Sandbach Mayor’s Diary – June 2026

By Cllr John Arnold, Sandbach Mayor

On May 20th my 1 year term as Mayor comes to an end and what a year this has been! Being the mayor is a truly unique experience. There’s much more to it than simply attending events wearing the chain. There are many little jobs and questions that come to the mayor such as signing off weekly payments or auditing payroll. It’s also a leadership role - chairing council meetings and attempting to point that unruly lot in the same direction so that good work can be achieved. And an awful lot has been changed for the better in Sandbach Town Council over the last year. We started the year with no clerk and missing half our staff. The previous mayor and I had already been working to bring in our new Clerk who has been absolutely outstanding. We are now back up to a full complement of council staff. Our accounts are fully up to date again - the loss of staff had meant they had fallen far behind - and our audits are once again showing that our processes are working, they are followed and they are compliant with local government rules. In the last year, Sandbach Town Council has been put back on its feet and is stronger and better run than it has been for years.

I’m also immensely proud of our work to create a befriending group to help people in Sandbach that might be on their own, perhaps due to age or because they’ve recently come out of hospital. The volunteers regularly call or visit the beneficiaries to fight loneliness and exclusion. The scheme is up and running now. We have a long list of beneficiaries and a growing list of volunteers but we need more! If you can spare as little as 1 hour a week then please get in touch with befriending.coordinator@gmail.com.

Among the most memorable events I’ve attended this year are the many Civic Services and Parades in nearby towns. I absolutely loved learning about the Northwest Air Ambulance and getting to sit in their helicopter. I enjoyed rocking out at the Sandbach Rock and Pop Festival as well as many other events at the Rugby Club who are extremely generous with their facilities in support of the town. I have also developed a deep love of the Sandbach Concert Series where top tier professionals come and play alongside some of Sandbach’s own young talented musicians. The Christmas market and lights switch-on was amazing, especially being on stage while little Dymond threw the switch! Another wonderful event is the annual Tree of Light where the town gathers to remember those we’ve lost. I was especially moved when my daughter performed Annie’s Song on stage there - one of my dad’s favourite songs.

But perhaps the most meaningful events for me are Sandbach Pride, Remembrance Day and the Transport Festival. Early in my mayoral year I had the privilege of leading the Pride parade and then speaking on the stage where I talked about how important Pride is - arguably more so than in previous years. On stage I talked about how many people have commented that there seem to be more LGBTQ+ people now than there used to be. But those people have always been here. They just couldn’t be their true selves in years gone by. Pride allows them to do just that and invites us as a community to see each other and respect each other. It’s deeply meaningful to me and it was a huge privilege to be involved. I hope to continue to do so in years to come.

The Transport Festival is perhaps the most important event in the Sandbach calendar. Our strong connections to Fodens and ERF make this town a mecca for transport enthusiasts and every year the 2 day event is absolutely packed. The parade at the end of the event is the highlight for me and usually the Mayor rides in a Bentley at the head of the parade but after last year when it broke down there was no Bentley. So instead I was looking for another vehicle to ride on in the parade. The organisers had arranged a red double decker bus to take people on tours around town on the Sunday and for the last ride of the day the bus visited Park House Care Home and collected a group of the residents to travel on the bus for the parade. Once I heard about that plan I knew that’s where I wanted to ride and it was a great honour to be allowed to stand at the back of the bus and wave to the hundreds of people watching the parade.

Perhaps the most meaningful event of the year, though, is the Remembrance Day parade. It is deeply moving to see the huge numbers of residents that line the streets to pay their respects as the parade of forces personnel, cadets, scouts, guides and musicians march through the town to lay wreaths at the war memorial and then attend a service in remembrance of those from our town who gave their lives to protect us all. It was a huge privilege to be a part of the event and I am deeply grateful to the Royal British Legion for organising the parade and making sure everything went according to plan.

There’s a lot to look forward to in coming months as well. Now that we have our renewed and vibrant town council we have a full programme of events again for the coming year including the Party in the Park very soon where once again the world class Fodens Band will perform. We have a very exciting new event later this year as well - a Food Festival where we hope to showcase foods from many different cultures.

There’s a lot of work about to begin on the town hall building which, for safety reasons has had to have some dangerous bits of stonework removed. The town council owns the building, having purchased it from Cheshire East Council a few years ago and as a listed building there is a lot of expensive work that has to be carried out properly. We have begun that process and we’ve budgeted a large fund ready to begin paying for the work which will take several years to complete. At the same time we’ll be reducing our energy bills and improving our carbon footprint by installing solar panels (out of sight on the back of the market hall and with the consent of the heritage officer).

We’re also expecting a Banking Hub in the town which will provide cash paying in and withdrawal services for all the major banks. Cash services will be available every day but each day of the week there will also be someone from one of the banks on-site that can help with more complex enquiries if you have them. Since the closure of NatWest, Lloyds and Barclays we have desperately needed banking services in the town and I’m very eager to help facilitate the arrival of our new Banking Hub. Much discussion has taken place with them to try and make it happen.

So that’s just a slice of the stuff that has happened in my mayoral year. The moment I stop writing I’m confident that 5 more wonderful events will spring to mind. I have seen and done so much this year that it’s hard to contain it all. But much more importantly I have LEARNED so much. The process of meeting and talking to so many of you has been a uniquely valuable education. I hope to take that knowledge, empathy and pride in our town forward and keep working for the benefit of our residents to care for them, provide opportunities for them and to entertain them.

I would like to thank my fellow councillors for their support during my mayoral year and to remind everyone that town councillors are unpaid volunteers. I would especially like to thank the council staff without whom nothing we councillors decide would ever happen. They are amazingly talented and dedicated people.

But most of all I’d like to thank YOU. Everywhere I’ve gone wearing the chain I have been welcomed warmly and made to feel special. Thank you. I will endeavour to repay your kindness with hard work and action. And even without the chain I would still love to hear from you. I will still be a councillor and there’s still work to do!

Sandbach Town Council 01270 600 800 sandbach.gov.uk info@sandbach.gov.uk