Portal:Cheshire/In the news/ArchiveOld

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2018
15 December: A Cheshire Constabulary police constable is jailed for 25 years for the rape of a 13-year-old girl he met in the course of his police duties. BBC

15 December: Visitors are evacuated from Chester Zoo because of a fire in the roof of the Monsoon Forest area.

11 December: Simon Byrne, the former Chief Constable of Cheshire Constabulary who was suspended in 2017 after allegations of bullying, is cleared of misconduct. BBC

7 December: The headstone is unveiled at the previously unmarked grave in Halton village of Edith Smith, the first woman police officer to be granted power of arrest.

30 November: A property developer is fined after carrying out unauthorised demolition and other works to the grade-II*-listed Aston Park, Aston by Budworth, described by Cheshire East council as "reckless vandalism". Cheshire East

28 November: A five-year programme to vaccinate badgers against bovine tuberculosis begins near Northwich, in an attempt to control the spread of the cattle disease without culling. BBC

14 August: A fire breaks out at the Recresco recycling plant in Ellesmere Port. BBC

2 August: United Utilities cancels its planned hosepipe ban after rain and cooler weather in the North West. BBC

1 August: Cheshire East council rejects plans for 112 proposed houses on the Doddington estate to support the renovation of Doddington Hall. Nantwich News

17 July: After the driest June in the North West since 1976, United Utilities announces a hosepipe ban to start on 5 August. BBC

3 July: A nurse is arrested in Chester as part of the investigation into a series of infant deaths at the Countess of Chester Hospital. BBC

28 June: The University of Chester Academies Trust, which runs schools in Chester, Ellesmere Port, Northwich, Warrington and Weaverham, announces that it will close. BBC

19–20 June: The Royal Cheshire County Show is held near Knutsford, and celebrates Cheshire Agricultural Society's 180th anniversary. Cheshire East

14 June: The Queen and the Duchess of Sussex open the Mersey Gateway from the Catalyst Science Discovery Centre in Widnes, and later the Storyhouse Theatre in Chester.

23 May: Three guided busways are proposed to connect Handforth with Stockport, Wilmslow with Didsbury, and both towns with Manchester Airport. BBC

15 May: Footballer Jlloyd Samuel, player–manager of Egerton FC, dies in a car crash at High Legh. BBC

14 May: Cheshire Constabulary announces 122 new part-time community policing bases that will use existing buildings including the Catalyst and Weaver Hall Museums, football clubs, golf courses, care homes and scout huts. BBC

1 April: A statue to Thomas Mottershead VC, DCM is unveiled in Victoria Park, Widnes.

29 March: The Royal London Group gains planning permission to build up to 195 houses on former greenbelt land adjacent to its Wilmslow headquarters. BBC

16 March: The Roman Amphitheatre of Chester Volume 1: The Prehistoric and Roman Archaeology is published, documenting excavations at the Chester Roman Amphitheatre in 2004–6. Cheshire West & Chester

2017
14 October: The Mersey Gateway opens to traffic.

20 July: Work begins to reopen Halton Curve at Runcorn to provide a direct rail link between North Wales, Chester and Liverpool.

1 July: Runcorn Shopping Centre has changed its name back to its original name of Runcorn Shopping City.

29 June: Alstom opened the UK's largest train modernisation facility in Widnes.

9 June: In the general election, the Labour party gains Crewe and Nantwich, Warrington South and Weaver Vale and holds City of Chester, Ellesmere Port and Neston, Halton and Warrington North, while the Conservative party retains Congleton, Eddisbury, Macclesfield and Tatton.

11 May: Chester Storyhouse, a new theatre, cinema and library complex, opens in a grade-II-listed, Art Deco former cinema.

26 April: Esther McVey is selected as the Conservative candidate for the constituency of Tatton.

20 April: The North Approach Viaduct to the Mersey Gateway is completed.

19 April: George Osborne, former Chancellor of the Exchequer, and recently appointed editor of the London Evening Standard, decides not to stand for re-election to the constituency of Tatton.

23 January: The Prime Minister, Theresa May, chairs a regional cabinet meeting at Daresbury Laboratory near Warrington at which she unveils her industrial strategy for the UK.

19 January: Cheshire Constabulary announces that it is investigating more than 200 reports of alleged sex abuse involving 83 young footballers. BBC

10 January: Cheshire East, Cheshire West and Chester and Warrington gain "cultural destination" recognition from the Arts Council and VisitEngland, with a £300,000 grant to improve arts and culture provision across the county. Cheshire East, Arts Council England

2 January: Government plans for a new garden village in North Cheshire are announced. BBC

2016
15 December: The first phase of the Barons Quay retail and leisure complex opens in Northwich. BBC

15 December: Cheshire East's revised local plan, including 36,000 new houses, is approved by the government planning inspector. BBC

5 December: The Macclesfield-born sculptor Helen Marten wins the Turner Prize, shortly after winning the inaugural Hepworth Prize. BBC

29 November: Chester wins the EC's Access City Award for the city's ease of access by the elderly or disabled. Cheshire West & Chester

28 November: Cyclists Jason Kenny, Laura Kenny and Sarah Storey are shortlisted for the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award. BBC

16 November: Dee Valley Water, which supplies the Chester area, is bought by Severn Trent. BBC

15 November: Phase 2 of the high-speed HS2 rail line, including a link between Crewe and Manchester, will go ahead. BBC

8 November: The Chester Castle Propylaeum reopens after restoration. Cheshire West & Chester

2 November: Foundations believed to be of the gateway to the Roman fortress of Deva are discovered during repairs to the Northgate of Chester city walls. Cheshire West & Chester

27 October: The first cable is installed on the Mersey Gateway bridge.

19 October: The trial starts of eight people who campaigned against test drilling at Upton by Chester, a potential fracking site. BBC 3 October: Debt across Cheshire's NHS trusts increased from £5 million in 2014–15 to £77 million in 2015–16. BBC

30 September: A silver Roman pendant with a carved carnelian depicting a gladiator or soldier is found at Farndon. BBC 21 September: The restoration of Nantwich Aqueduct, Acton, wins the restoration and historic environment category of the Living Waterways Awards. Cheshire East

9 & 19 September: University technical colleges open in Crewe and Warrington. Crewe Guardian, Warrington Guardian

16 September: A £300 million redevelopment of the Northgate area of Chester, to include a cinema and market hall, gains approval. Cheshire West & Chester

8–17 September: Disley cyclist Sarah Storey and Poynton cyclist Sophie Thornhill win gold medals in the Paralympics, with Storey becoming the most successful female British Paralympian. BBC 1 2

6 September: The Tour of Britain men's cycling race third stage, from Congleton to Tatton Park in Cheshire East, is won by Ian Stannard. Cheshire East, BBC

12–17 August: In the Summer Olympics, Knutsford cyclists Laura Trott and Jason Kenny win two and three gold medals, respectively; Cheshire rower Matthew Langridge wins a gold medal in the men's eight; and Crewe-born trampolinist Bryony Page wins a silver medal. BBC 1,2, 3

12 August: Chester Zoo successfully breeds the Montserrat tarantula, Cyrtopholis femoralis, for the first time in captivity. BBC

10 August: The Lion Salt Works wins the best heritage project in the National Lottery Awards. BBC

9 August: Cheshire landowner Gerald Grosvenor, 6th Duke of Westminster, of Eaton Hall, dies suddenly at the age of 64. BBC

6 August: A history-of-medicine museum, 'Sick to Death', opens in the Water Tower and Bonewaldesthorne's Tower on Chester's city walls. Cheshire West & Chester

6 August: The newly rebuilt and extended museum at Norton Priory opens.

5 August: Six months after Warrington band Viola Beach's members died in a car accident, their debut album reaches number one. BBC

3 August: Four further education colleges – South Cheshire College, Crewe, West Cheshire College, Chester and Ellesmere Port, Mid Cheshire College, Hartford, and Warrington Collegiate – announce that they will merge in 2017–18. Crewe Chronicle

27 July: The King's School, Macclesfield, gains planning permission to build a new school on a green-belt site in Prestbury. BBC

13 July: GHA Coaches, which provided school bus services across the county, stops operating. Cheshire West & Chester

26 June: Daresbury Hall, a grade II* listed building, is severely damaged by fire.

22 June: The Lion Salt Works is shortlisted for the best heritage project in the National Lottery Awards. Cheshire West & Chester

5 May: David Keane is elected police commissioner for Cheshire. Liverpool Echo

21 March: An exhibition on the Gothic Revival in Cheshire opens at the Grosvenor Museum in Chester. Cheshire West and Chester

20 March: An exhibition commemorating the 75th anniversary of Macclesfield Synagogue opens in Macclesfield. Cheshire East

4 March: The Lion Salt Works restoration wins the conservation award at the Civic Trust Awards. Civic Trust Awards

4 March: Consultation opens on Cheshire East's revised local plan. Cheshire East

1 March: Disused offices in Runcorn are going to be converted into a "healthy new town" providing 800 dwellings.

29 February: Cheshire East includes an extra 7,000 houses in its local plan, to include greenbelt sites near Knutsford, Macclesfield and Wilmslow. BBC

25 February: Listed railway viaducts at Holmes Chapel and Peover Superior, as well as railway bridges at Crewe, Rudheath and Davenham, reopen after refurbishment. Place North West

22 February: DONG Energy announce the first plant to convert unsorted household waste into biogas, to be built in Northwich. CIWM Journal

22 February: Restoration work commences on the Chester Castle Propylaeum. Cheshire West and Chester

21 February: An exhibition celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of the Brazilian World Cup football team's visit to Lymm opens. BBC

13 February: The four members of Warrington band Viola Beach are killed in a car accident in Sweden. BBC

13 February: Two hoards of Roman and Iron Age coins and jewellery found in Knutsford and Malpas go on display at the Museum of Liverpool. BBC

7 February: Retired gymnast Beth Tweddle is injured participating in the reality show, The Jump. BBC

3 February: SSE announces its intention to close three of the four units at Fiddlers Ferry power station in Widnes. BBC

1 February: Chester Zoo announces the successful breeding of tuatara lizards for the first time outside New Zealand. BBC

26 January: The Victorian public baths in Chester reopen after repairs to the glass roofs. Cheshire West

18 January: The Cheshire Show becomes the Royal Cheshire County Show. Wilmslow Guardian

15 January: Rachel Bailey is elected leader of the Conservatives, the largest party in Cheshire East Council, after Michael Jones stood down in December. BBC

12–15 January: Stargazing Live is broadcast from the Jodrell Bank Observatory. BBC

15 January: Children's shoes are found during archeological excavations in Quarry Bank Mill gardens. BBC

12 January: Police evict anti-fracking protesters who have camped at Upton by Chester since April 2014. BBC

2015
21 December: A bypass around the east of Crewe, linking the A500 and the A5020, is completed. Cheshire East

8 December: Michael Jones stands down as leader of the Conservatives, the main party in Cheshire East Council. BBC

7 November: Lavinia Cholmondeley, chatelaine of Cholmondeley Castle, died.

6 November: IGas Energy gain a court order to evict anti-fracking protesters who have camped at Upton by Chester since April 2014. BBC

28 October: Hari Hi-Way, a three-year-old elephant, died at Chester Zoo only six weeks after the death of his sister Bala.

10 August: The M56 motorway was closed for 10 hours due to a fire in a tanker carrying propane gas near Helsby.

1 August: The pilot was killed when his Folland Gnat plane crashed in an air display near Oulton Park.

31 July: Two human skeletons, buried at least 400 years ago, are found within the walls of Halton Castle during excavations.

27 July: Round Tower Lodge, Sandiway, rebuilt after demolition following a road traffic accident.

18 July: Four people are missing following explosions and a fire at a wood treatment works in Bosley.

13 July: The first phase of a new project called Islands opens at Chester Zoo.

5 June: Lion Salt Works reopens after a restoration costing £10.23m.

25 May: The temporary trestle bridge for the construction of the Mersey Gateway has been completed.

9 May: In the council elections, Labour gain Cheshire West and Chester (election) and hold Halton (election) and Warrington (election), and Conservatives hold Cheshire East (election).

8 May: Labour gain City of Chester and hold Ellesmere Port & Neston, Halton and Warrington North; Conservatives hold Congleton, Crewe & Nantwich, Eddisbury, Macclesfield, Tatton, Warrington South and Weaver Vale; the Liberal Democrats fail to make any gains in the general election. BBC

6 May: Work commences on the £107 million Bridge Street Quarter project in Warrington town centre. BBC

29 April: Jodrell Bank chosen as the permanent headquarters of the Square Kilometre Array radio telescope project. BBC

26 April: Paula Radcliffe retires from competitive running after the London Marathon. Guardian

20 April: Liam Livingstone scores one of the highest-ever one-day cricket scores for Nantwich cricket club. BBC

1 April: The Duke of Gloucester visits Runcorn to launch the celebrations marking the town's 1,100 years of existence.

24 March: Royal London pensions group announces expansion plans in Wilmslow, which will create 450 jobs. BBC

23 March: Warrington WA1 is one of the ten best districts in England to live in, according to a Royal Mail survey. BBC

18–20 March: Stargazing Live is broadcast from the Jodrell Bank Observatory. BBC

17 March: King's Leadership Academy, a secondary school in Warrington, wins the Department for Education's Character Award. BBC

16 March: Cheshire East council launches Fairerpower, the first council-run energy company since the industry was nationalised. BBC

11 March: In the LGC Awards, Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service wins the "Driving Efficiency Through Technology" category and Cheshire West and Chester council wins the Environment Award and is a runner up for "Council of the Year". LGC

10 March: A Warrington charity set up after the bomb attacks of 1993 receives a £150,000 government grant for its work with people affected by terrorism. BBC

9 March: Eddisbury MP Stephen O'Brien will not stand at the next election after being appointed the UN's Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator. BBC

7 March: New memorial in Victoria Park, Widnes, commemorates 62 First World War casualties omitted from the town's war memorial. BBC

27 February: East Cheshire NHS Trust health services described as "distressed" in a leaked report to the Secretary of State for Health, Jeremy Hunt. BBC

20 February: New joint website launched for West Cheshire museums, including the Grosvenor Museum, Lion Salt Works, Stretton Watermill and Weaver Hall Museum. Cheshire West and Chester

13 February: Work starts on a £4.4 million project to improve sports facilities at Victoria Park, Latchford. Warrington Borough Council 13 February: Exhibition of watercolours by Victorian artist Louise Rayner opens at Chester's Grosvenor Museum. Cheshire West and Chester

6 February: Quarry Bank cotton mill secures £3.9 million in funding for a project to restore Quarry Bank House, gardens and an 1830s glasshouse. BBC

30 January: Cheshire West and Chester adopts a 15-year development plan including 22,000 new houses, with 5,200 planned in Chester, 4,800 in Ellesmere Port, 4,300 in Northwich, 3,500 in Winsford and 4,200 in rural areas. Cheshire West and Chester

29 January: Secondary schools in most parts of Cheshire are above the national average of 56.6% of pupils achieving five good GCSEs, with Cheshire East attaining 61.5%, Cheshire West and Chester 58.2%, Halton 57.2% and Warrington 55.9%. BBC

22 January: Work starts at a Norton Priory undercroft, as part of a £3.7 million restoration project. BBC

15 January: Cheshire West and Chester council reaches shortlist for Council of the Year in the LGC Awards. LGC

13 January: Set of stamps issued to commemorate the 150th anniversary of Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland. BBC

8 January: Schools in Cheshire East rated 93.6% "good" or "outstanding" by Ofsted, the third best rating in England. Cheshire East Council

5 January: Restoration work starts on the Eastgate Clock in Chester. BBC

2014
27 December: Heavy snow blocks roads in the county. BBC

18 December: Despite government cuts, Cheshire East's spending power is predicted to increase by 1.4% in 2015–16, while Cheshire West and Chester's remains constant. BBC

17 December: Libby Lane, vicar of Ashley, is named Bishop of Stockport, becoming the first woman to be made a Church of England bishop. BBC

12 December: Para-cyclist Sophie Thornhill is one of the finalists of the BBC Young Sports Personality 2014. BBC

4 December: Bentley announces a new R&D centre at its Crewe headquarters, with the creation of 300 jobs. BBC

3 December: A new Cognitive Computing Research Centre is announced in Daresbury. BBC

2 December: "Catafalque for Anton Bruckner", a 1981 bronze by Michael Sandle, is donated to the Grosvenor Museum in Chester. Cheshire West and Chester Council

19 November: The Carbon Landscape project to enhance wildlife corridors between Cheshire and Manchester wetlands is announced. BBC

18 November: Funding is announced for conservation projects in the south-west Peak District. BBC

3 November: Congleton wins a gold medal in the 2014 Britain in Bloom awards. Cheshire East Council

8 August: Norton Priory receives a grant of £3.7 million from the Heritage Lottery Fund to develop its museum. Runcorn and Widnes World

5 August: Chester Zoo is rated the top zoo in the UK, and the second in Europe, in TripAdvisor's 2014 Travellers' Choice Awards. BBC

3 August: A statue of "Todger" Jones, VC, DCM is unveiled in the Memorial Garden, Runcorn. BBC

2 August: Pole vaulter Sally Peake wins a silver medal at the 2014 Commonwealth Games. BBC

31 July: The Fire Brigades Union highlights problems with the North West Fire Control centre in Warrington, which opened in May. BBC

28 July: A total of 37 parks and green spaces across the county win Green Flag Awards. Keep Britain Tidy

27 July: Para-cyclist Sophie Thornhill wins two gold medals in tandem cycling with pilot Helen Scott at the 2014 Commonwealth Games. BBC

27 July: Golfer David Horsey wins the Russian Open. BBC

24 July: Para-cyclist Sophie Thornhill wins a gold medal in tandem sprint with pilot Helen Scott at the 2014 Commonwealth Games. BBC

21 July: Extracting shale gas from 30 sites in Cheshire, Greater Manchester and Merseyside is estimated to have the potential to contribute £10 billion to the economy. BBC

7 July: Vauxhall Motors announces the creation of around 300 jobs at its plant in Ellesmere Port. BBC

7 July: Funding is announced for a new bus interchange in Chester and swing bridge in Warrington, as well as road improvements in Chester, Congleton, Poynton and Warrington. UK government

3 July: An upgrade to the Halton Curve railway line is announced, to provide a direct link from Wrexham to Warrington and Liverpool. BBC

30 June: The county's armed police unit merges with that of north Wales. BBC

28 June: Official opening of Wat Phra Singh UK, a Buddhist temple, in Runcorn.

23 June: Over 80,000 people attend the Cheshire County Show in Tabley. Cheshire East

22 June: Work commences on widening the A500 at the M6 junction near Barthomley. BBC

18 June: Work starts on the Propyleum of Chester Castle to halt subsidence. Cheshire West & Chester

 5 June: Geothermal energy from a site in Leighton West, near Crewe, is estimated to have the potential to supply around 100 gigawatt hours per year. Cheshire East

 5 June: Tattenhall's Neighbourhood Plan, the first in West Cheshire, is formally adopted. Cheshire West & Chester

 2 June: Restoration project on Chester's city walls wins the heritage category of the North West Regional Construction Awards. Cheshire West & Chester

31 May: A sports festival in Congleton marks the visit of the 2014 Commonwealth Games baton. BBC

29 May: The White-faced darter dragonfly, last recorded in Cheshire in 2003, is reintroduced to Delamere Forest by the Cheshire Wildlife Trust. BBC

26 May: The North West constituency elects three Labour, three UK Independence Party and two Conservative members to the European Parliament; British National Party leader Nick Griffin loses his seat. BBC

22 May: Elections held across the North West constituency for eight seats on the European Parliament, and for local council seats in Halton and Warrington. BBC

21 May: Lloyds Bank announces the closure of its telephone banking centre in Warrington, with loss of 180 jobs. BBC

20 May: Northwich recycling centre named best in Britain in the 2014 Recycling and Waste Management awards. Cheshire West & Chester

19 May: Bentley announces the creation of 140 jobs at its headquarters in Crewe. BBC

12 May: Tatton Park wins the Large Visitor Attraction category of the 2014 VisitEngland Awards, and Peckforton Castle is a runner up in the Large Hotel category. VisitEngland Awards

7 May: Construction begins of the Mersey Gateway, a road bridge crossing the River Mersey between Runcorn and Widnes.

1 May: The HM Inspectorate of Constabulary reports that Cheshire Constabulary recorded only 68% of reported crimes, below average of the 13 forces surveyed. HM Inspectorate of Constabulary

14 April: Exhibition celebrating 50 years of Runcorn New Town opens. Halton Council

12 April: Para-cyclist Sophie Thornhill sets the world record for the women's kilometre time trial with pilot Rachel James at the UCI Para-cycling Track World Championships. BBC

8 April: Consultation opens on relocating the county archives, currently held in inadequate storage conditions in Chester. Cheshire Archives and Local Studies

8 April: Anti-fracking protesters set up a camp at Upton by Chester, at a site with planning permission for drilling but not fracking. BBC

3 April: Royal Bank of Scotland announces the closure of the last remaining bank branches in Bollington and Chelford. BBC

1 April: Cheshire awarded grant to expand high-speed broadband access in Antrobus, Arley, Audlem, Burleydam, Gawsworth, Huxley, North Rode and Wincle. Cheshire West & Chester Council

April: S E Sellers of Tarporley is appointed High Sheriff of Cheshire. High Sheriffs' Association

20 March: Cheshire historian George Ormerod's notes are donated to the county archive. Cheshire West & Chester Council

17 March: The HS2 high-speed railway chair calls for the extension to Crewe to be brought forward to 2027. BBC

12 March: Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service wins the Business Transformation category of the Local Government Chronicle awards. LGC awards

12 March: The sale of Alderley Park AstraZeneca site to Manchester Science Parks is announced. BBC

10 March: The UK's largest incinerator for burning refuse-derived fuel is switched on in Runcorn.

5 March: Vauxhall Motors football club resign from Conference North. BBC

3 March: Cheshire West and Chester grants permission for over a hundred homes on brownfield land at Beeston, more than doubling the size of the village. Cheshire West & Chester Council

13 February: Capenhurst is one of five sites shortlisted by the MoD to store radioactive submarine components. BBC

11–12 February: Hurricane winds bring down trees and power lines across the county, and damage buildings including Crewe station. Cheshire East Council Cheshire West & Chester Council

5 February: A campaign is launched to save Nantwich's disused 1948 signal box, threatened with demolition, by moving it to a local church. Crewe Chronicle BBC

30 January: Widnes market wins the Small Outdoor Market category in the National Association of British Market Authorities awards. Halton Council

16 January: Two hoards found in Knutsford in 2012 are verified to contain Roman coins and silver jewellery by the British Museum. BBC

16 January: Greater Manchester Police is to face criminal charges over the fatal shooting of an unarmed man in Culcheth in 2012. BBC

15 January: The Institute for Family Business reports that Mornflake, established in 1675, may be the UK's fourth oldest family business. BBC

14 January: Cheshire East council leader joins group voicing concern about the community benefits of fracking. BBC

9 January: Warrington and Cheshire West and Chester councils and the county's Fire and Rescue Service reach the shortlists of the Local Government Chronicle awards. LGC awards

7–9 January: Stargazing Live broadcast live from Jodrell Bank Observatory. BBC

3 January: Storms together with high tides cause flooding in Chester, Warrington and the Wirral. BBC

2013
28 December: A house-price survey finds Macclesfield has one of England and Wales' most expensive streets, the only one in the top fifty outside southern England.

27 December: Gales cause loss of power in parts of Cheshire.

24 December: Mathematician and code-breaker Alan Turing receives a posthumous royal pardon.

21 December: Sports commentator David Coleman, inspiration for Private Eye's "Colemanballs" column, dies.

20 December: Chester amateur film-maker Philip Chidell wins a Radio 5 short-film competition.

20 December: Cheshire West and Chester approve a local plan for 22,000 new houses, some of which are to be built on green belt land.

18 December: Roll-out of high-speed fibre broadband to rural properties across Cheshire starts in Holmes Chapel.

15 December: Sailor Ben Ainslie comes fifth in the BBC Sports Personality of the Year, and Hillsborough campaigner Anne Williams is posthumously awarded the Helen Rollason Award.

12 December: St Oswald's CofE Aided Primary School, Chester heads Department for Education primary school league tables.

10 December: Andrew Miller, MP for Ellesmere Port and Neston since 1992, announces that he will not stand at the next general election.

9 December: New "garden village" at Little Sutton, Ellesmere Port gains planning permission.

28 November: Consultation opens on whether Halton and other Liverpool City Region local authorities should become a combined authority.

28 November: Chester Zoo, Ness Botanic Gardens and Peckforton Castle are among the winners of the 2013 Marketing Cheshire Awards.

27 November: Actor Lewis Collins, known for his role in The Professionals, dies of cancer.

26 November: Sailor Ben Ainslie is shortlisted for the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award.

21 November: A 1940 signal box in Runcorn, built to resist air raids, is listed by English Heritage.

16 November: An exhibition on pioneering local physician John Haygarth opens in Chester.

15 November: The Grade II listed Round Tower in Sandiway is demolished after being severely damaged in a road traffic accident.

14 November: Macclesfield Town football club appeals for £150,000 investment.

11 November: AstraZeneca announces a new manufacturing plant in Macclesfield.

11 November: Poynton named as one of the top ten towns in England and Wales to raise a family.

6 November: The dormouse is threatened in Cheshire by loss of hedgerows and woodland, according to the Woodland Trust.

31 October: The Cat and Fiddle Road from Macclesfield to Buxton is named the most dangerous road in Britain for the eighth time.

24 October: Tattenhall votes overwhelmingly for a neighbourhood plan limiting developments to 30 houses, under new legislation.

21 October: Over 41 million people visited Cheshire in 2012, an increase of 6–9% on 2011.

17 October: A recent excavation at Norton Priory has revealed a prehistoric flint blade, the first item to have been found on the site dating from earlier than the medieval period.

15 October: Cheshire East's child protection services are judged inadequate by Ofsted.

4 October: Plans to build a student village on greenbelt land near Chester have been rejected by Cheshire West and Chester.

3 October: Warrington Wolves are runners up in the rugby league Super League for the second year running.

30 September: Friends of Ellesmere Port and Little Sutton stations win the National Community Rail Awards station volunteers category.

26 September: Greenbelt campaigners protest plans to build 2000-home village on a greenbelt site at Handforth.

19 September: New art catalogue covers 26 Cheshire collections including Grosvenor Museum, Tabley House and the Weaver Hall Museum and Workhouse.

19 September: Cheshire East proposes a new "North Cheshire Growth Village" in Handforth, near Wilmslow.

11 September: Cheshire wins the Minor Counties Cricket Championship.

11 September: Rare sand lizards bred at Chester Zoo have been released at the Dee Estuary.

7 September: Sutton Weaver Swing Bridge, near Frodsham, closes for a year's restoration work, with traffic diverted over a temporary bridge.

9 May: Britain's youngest mayor, 21-year-old George Hayes, is sworn in at Congleton.

8 May: Wilmslow-based football manager Sir Alex Ferguson announces his retirement.

7 May: Project commemorating Cheshire's experiences in the First World War gains funding.

3 May: Consultation opens on Cheshire East's local development plan, which will guide planning decisions to 2030.

3 May: Cheshire Building Society is to merge with parent Nationwide, with around half of its branches closing.

3 May: The Trent and Mersey Canal at Dutton Hollow reopens ahead of schedule after last September's breach.

30 April: High-speed broadband is to be rolled out to 96% of Cheshire homes and businesses over 3 years.

26 April: Ofsted criticises Cheshire East's Children's Services.

12 April: A Northwich tea room featuring Alice in Wonderland décor is named the UK's best afternoon tea spot.

11 April: A 3 m high bronze statue is installed in Hale to commemorate John Middleton, reputedly 9 ft 3 in tall.

8 April: Fire at Dee Estuary Reserve, near Neston, destroys marshland important for nesting birds.

8 April: Nantwich abattoir closed by Food Standards Agency due to public health risks.

2 April: Gymnast Beth Tweddle awarded Freedom of the Borough of Cheshire East.

30 March: Norton Priory wins £100,000 to project images illustrating the site's history.

26 March: Jodrell Bank installs a giant orrery, believed to be the world's largest.

19 March: Footballer Michael Owen announces his retirement at the end of the season.

18 March: AstraZeneca announces plans to stop R&D work at Alderley Park, with the loss of 1,600 jobs at the site.

10 March: Gymnast Beth Tweddle wins skating show, Dancing on Ice.

6 March: A Nantwich abattoir is alleged to be linked with illegal import of horses unfit for human consumption.

4 March: Gas extraction protestors erect fake drilling rigs by Tatton MP George Osborne's Knutsford offices.

21 February: Two Roman roads found in Chester during excavations within the area of the Deva Victrix fort.

14 February: Cheshire East council plans to lend £5 million to a project to build an adventure park at Tatton Park.

12 February: Appeal launched to restore Quarry Bank Mill estate buildings and digitise its records.

7 February: Television presenter Stuart Hall appears in court charged with rape and indecent assault.

6 February: Cheshire East council announces plans to cut a thousand jobs, 20% of its workforce, over 3 years.

4 February: Barthomley residents fight plans to build a thousand new houses on greenbelt site.

2 February: Protesters in Nantwich call for closure of a local horse abattoir, under investigation for animal cruelty.

30 January: Cheshire East managers to re-apply for their jobs in restructuring over Lyme Green recycling centre mistake.

29 January: Work commences on the Trent and Mersey Canal at Dutton Hollow to repair last September's breach.

28 January: Planned HS2 high-speed trains to stop at Crewe.

27 January: A533 is closed at Whitley by 4 ft deep floods, and flooding interrupts rail services between Crewe and Chester.

23 January: Appeal gives go ahead for building 43 houses on greenfield site in Aston to fund repairs to Combermere Abbey. 18 January: Schools close due to snow in parts of the county.

14 January: Mouldsworth Motor Museum is facing closure.

8–10 January: Jodrell Bank hosts the television programme, Stargazing Live.

8 January: Cheshire East councillor resigns over recycling centre mistake at Lyme Green near Macclesfield, which wasted £800 thousand.

4 January: Wirral Wildlife supports council plans to stop maintaining sixteen of the Wirral's beaches as a cost-saving measure.

3 January: Local historian Frank Latham dies.

1 January: Defra adds Cheshire to the list of counties in which annual TB testing of cattle is required.

2012
29 December: Sailor Ben Ainslie is knighted and cyclist Sarah Storey becomes a dame in the 2013 New Year Honours List.

21 December: Consultation opens early on Cheshire East's development plans.

16 December: Sailor Ben Ainslie and cyclist Sarah Storey nominated for BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2012.

4 December: Work starts on new flood defences in Warrington.

December: £6 million redevelopment of Crewe station starts.

29 November: Soldier Danny Nightingale released, after his sentence for possession of an unregistered firearm is made suspended.

24 November: 300 people protest plans to build 150 new houses at a green-field site near Alsager.

23 November: Former Stone Roses guitarist John Squire's art studio burns down in an accidental fire at his home in Macclesfield.

22 November: Conservative John Dwyer sworn in as Cheshire's first Police and Crime Commissioner.

15 November: Conservative John Dwyer elected Cheshire's first Police and Crime Commissioner, on turnout of 13.7%.

16 October: Consultation opens on revised boundary changes for Cheshire's electoral constituencies.

26 September: Trent and Mersey Canal breaches its banks at Dutton Hollow after flooding; a 13 mile section of the canal is closed.

6 September: Sarah Storey wins fourth cycling gold medal at the 2012 Paralympics.

30 August: Boneland, the final part in Alan Garner's The Weirdstone of Brisingamen trilogy set in Alderley Edge, is published, fifty years after the first part.

21 August: Thousands of fish killed by low oxygen levels in the Weaver near Winsford. 16 August: A light aircraft crashes near Churton, with two casualties.

12 August: Ben Ainslie carries the British flag at the Olympics closing ceremony, after winning his fourth sailing gold medal.

2010
8–10 October: Festival at Alderley Edge celebrates the 50th anniversary of the first publication of Alan Garner's The Weirdstone of Brisingamen.

5 September: The Palms Tropical Oasis zoo at Stapeley Water Gardens closes.

19 August: Michael Gove approves three schools' conversion to academy status: Brine Leas High in Nantwich, Fallibroome High in Macclesfield, and Sandbach High. 19 July: The Lindow Man exhibition at Manchester Museum wins the Best Archaeological Innovation category in the British Archaeological Awards of 2010.

7 July: Chester Rows and the Jodrell Bank Observatory are nominated for the new British shortlist for proposed UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

17 June: The Silver Jubilee Bridge in Runcorn reaches the shortlist of the Prime Minister's Award for Better Public Building for innovative repairs.

14 June: The Lindow Man exhibition at Manchester Museum reaches the shortlist for Best Archaeological Innovation in the British Archaeological Awards of 2010.

11 June: Lyceum Theatre in Crewe wins the Show Guide of the Year category at the annual Encore Theatre Awards.

11 June: Anderton Boat Lift, Blue Planet Aquarium, Carden Park Hotel, Chester Zoo, the Residence and Tatton Park are among the winners in the annual Visit Chester and Cheshire Awards.

10 June: The Queen visits Chester Racecourse to award medals to members of the 1st Battalion, The Royal Welsh, on their return from service in Afghanistan, and opens equestrian and learning resource centres at Reaseheath College in Worleston.

22 May: Danielle Hope from Knutsford High School wins the BBC talent contest, Over The Rainbow, gaining the starring role in Andrew Lloyd Webber's 2011 musical, The Wizard of Oz.

19 May: A 520000 ft2 refrigerated warehouse for Tesco opens as the first phase of Stobart Park, Widnes.

7 May: Conservatives gain City of Chester, Warrington South and Weaver Vale, and hold Crewe & Nantwich (a byelection gain), Congleton, Eddisbury, Macclesfield and Tatton; Labour hold Ellesmere Port & Neston, Halton and Warrington North; and the Liberal Democrats fail to make any gains in the general election.

6 May: Turnout is 67% across Cheshire constituencies in the general election, above the national average (65%). Administrative errors mean that over 600 recently registered voters in City of Chester are omitted from electoral lists.

6 May: General election contested in the 11 Cheshire constituencies.

2 May: Gymnast Beth Tweddle wins two gold medals in the European Championships.

30 April: The British National Party candidate for Weaver Vale is threatened with expulsion from the party for displaying swastikas on his Facebook page.

26 April: The 450th anniversary of Malbank School and Sixth Form College in Nantwich is marked by a visit from the Duke of Gloucester.

24–25 April: Fire destroys 10 acres of The Cloud, near Bosley.

17 April: The Queen's Hall Studio, a venue for live music and performance, re-opens in Widnes following years of campaigning.

7 April: The Duke of York visits the Daresbury Science and Innovation campus.

6 April: General election called for 6 May. Four of the 11 Cheshire MPs are standing down: Mike Hall (Weaver Vale), Helen Southworth (Warrington South), Ann Winterton (Congleton) and Nicholas Winterton (Macclesfield).

26 March: Innospec Ltd, a chemical company based at Ellesmere Port, is fined £8.5m for bribing Indonesian officials to prolong the sale of toxic tetraethyl lead.

18 March: Widnes Shopping Park, a new shopping complex costing £25m, opens in Widnes.

17 March: Diana Barbour appointed High Sheriff of Cheshire.

10 March: Chester City F.C. closes after financial problems during the 2009–2010 season.

7 March: David Briggs takes over as Lord Lieutenant of Cheshire.

2009
18 October: Gymnast Beth Tweddle wins gold medal in the floor discipline at the World Championships.

15 September: Prime Minister Gordon Brown visits the Vauxhall car plant in Ellesmere Port.

10 September: Prime Minister Gordon Brown apologises for the "inhumane" treatment of mathematician and code-breaker Alan Turing.

4 September: Sophie Reade from Nantwich wins Big Brother.

1 April: Two new unitary authorities, Cheshire West and Chester and Cheshire East, take over administration.

2 February: 200 workers at the Fiddlers Ferry Power Station on the Mersey go on strike over the employment of foreign construction workers.

30 January: Staff at the Fiddlers Ferry Power Station on the Mersey strike in support of a 3-day action at Lindsey Oil Refinery, Lincolnshire.

2008
30 June: The Cat and Fiddle Road between Macclesfield and Buxton is named Britain's most dangerous road, with 43 fatal or serious collisions, mainly involving motorcyclists, since 2001.

23 May: Conservative Edward Timpson takes the Crewe and Nantwich constituency from Labour at the byelection of 22 May with a swing of 17.6%, in the first Conservative byelection gain from Labour since 1978.

22 May: Byelection held in the Crewe and Nantwich constituency, due to the death of the sitting MP, Gwyneth Dunwoody.

2 May: The Conservatives take control of both of the new unitary authorities after the 1 May council elections, with majorities of 37 councillors in Cheshire East and 38 councillors in Cheshire West and Chester. Elected members will form a "shadow" council until April 2009.

1 May: Elections held to the councils of the two new unitary authorities of Cheshire West and Chester and Cheshire East.

30 April: Byelection called in the Crewe and Nantwich constituency for 22 May, due to the death of the sitting MP, Gwyneth Dunwoody. Candidates include Dunwoody's daughter, Tamsin Dunwoody.

17 April: Gwyneth Dunwoody, Labour MP for Crewe (1974–83) and Crewe and Nantwich (1983–2008), dies after surgery for a heart condition. She was the longest-serving female MP in the UK.

14 April: 106.9 Silk FM release the "The Jodrell Bank Song" by The Astronomers, together with a music video filmed in front of the Lovell Telescope, in a campaign to save the Jodrell Bank Observatory, threatened with closure by government funding cuts.

4 March: Local government reorganisation approved by the House of Lords. From 1 April 2009, Cheshire will be administered under two new unitary authorities, Cheshire West and Chester and Cheshire East. Elections to the new councils will take place on 1 May.

3 March: The Science and Technology Facilities Council reported to be considering withdrawing its planned £2.7 million annual funding of the e-MERLIN project at Jodrell Bank near Goostrey.

2007
September: The Brindley theatre and arts centre in Runcorn wins the the National Lottery Awards "Best Arts Project in the UK", beating competition from other centres including the Tate Modern.