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!
| 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…
FLY TIPPING – LET’S KEEP STREETS CLEAN! 🚮
I’ve been out and about across our area recently reporting several examples of fly tipping. No one wants to live with waste dumped on their streets or in our communities, and it’s something I take seriously.
It also costs the Council a huge amount to clear up each year – around a quarter of a million pounds. And who pays for that? Us, through our council tax. I’d much rather see that money spent on things that benefit our community!
If you know anything about who’s responsible for this kind of mess, please let me know. And if you live on a street with an alleygate, please keep it LOCKED – it really helps prevent fly tipping, especially where vehicles are involved. If you need an alleygate key, please call 01270 375295.
I’m also pleased that mobile CCTV is now being used in our area – something I’ve been pushing for a long time.
If you see fly tipping, report it so it can be cleared:
www.crewestbarnabas.org.uk/report-an-issue/
The waste team can check for evidence in dumped items, and the fines for those caught are hefty. Let’s work together to keep St Barnabas clean and safe! 💪❤️
MORE POTHOLE PATROLLING! 🛠️
While out on foot recently, I spotted a couple more potholes on Windsor Avenue and Smith Grove. I’ve reported them to highways, and hopefully they’ll be patched up in the next few days – but I’ll be keeping a close eye to make sure it happens! Living in the area makes it easier to keep on top of these issues and follow the progress myself.
Of course, temporary patching isn’t ideal, and I’m constantly pushing for better, more permanent repairs on our roads in St Barnabas – like some of the improvements we’ve already seen. We just need more of it!
If you come across a pothole, don’t wait – you can report it here:
www.crewestbarnabas.org.uk/report-an-issue/
I’m out regularly keeping an eye on our streets because our local roads really matter, and I want them safe and well cared for. 🚶♂️💪❤️
COMMUNITY DROP IN SURGERY - THANK YOU!
Thank you to everyone who came along yesterday to our community drop in surgery at the Community Hub on Timbrell Avenue.
It was really helpful to hear directly from residents about the issues affecting them and our local area. We will now be following up on the concerns raised and continuing to work on behalf of residents in the St Barnabas community.
Many thanks as well to PCSOs Jen and Dan from Crewe Police for attending, and to Katie from Guinness Housing for her support.
If you didn’t manage to get down last night but would still like to raise an issue, please email me at:
james.pratt@cheshireeast.gov.uk
or fill in my online form here:
www.crewestbarnabas.org.uk/contact/
I will be happy to help where I can!
Cllr James Pratt
📣 REMINDER! TONIGHT! 5PM TO 6PM
📍 TIMBRELL AVENUE COMMUNITY DROP-IN SURGERY
Come along to the community hub building, 58–60 Timbrell Avenue, and meet your local community team in St Barnabas. This is your chance to raise concerns, share ideas, or just have a chat about what matters to you.
Guinness Housing and our local Crewe Police Community Team will be there (as well as me!) to offer support and advice.
No appointment needed – just drop in. We’d love to see you 👋
HAVE YOUR SAY ON THE 6-BED HMO AT WEST STREET
I’ve submitted my formal objection to the proposal to turn 451 West Street into a six-bedroom HMO. This small two-bedroom terraced house has no off-road parking, very limited communal space, no plan for proper waste or cycle facilities, and one bedroom with very restricted head height. The street already struggles with parking and fly-tipping, and this plan would make things worse for neighbours.
crewe.nub.news/news/opinion/opinion-new-crewe-hmo-proposals-planning-by-the-back-door-289266
Residents are encouraged to share their views with Cheshire East Council to help protect our street from overdevelopment.
Have your say, click on "Make a Representation"
pa.cheshireeast.gov.uk/planning/index.html?fa=getApplication&id=404064
LIFESTYLE CENTRE - LIGHT OUT (AGAIN!)
Thanks to everyone who originally raised with me the issue of the lights on Forge Street down the side of the Lifestyle centre not working.
It took a while for the electricity board to get it sorted (really, it shouldn't take that long) and it was great to see them working again - well lit and much safer.
However I've noticed that one of the lights is out again. So, obviously I've reported it to highways to request a fix.
Hopefully it will be sorted soon. I'll keep an eye on it!
If you spot a light out, you can report it here
www.crewestbarnabas.org.uk/report-an-issue/
HELP GET LOST TROLLEYS OFF OUR STREETS
Out and about this week I came across a runaway trolley from Morrisons abandoned on Badger Avenue. Not quite the scenic feature we are aiming for here in St Barnabas!
Aside from making the street look scruffy, dumped trolleys can cause an obstruction on our pavements. This one has now been reported for collection.
As ever, you are the eyes and ears of our community. If you spot a stray trolley, please take a moment to report it so we can get it removed and keep our streets looking tidy.
You can report it by calling 0300 123 5011 or online at:
www.crewestbarnabas.org.uk/report-an-issue/
It only takes a couple of minutes, and it really does make a difference. Thank you for helping keep our area looking its best.
NWCP LITTER BIN REQUEST
A number of residents have raised concerns to me about littering and the lack of litter/dog waste bins along the new roads such as Tottys Hall Way and Brian Palin Way towards the hospital on the new NWCP roads.
I did raise a request for bins here - although I have been successful over time in getting around 10 litter bins added for our ward, at this time I'm told there's no funding to install further new bins right now.
We'll have to keep an eye on this going forward - perhaps when the new homes are built there will be more "oommph" behind the request. Perhaps something we can raise with the developers to fund?






















