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
🗑️ BEEN OUT AGAIN TODAY...
I've been back out litter picking again today, collecting another three bags of rubbish from around Leighton Brook Park and the woods. I also found a supermarket trolley, which has now been reported for collection and removal. It actually came in handy for moving the heavy bags!
Sadly, this is the second time I've litter picked this week, having only been out on Tuesday.
I also cleared litter from parts of Mayfield Mews, Minshull New Road, Monks Lane, Kettell Avenue and Frank Webb Avenue.
The frustrating part is that, after around three hours of dragging heavy bags of litter around, I returned to the park only to find that more litter had already been dropped.
If you do one thing today to help our area, please put your litter in a bin. If you have children, please have that conversation with them about putting rubbish in the right place. But this isn't just about young people. Plenty of adults are responsible too, and they should know better. Looking after where we live is everyone's responsibility.
Over the last few years, I've done what I can to engage with our young people, including working with Leighton Academy, Underwood West Academy, and our local Scouts and Girlguiding groups to promote pride in our community and the importance of looking after where we live. We've run anti-litter campaigns, organised litter picks, and worked together to encourage everyone to take pride in our area.
I'm only one person, and I can't do it alone. We all have a part to play in keeping St Barnabas clean and somewhere we can all be proud to call home.
A big thank you as well to the fellow St Barnabas residents who have been out litter picking in recent weeks and making a real difference. It's also great to see the fantastic work of my fellow volunteers in the Crewe Clean Team. Every bag collected makes our community that little bit cleaner, and your efforts really are appreciated.
I'd much rather be spending these hours working on new projects and improvements for our area, but I can't just stand by and watch a small number of selfish people trash the place we all call home.
Councillor James Pratt - Crewe, St Barnabas
🚛 SUCCESS FOR CREWE RESIDENTS! 7 DAY BOOKING SYSTEM RECOMMENDED TO BE SCRAPPED
Yesterday I spoke at the council's Scrutiny Committee, where councillors review and challenge important decisions, after I formally challenged the decision made back in January to introduce a 7 day booking system at Crewe Household Waste Recycling Centre (the tip on Pymms lane)
A big thank you to Cllr Allen Gage for jointly supporting the challenge and speaking alongside me at the committee.
I led this challenge because so many residents got in touch with me to say they didn't want to see booking introduced every day. For many residents, visiting the tip should be a simple job, but the booking system was making it feel like another barrier to get through, especially for those who aren't online. This was even more of a concern because residents cannot book by phone at weekends.
Rather than simply making access harder, I believe we should be looking at how we can improve the recycling centre for residents. That includes looking at the road layout on Pyms Lane to help traffic flow more smoothly, reduce queues and make the site work more efficiently.
I'm really pleased that we were successful, with the committee recommending that the decision to make residents book seven days a week should be scrapped.
The council told us that fly tipping locally has recently fallen by around 20%, and that's good news. But that doesn't tell the whole story. When you look at the longer-term trend across Cheshire East, fly tipping is still around 3.5 times higher than it was in 2012, so there's clearly much more work to do.
At a time when fly tipping remains such a problem, I don't believe making it harder for residents to access the tip is the answer. The easier we make it for people to dispose of waste properly, the better chance we have of tackling this issue.
After other recycling centres across Cheshire East closed, an unpopular weekend booking system was introduced at Crewe. As more people started using the tip during the week instead, the council's answer was to make everyone book every day. I didn't think that was the right approach.
I'm pleased that councillors from across the committee supported my recommendations to try to improve the site. As a result, we'll be meeting on site next week to look at the road layout and discuss these ideas further, along with other ways the recycling centre can operate more effectively and efficiently.
Let's hope these ideas are listened to and we can deliver a better experience for residents using the site.
Thank you to everyone who got in touch, shared your experiences and supported this challenge. Your feedback helped strengthen the case, and I'm really pleased we've secured this positive outcome for Crewe residents.
Councillor James Pratt - Crewe, St Barnabas
FREE FOOTBALL SESSIONS EVERY WEDNESDAY ⚽
I recently popped by to once again catch up with the Crewe Alexandra in the Community Premier Kicks sessions right here in our park! Huge thanks to the coaches for running these fantastic free sessions for our young people. It was a great turnout and brilliant to see everyone getting involved.
They’re still going strong every week, and the best bit? They’re completely FREE!
📍 Where: Leighton Brook Park, Frank Webb Avenue CW1 3NE
🕕 When: Every Wednesday, 6pm – 7.15pm
Just head to the MUGA – everyone’s welcome!
Come along, join in, and have some fun! Please share this to help spread the word – let’s get as many young people involved as possible!
Thanks so much to the Crewe Alexandra in the Community coaches for their continued support with these sessions. ❤️
Oh, and did I mention our new grass field goal posts are HERE? ⚽︎ Yep!!⚽︎⚽︎⚽︎
Councillor James Pratt - Crewe, St Barnabas
🏃⚽ STREET SPORTS - AT LEIGHTON BROOK PARK
It was brilliant to join last week's Street Sports session with Start Well at The Wishing Well at Leighton Brook Park. It was fantastic to welcome the Mayor of Crewe, Cllr Stuart Mackay, who came along to see the session for himself.
Not only did the young people have a great match on our new goal posts, but there was also plenty of interest in what it's like to be Mayor, what the role involves, and of course the important question... what is the Mayor's chain made of?
A big thank you to the Mayor for coming along, everyone who took part, and of course the fantastic Street Sports coaches from Wishing Well who make these sessions happen every week.
The best thing? We do it all again every Friday!
🌞 Holiday Activities & Food: 2.00pm (Fridays until 21st August)
⚽ Street Sports: 5.00pm (Fridays until 30th October)
Come along to Leighton Brook Park and get involved. It's FREE!
Frank Webb Avenue, CW1 3NE
Street Sports is hosted by Wishing Well in partnership with Crewe Town Council
Councillor James Pratt - Crewe, St Barnabas is at Crewe Queens Park.
🎉 TODAY AT QUEENS PARK - CHESHIRE EAST BARRIO FIESTA 2026! 🎉
If you're looking for something to do today, why not head down to Queens Park for the third Cheshire East Barrio Fiesta.
What started three years ago has grown into a fantastic community event, celebrating Filipino culture with live entertainment, delicious food, family activities and so much more.
🎶 Entertainment starts at 9.30am and the event runs until 6pm
🎟️ FREE entry
🚗 FREE parking
It's always a brilliant day with a great atmosphere, so if you can, do pop along and support this fantastic community event. ❤️
Thanks to the Cheshire East Filipino Community (Group)
Councillor James Pratt - Crewe, St Barnabas is at Leighton Brook Park.
⚽️ STREET SPORTS ARE BACK AT LEIGHTON BROOK PARK!
🎉TONIGHT AT 5PM!
Looking for something fun and active for the kids to do on Friday evenings? Come along to our FREE Street Sports sessions at Leighton Brook Park!
📍 Location: Leighton Brook Park, Frank Webb Avenue, Crewe, CW1 3NE
🗓 When: Every Friday, 5.00pm to 6.00pm, until 30 October
👥 Who can attend? Open to all young people aged up to 16. Children aged 8 and over can attend independently.
⚽ What to expect: Enjoy a range of sports, team games and fun activities in the floodlit games area.
👟 What to bring: Wear comfortable clothing and suitable footwear, and don't forget a bottle of water.
💰 Cost: Completely FREE - no booking required, just turn up and join in!
These sessions are delivered by Start Well at The Wishing Well, in partnership with Crewe Town Council.
Please share with friends and family who might be interested!
Councillor James Pratt - Crewe, St Barnabas
🗑️ LITTER PICK - TWO BAGS BETTER!
I popped out this morning and did a litter pick around the woods at Leighton Brook Park and parts of Frank Webb Avenue, collecting two bags of litter.
As a fellow resident of our area, I think it's important that we all do our bit to help keep our community looking its best, whether that's simply using the bins provided, teaching our children to take care of our community, or getting out and getting stuck into a litter pick. It's also great to see other local residents regularly giving up their time to help keep the area clean, so a big thank you to everyone who gets involved.
As your councillor, I recently raised the issue of the litter bins in the park often being full on Fridays, sometimes leading to them overflowing over the weekend. It was good to see they had been emptied this morning, so thank you to the team for getting that sorted.
If you'd like to get involved with litter picking in our St Barnabas community, let me know. I'm always happy to help to provide litter pickers, bags and other equipment.
A big thank you to everyone who gives up a little of their own time to help keep our area clean. Every little bit really does make a difference.
Councillor James Pratt - Crewe, St Barnabas is at Leighton Brook Park.
🌞 FREE HOLIDAY ACTIVITIES AT LEIGHTON BROOK PARK! ⚽🎨🏏
I'm really pleased to support such a fantastic programme of FREE activities taking place right here in our park, in the heart of our St Barnabas community. It's fantastic to see so much on offer for our young people, giving them opportunities to stay active, make friends, learn new skills and have fun close to home throughout the summer holidays.
Here's what's coming up...
🌞 Summer Holiday Activities with free food hosted by Wishing Well
📅 Fridays: 31 July, 7 August, 14 August & 21 August
🕑 2.00pm - 4.00pm
Enjoy an afternoon packed with football, cricket, tennis, rounders, dodgeball, arts and crafts, bug hunts, sensory play, games and much more. Healthy snacks are provided and it's completely FREE for everyone to enjoy.
⚽ Street Sports with The Wishing Well
📅 Every Friday
🕔 5.00pm - 6.00pm
A fantastic free session delivered by Wishing Well, with football, team games and multi-sports for young people up to the age of 16 (those aged 8+ can attend independently). There's no need to book, just turn up and get involved! In partnership with Crewe Town Council.
⚽ Premier League Kicks
📅 Every Wednesday
🕕 6.00pm - 7.15pm
Delivered by Crewe Alexandra in the Community, these free football sessions for young people aged 8-16 are a brilliant opportunity to improve skills, build confidence, stay active and make new friends. Again, there's no booking required, simply come along and join in.
I'm incredibly proud to support these initiatives. Providing free activities in our local park gives young people positive opportunities during the summer holidays and helps bring our community together.
❤️A huge thank you to Wishing Well, Crewe Alexandra in the Community, Premier League Kicks, Crewe Town Council and everyone else involved in making these sessions possible.
📍 Leighton Brook Park, Frank Webb Avenue CW1 3NE
For full details, including dates and times, visit:
🌐 www.crewestbarnabas.org.uk/free-summer-holiday-activies-at-leighton-brook-park/
Please help spread the word by sharing this post so more local families know about these fantastic free opportunities this summer. ☀️⚽🎨