park
Councillor James Pratt - Crewe, St Barnabas
GOULDEN STREET - GETTING HIGHWAYS WORK DONE!
Getting highways to do anything meaningful is honestly like getting blood from a stone.
That's why I'm pleased that, after years of constant pothole reporting and raising concerns with highways about Goulden Street (and many others across St Barnabas ward), work has now actually been carried out to resurface the worst parts of the road.
This is a big improvement, especially if you're a resident who had to constantly bash your vehicle through huge holes in between the poor pothole repairs that highways kept carrying out, despite my requests for wider work.
I've asked for plenty more repairs for our residential streets, with a few others ongoing at the moment.
Also - following my plea for the urgent intermediate work to repair the moon surface of Minshull New Road this winter, some remedial work was carried out in March. This is after years of calling for proper action, so I'm pleased to have secured comprehensive work to fully resurface that section - it's currently scheduled to happen between July and September, although typically highways are still reviewing it.
I am also hopeful that West Street will receive the attention it needs (and we deserve) this summer as that is another that you guys regularly raise with me and I keep chasing highways on!
Let's keep going!
Councillor James Pratt - Crewe, St Barnabas
🌈 CREWE PRIDE 2026 🌈
A huge thank you to everyone who came along, took part and helped make Crewe Pride such a fantastic celebration of our community here in Crewe
It was wonderful to see people from all backgrounds coming together to celebrate diversity, inclusion and pride. We certainly felt the love today! ❤️
Special thanks to the performers, organisers, event staff and of course the amazing sponsors and supporters including Radius, Crewe Town Council, RBL CREWE Branch, Start Well at The Wishing Well, Crewe Police, Discover Crewe and so many more who all made it such a massive success.
Don't forget next weekend is Picnic in the Park at Queens Park!
Councillor James Pratt - Crewe, St Barnabas
CREWE PRIDE TODAY, LYCEUM SQUARE 11.45AM - 7.30PM
Don't forget, it's Crewe Pride today! 🌈
Everyone is welcome to join what promises to be a fantastic day celebrating diversity, inclusion and community spirit in the heart of our town.
There'll be live music, performances, entertainment and plenty more throughout the day.
If you've never been before, take a look at this short video I put together from last year's event to see what it's all about. We hope to see you there!
Thanks to all supporters and sponsors including RADiUS, Body Positive, Crewe Town Council, Discover Crewe and many more.
Councillor James Pratt - Crewe, St Barnabas
ANOTHER CRASH ON MINSHULL NEW ROAD – 7TH COLLISION AND STILL NO ACTION
Another crash on Minshull New Road, the 7th in six years along this same stretch.
I have been raising concerns about this road for years with Cheshire East Council, including repeated requests for meetings, member enquiries and direct engagement with highways officers. Despite this, there has still been no meaningful action taken to address the ongoing safety issues.
Following this latest incident, I have now written again to the Chief Executive of Cheshire East Council setting out the pattern of collisions and the ongoing risk to pedestrians, particularly children and parents using the route to Leighton Academy school.
The lack of progress on delivering effective safety improvements is deeply concerning given the history here.
You can read my full letter and download the crash map report I have put together via the link in the comments.
Councillor James Pratt - Crewe, St Barnabas
ACTION ON FLY TIPPING IN ST BARNABAS WARD
Over the last few weeks, I have been out and about across St Barnabas Ward, checking on a number of fly tipping hotspots and reporting incidents so they can be cleared as quickly as possible.
I have also met with a Customer Liaison Officer from Guinness to discuss ongoing fly tipping issues behind Wheelman Road on the "Frank Bott" fields. We are continuing to work together to find solutions and improve the area for local residents.
Please help keep our streets and green spaces clean. If you see fly tipping, report it so action can be taken.
📞 Call: 0300 123 5015
💻 Report online: www.crewestbarnabas.org.uk/report-an-issue/
It only takes a minute to report, and your information helps ensure waste is cleared quickly and those responsible can be investigated where possible.
Together, we can help keep St Barnabas Ward clean and tidy for everyone.
Councillor James Pratt - Crewe, St Barnabas
HOW TO GET A SHOPPING TROLLEY OFF YOUR STREET?
Over the past couple of weeks I've noticed several shopping trolleys abandoned around our streets, including Frank Webb Avenue and Fallowfield Court. It seems to become an issue each year when the weather warms up.
Not only does it make our area look scruffy and uncared for (no one wants that!) but they also tend to end up in places that take a lot of time, effort to and ultimately cost to remove them. Especially when they end up in areas such as in the water of Leighton Brook.
I reported the ones in the photo for removal. And you can too.
HOW YOU CAN HELP?
If you come across one, please report it here so it can be picked up. Thank you
www.crewestbarnabas.org.uk/abandoned-trolley-report