

About Us

Back home / About Us

Bulkeley and Ridley Parish Council represents the area of Cheshire located between the Sandstone Trail in the West and the trig point at Ridley Bank in the East. The two elements of the Parish Council are, strictly speaking, separate entities but they operate together as a single authority for administrative purposes. The Parish Council is within the unitary authority of Cheshire East Borough Council.

The Parish Council's area of responsibility is primarily rural. The geographical area of Bulkeley is 393 hectares (972 acres) and the population of 240 has a density of 0.61 persons per hectare. The corresponding figures for Ridley are approximately 500 hectares (1,236 acres), a population of 120 and a density of just 0.24 persons per hectare. Local inhabitants enjoy the low density figures and the large expanses of countryside; the above-average satisfaction rating of over 85% is proof of this.

Apart from farming, there are no major industries in either Bulkeley or Ridley.

The two farms in Bulkeley have always been part of the Cholmondeley Estate; the Ridley Estate was bought by Cheshire County Council (as it then was) over 100 years ago and small farms created to provide a living for soldiers returning from the first World War and to provide young farmers with a first step in farming. As the holdings become vacant, the land is being amalgamated into larger holdings for the remaining farms. Most of the dwellings and other buildings are now being sold for redevelopment as barn or farmhouse conversions into attractive, but hardly inexpensive, private houses. The two locations serve primarily as residential areas for commuters to Chester, Ellesmere Port, Whitchurch, Telford, Wrexham, Warrington, Manchester and even Liverpool.

There are no shops, pubs or places of worship in either Bulkeley or Ridley. The National Trust owns Bulkeley Hill on the Sandstone Trail and the facilities for walking in the wooded areas are excellent. Places of note are the Grade II listed buildings: Bulkeley Hall (mid-18th century), Bulkeley Grange (rebuilt by Thomas Brassey in 1843), Brassey Tribute Stones (originally erected in 1845 to commemorate his 40th birthday and moved in 2007 to just off the A534), the gatehouse at Ridley Hall (from 1530), and the old Ridley School building (1876-77), now residential property.

We are grateful for information on Bulkeley and Ridley provided by Cheshire Community Action.

Bulkeley & Ridley Parish Council is a local authority that makes decisions on behalf of the people living in Bulkeley and Ridley. The Parish Council is the level of government closest to the community, with the Cheshire East Borough Council above it in the hierarchy.

As it is the authority closest to the people, the Parish Council is the first place people will go to with concerns or ideas. For this reason, the Parish Council is a vital part of the community and the Parish Councillor is someone the community can look to for help, guidance and support. He or she is an elected community leader with the power to influence decisions for the benefit of those whom he or she serves.

The Parish Council makes decisions on issues that affect the local community. The most common topics are planning matters (as the Parish Council is a statutory consultee), crime prevention, managing open spaces, and campaigning for and delivering better services and facilities.

It is a truism that on its own the Parish Council has limited powers to make decisions. But it does have the ability to negotiate with, and the power to influence, those other organisations that do make the final decisions, such as the Borough Council, local health authorities, Highways Departments and the Police. In this respect, the Parish Council is relatively powerful. The organisations that make the final decisions know that the Parish Council gives the best reflection of how the members of the local community feel about something and consequently the Council's views are taken seriously.

The Parish Council is governed by a series of Standing Orders .

In 2013 we completed a Housing Needs Survey.