This week we're thinking about love, love for your family and friends but also for your community! Below is the cover and contents so do look out for your printed copy in your favourite retail store this week or contact us to collect. If you'd rather read online you can do that here: and here's the pull-out too! Whatever you do today - we hope it's lovely for you! This Week's Pocket COG - Love Is in the Air! - created 14th February 2026

COGNEWS would like to wish everyone in Staffordshire Moorlands a very Happy Valentines Day! St. Valentine's Day originated as a Christian feast day honouring a martyr named Valentine, and through later folk traditions it has also become a significant cultural, religious and commercial celebration of romance, commitment, and love in many regions of the world until it became the celebration we have today. Whilst it's a great day to celebrate your partner it's also great day to

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 time spent with friends and relatives. In this modern world, we don’t have the social connections we once had, and certainly in Cheadle isolation can be qui

The Cheadle and District Lions Club is a local charity dedicated to serving our community by either raising funds or providing services. L to R: Local Lion Keith Godwin, District Governor Lion Ian Francis, and Cheadle Lion President Lesley Godwin. What makes them special is that they do their work within a social framework, such that one day they may be selling tickets for a plastic duck race at Tean; the next, they will be having a social meet in a pub. One example is if you

Cheadle Police Station recently played host to the 2nd Cheadle Scouts group. The youngsters were full of brilliant questions about policing and showed that they had a good understanding of how to report an emergency. After a tour of the station and a look at the Police Vehicles, two young people made their Cub's Pledge: “I promise to do my best to do my duty to God and to the King, to help other people, and to keep the Cub Scout Law”. PCSO LOWNDES and PCSO WATERS, were so imp

This week, we were informed that Moorlands Home Link will permanently close on Friday, February 6th. This decision by the board of trustees is not related to a specific service closure or a temporary issue for the Charity, but is final. You may have seen their year-long fundraising campaign aimed at bridging the gap in finances caused by a withdrawal of some grant funding. Home Link provides a much-needed lifeline to many elderly and disabled people living in South Moorlands

Outside Arts have announced that applications are now open for Creative Community Commissions of up to £1,000. If you are an artist, community group or organisation based in and delivering creative activities with communities in the Staffordshire Moorlands this could provide a welcome funding boost. They are hoping to support a range of projects through small scale commissions, up to £1,000 that help increase the range of arts and culture available for communities across t

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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

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

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