By volunteering just a few hours each week (for as little as four weeks) you can help transform the lives of children and parents in local communities across the Staffordshire Moorlands. Home-Start Staffordshire Moorlands is running its next Volunteer Prep course starts on Tuesday 3rd February at its office in Leek, Earl Street on Tuesday 3rd February If you are interested in becoming a volunteer, please visit: www.homestartsm.org.uk  or email: info@homestartsm.org.uk or cal

31st January 18:00 - 20:00 Local officers from the Staffordshire Moorlands Neighbourhood Policing Team will be holding an online chat on 31st January between 18:00 - 20:00pm giving residents the opportunity to ask any questions or raise any concerns. Please feel free to join and engage with your local officers. Join here Staffordshire Moorlands Online Police Surgery. - created 28th January 2026

ChatHealth is a safe and confidential text messaging service, connecting young people and parents/carers in Staffordshire with health professionals from the Families Health and Wellbeing Service, which supports 0 to 19 years in Staffordshire. It's organized by the Midlands Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust. You can contact the service by: Young people - text 07520 6157 Parents/ carers - text 07520 615722   The ChatHealth text messaging service allows young people be

Police Surgery Information

Friends of Cecilly Brook and Hales Hall Pool Looking after and improving a local nature reserve or LNR takes time, patience, and dedication. Cecilly Brook Nature Reserve and Hales Hall Pool are two local beauty spots that are free for everyone to enjoy at any time. You'll find peace, beauty, and nature all around, and if you'd like to do a little more than enjoy the spaces, there is a wealth of opportunities for you to support the important work of upkeep. This is also a grea

Deep Hayes Country Park 10am and 2pm on Tuesday 17 February Moorlands residents are being invited to take part in a county-wide tree planting scheme aimed at enriching their gardens and community spaces. Staffordshire Moorlands District Council and Staffordshire County Council will be handing out a mix of hawthorn, rowan, hazel, silver birch, crab apple and whitebeam trees at Deep Hayes Country Park between 10am and 2pm on Tuesday 17 February. It is aimed at encouraging peopl

If you’ve witnessed anything locally or been the victim of unsafe goods, or exploitation, you can now report it to Staffordshire County Council - anonymously. Have you experienced any of the following: Supplying age restricted products to children Sale of counterfeit or illegally imported tobacco, cigarettes, vapes Supplying unsafe and/or counterfeit goods. Food Allergens / Labelling Exploitation of vulnerable residents Farm Animal Welfare Please let them know so that then ca

Funding of £300,000 has been awarded to a collaboration of agencies in the Staffordshire Moorlands to help them support people struggling with low-level anxiety. The group comprising of Staffordshire Moorlands District Council, the Moorlands Rural and Leek and Biddulph Primary Care Networks, Support Staffordshire, Midlands Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust, the County Council, MyActive, and other partners to deliver the project to improve the health of Moorlands res

Cecilly Brook is a beautiful part of Cheadle's charm. Meandering its way from north to south, this ever-changing area, with rippling water and overhanging trees, delights young and old alike. The accessibility and upkeep are thanks to a group of dedicated volunteers keen to nurture nature for the good of residents, visitors, and most importantly, all the species who call Cecilly Brook home. They are local heroes, and today we'd like to tell you a little about their work. The

Staffordshire Police are making residents aware of a recent increase in key safe boxes being forcibly broken into. Offenders are targeting poorly secured key safes and using the obtained keys to commit burglaries at later times. Police approved key safe as fitted by n-able What you can do to protect your property: Review your existing key safe – older or low-quality models are particularly vulnerable. If a key safe is required, use a high-quality, police-approved model. Ensur

Funding is now available to deliver inspiring, fully funded summer activities for 8–17 year-olds across Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent. The Staffordshire Space Programme works with voluntary and private sector organisations to help young people build skills, improve wellbeing and access positive opportunities. Since 2016, the programme has helped contribute to an 81.9% reduction in anti-social behaviour. Summer 2026 is now open for provider applications. You could help deli

What's On: Local Wildlife Talk - created 21st January 2026

A large new notice board was sited at the top of Tape Street Car Park last week. The new addition will provide a prominent space for local community organisations to provide vital information for residents and visitors. Project managed by former town councillor Paul Keeling, this has taken an extraordinarily long time to complete, and without his tenacity and creativity, we would not have it at all. We're grateful to him and to Leek Building Society, who sponsored its creatio

Former Catholic priest Alexander Bede Walsh has been convicted of a non-recent sexual offence against a boy. On Tuesday, January 13, Bede Walsh, 72, of HMP Wakefield, West Yorkshire, was found guilty of indecent assault on a child after a trial at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court. Walsh committed the indecent assault at a church in Cheadle during the 1980s. He is presently serving a 22-year prison sentence, having been convicted in 2012 of two sexual offences and 19 counts of indec

POV: Bernie's Story As a reporter for COGNEWS, I come across many people who, through no fault of their own, spend the Christmas and New Year season on their own. This may be due to the loss of a partner or having gone through the breakup of a relationship. The feeling of isolation can be quite painful, especially after a Christmas spent with relatives. In this modern world, we don’t have the social connections we once had, and certainly in Cheadle isolation can be quite seve

If Staffordshire is known as the country's creative county, then Staffordshire Moorlands should be considered its crown jewel. This is not only because of the amazingly diverse range of art found throughout the moorlands but also due to the immense efforts of an organisation called Outside Arts. You may already know them; if not, your path will have crossed at some point with some element of their work. They provide funding, training, and every other kind of support imaginabl

Local PCSOs have confirmed that Cheadle Police Station is open for policing purposes and is a place the public can attend if they have been a victim of crime, if they have reported something and expressed that they would rather have a meeting at the police station than at their own home or at the location of the crime. It is also used by local officers in their duties. It's a busy place; they are well-staffed and well-equipped. They don't have a front desk that is open to the

1. If you need to drive somewhere Icy, wintry weather can cause delays and make driving conditions dangerous, follow these few simple steps to prepare before journeys: Plan your route. Check for delays and road closures. Leave more time to prepare and check your car before setting off. Check wipers, tyres and screen wash. Pack essentials in your car (warm clothing, food, drink, blanket, torch). Take a fully charged mobile phone. Pack an in-car charger. 2. Driving safely on i

Yesterday, local police confirmed a rise in crime over the past month in and around the Cheadle area, particularly involving shoplifting and anti-social behaviour. Several known individuals are involved, and active investigations are underway. Some criminals are coming from the city and are linked to these local offenders. PCSO Adrian Walters informed attendees at last night's town council meeting that they believe the activity has decreased since Christmas, noting that this

We're delighted to announce that we've added a new weekly print publication called Pocket COG to our growing communications family. We aim for this to provide a fast & lovable version of good-to-knows for Moorlands residents, visitors, and communities in a pocket-sized format. Please let us know what you'd like to see in coming issues and if you'd like to secure your copy for you or a family member - here's the link to tell us what you need: https://www.cheadlecog.com/contact