Sandbach Mayor’s Diary – February 2026

By Cllr John Arnold, Sandbach Mayor

Happy New Year! To start 2026, I want to share the exciting plans we have for the year ahead. Our Community and Events committee recently met to discuss a 2026 calendar that is more packed than ever.

Town Council Highlights

We are determined to bring back the world class Foden’s Band for our Party in the Park this year. We have had some bad luck with the weather in recent years, so we are currently looking for a summer date with a better forecast to ensure the event is a success.

New for this year is a Food Festival planned for October. This is a personal highlight for me, as it is a fantastic opportunity to celebrate different flavours and cultures. It will give our brilliant local businesses a chance to shine. We also have the Market Town Festival returning after the summer, along with the traditional Wakes Fair on the common and a Spring Fair.

Our regular programme continues with:

• Cinema shows in the Town Hall throughout the year

• Children’s events during the school holidays

• Remembrance Sunday in November

• Christmas Lights and Market: Last year we combined these into one event. I would love to hear your feedback on that. Did you prefer the combined celebration or should we return to two separate dates?

Sandbach Town Council are also proud to fund and support local favourites like the Sandbach Concert Series. I highly recommend attending; you get to hear amazing young local musicians in the first half and world-class professionals in the second. And of course, the much loved Transport Festival will return as our biggest event of the year.

Perhaps the most important event on our calendar is the heart screening for young people. Tragically, 12 apparently fit and healthy young people die every week in the UK from undiagnosed heart conditions.

Working with the charity CRY (Cardiac Risk in the Young), we have arranged two days of screenings at Ashfields Surgery on the 20th and 21st of June. If you are between 14 and 35, or know someone who is, please look out for the signup information. The staff are all qualified medical professionals, and while it is unlikely they will find an issue, for those few who do, this checkup could be life-saving.

Sandbach Town Council, High St, Sandbach CW11 1AX. 01270 600 800, sandbach.gov.uk, info@sandbach.gov.uk