• Cheshire County Council

They offer information about Chester, places to visit, events, businesses, local history and what it is like to live in Chester. They also provide information about the various services within the County such as Education, Social Services, the Environment and Community Development.

There is also a very informative and detailed "Relocation Guide" (dated April 2006) on the Chester City Council website (you can view it as a PDF document).

For more information you can call their Information Point on 08457 603456 (24 hours a day) or check the Chester County Council web site.

 

• Chester City Council

Next to tourist information Chester City Council provides general information about Chester, Cultural Services and What's on , but also information on Sports & Recreation in Cheshire and Business Opportunities.

The Economic & Tourism Development Unit of the Chester City Council is located at The Forum, Chester CH1 2HS.

As a permanent resident of the Chester District you are eligible for a 'Charisma Chester Residents Card'. It is a privilege card, valid for two years, which brings discounts on City Council short stay car parks and park & ride, discounts and special offers in many shops, restaurants, hotels and attractions and professional services. Details of the scheme and offers available will be sent with your card. There is a Charisma card available for visitors.  For more information on both cards, see www.chester-charisma.com.  The card can be obtained from The Chester Resident Card Office, Chester City Council, Town Hall, Chester CH1 2HS (01244 402430).

Direct lines to other City Council Services (all numbers are 01244 numbers):

Benefits 402236
Blocked drains 402269
Car Parks 402641
Council Tax 402471
Dog Warden 402304
Environmental Services and Refuse Collection 402477
Museums 402008
Pest Control 402194
Planning Applications 402243
Electoral Registration 402142
Tourist Information Centre 402111

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• Climate

A good website for homing in on local weather is:  www.bbc.co.uk/weather .

• Library

There is a network of 39 libraries in Cheshire. In addition there are five mobile libraries. The libraries which have Information Points have access to in-house databases such as an address directory of local clubs and societies in Cheshire, but also information on crèches, day nurseries, holiday play schemes, child minders, out of school clubs, parent and toddler groups and playgroups in Cheshire, Halton and Warrington.

For further information about the Library Service in Cheshire check the library web site.

 

• Inland Revenue and National Insurance

For questions on Income Tax, National Insurance, VAT and starting your own business, visit the Chester Inland Revenue at Hamilton House, Hamilton Place, Chester CH1 2BS (office hours) , call them at 01244-353700 or visit the Chester Inland Revenue web site. To register and obtain a National Insurance number you will need to make an appointment with the National Insurance counter at Chantry House, City Road, Chester (tel. 01244-357500).

 

• Emergencies

Dial 999 or 112
- Tell the BT operator which emergency service (fire, police, ambulance, coastguard, mountain rescue or cave rescue) you want
- Wait for the BT operator to connect you to the Emergency Service
- Tell the Emergency Service where the trouble is, what the trouble is, where you are and the number of the phone you are using.

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• Hospitals

- Countess of Chester, Liverpool Road, Chester tel. 01244 365000
- Grosvenor Nuffield (Private), Wrexham Road, Chester 0500 162584

• Medical centres

You and members of your family living with you in the U.K. are eligible to receive medical treatment under the National Health Service (NHS). You must register with a National Health Service General Practitioner (GP). Ask around for the medical centres nearest to your house. Check if they accept new patients and register. Most centres run an appointment system. For calls out of office hours, all practices in Chester are covered by the Deva Emergency Medical Service. When you call your practice out of office hours you will be referred to this service automatically. For more details on the NHS check our "Healthcare in the UK" factsheet.

 

• Places of worship

Websites: www.192.com/directory.cfm/church/CHESTER/46/churches___other_places_of_worship

www.findachurch.co.uk

 

Local libraries or councils can help with information about non-Christian religions.

 

• Maps of the area

A wide selection of maps of the area is available at the local bookshops and the Tourist Offices.

 

• Events/things to do in your spare time

   

  Check the following websites:

  www.mushroompublishing.com/maps/chester.html
  www.chester.gov.uk (tourism & Leisure)
  www.touristnetuk.com/Index.htm

• Post offices

Chester's main post office is located in St. John Street. They offer all counter services, incl. TV licences. Chester has many smaller sub post offices, but these don't offer all counter services.

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• Banks

Open a bank account as soon as possible. Check what kind of identification and other documents are needed to open an account. Check with your personnel department if they prefer a particular bank before you open an account.

Many banks have branches in Chester. Those with the most branches in and around Chester are:

- Lloyds TSB Bank
- NatWest
- HSBC Bank
- Barclays Bank

For other banks in Chester check the Thomson Local Guide or Yellow Pages.

 

• House hunting trips

Ask new colleagues at work what they consider to be suitable areas in Cheshire to live. Westminster Park and Upton are favourite residential areas in Chester. City properties tend to be less value for money. Quite a lot of local Shell employees live in villages just out of Chester. Waverton, Christleton, Kelsall, Tarporley, Tarvin, Littleton and Guilden Sutton are popular. Many Lever Brothers (Unilever) employees find properties in villages on the Wirral.

 

When deciding where to live also ask colleagues at work about traffic jams during rush hours. The M56 to Manchester is always quite full. The M53 towards Liverpool seems OK most of the time.

 

Most estate agents with properties to let in and around Chester advertise regularly in the 'Your Home - Property Guide', which is a part of 'The Chester Chronicle'. The Chester Chronicle is a good source of local information (www.chesterchronicle.co.uk), is published every Friday and is available from local newsagents.

 

Try to check the estate agents' web sites before you visit the area. House hunting trips are always too short. Try to make viewing arrangements with some of the estate agents before you come out.

 

Properties in Wales tend to be better value for money. Most expatriates though prefer to live not too far from Chester. Families with young children quite often choose not to live in Wales, as learning Welsh is still a compulsory topic in the primary and secondary school programme.

 

Check the long term letting conditions. Quite a few expatriate families in the area had to move more then once during the same assignment because the letting contract wasn't automatically extended after one year.

List of estate agents (in alphabetical order):

Beresford Adams
Cavendish Ikin
Cavendish Properties
Countrywide Residential Lettings
Denton Clark & Co
Dodds Property World
Halifax,
Humphries
Jordan's Home Rental Specialists
Matthews of Chester
Meller Braggins
Minchin Fellows
Reeds Rains
Strutt and Parker
Swetenhams
Thomas C Adams
Town & Country Independent Estate Agents
Wright Manley

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• Children and Schools

A full list of state schools in Cheshire is available from Cheshire County Council.  In Cheshire most schools are closed end of July and the whole of August. If you want to combine your house hunting trip with a school search come outside the summer holiday season. Ask around to find out about the schools reputation. Performance tables help indicate the performance of a school - go to the 'Education Plans, Policy and Performance' section of the Cheshire Council website, then click on 'OFSTED and Cheshire'. Read between the lines of these tables. How the pupils of a certain school performed last year doesn't say anything about the school results for the following year. Furthermore the percentage of children who qualify for free schools meals doesn't tell you anything about the school but more about the people that live in the catchment area of that school.

 

Visit 'working' schools or nurseries because a stroll through a place full of children and teachers will give you a feel for what the school or nursery is like.

 

- Nurseries/Pre-schools

A list of nurseries and pre-schools in Cheshire can be found in both the Thomson Guide and the Yellow Pages under 'Nurseries and creches', 'Nursery Schools' or 'Playgroups & Pre-school education'. The Chester libraries also have a list available. Many nurseries and pre-schools advertise in the local Kids Direct guide (see www.kidsdirect.org ).  In general it is not very difficult to find a nursery place for toddlers. To find a place for a baby is a bit more difficult, especially when you want an older sibling to join the same nursery. 

- General childcare

Shell provide employees with access to My Family Care to help manage child & dependent care responsibilities. You have access to 3 unique services:

- Search & Guidance - Free expert one to one help in sourcing permanent childcare
- Emergency Childcare – book backup childcare (nursery places, childminders and nannies)
- Helpline – free child and dependent care advice and information
For more information please visit www.myfamilycare.co.uk/shell or call 0845 676 7690

 

 

 

- Primary schools

Most primary schools in Cheshire cater for pupils from 4+ to 11 years. Some schools have separate infant and junior schools.

Expect popular County and Controlled Schools to be over-subscribed. The criteria used to prioritise applications are given on the Cheshire Council Education website - go to the 'Admissions' section. If you have a particular school in mind, apply well in advance.

- Secondary schools

Most secondary schools offer A-levels. To search for schools that offer the International Baccalaureate (IB) Program, visit the IBSCA website.

- Independent/private schools

A full list of independent schools in Cheshire is available from the Independent Schools Council information service (ISCis).

Please remember that the word 'private' does not necessarily stand for 'quality'. Check the adult child ratio in a class and visit the schools.

- Higher and Adult Education

West Cheshire College offers a very large number of courses from leisure courses up to university degrees, adult courses and weekend college.
University College Chester, offers undergraduate and postgraduate degrees.
Liverpool University
Liverpool John Moore University
Manchester University

 

See also www.kidsguide.co.uk, created by a Chester mother which is specifically about the local area.

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• Buying a car  

Quite a few car brands have show rooms along Sealand Road in Chester.

Second hand cars are advertised in:
- the'Buy and Sell', free available at the local newsagents every Friday.
- 'The Chester Chronicle' - published weekly, available at local newsagents every Friday  
- 'Chester - Wirral - North Wales Loot', a free advs paper published weekly
- 'Chester&Wales Quids-in', another free advs paper, also published weekly

 

• Supermarkets

- Morrisons Supermarket, Mill Lane, Upton,
- Sainsbury Supermarket
    Caldy Valley Road, Great Boughton
    Upton By Pass, Upton
    Kinsey Road, Ellesmere Port
- Somerfield The Forum Northgate Street,
- Tesco Stores
    Broughton Rd, Broughton Shopping Park,
    51-52 Chester Rd West, Shotton,
    40-42 Frodsham Square

 

• Shopping Parks/Retail Parks

- Chester City Centre
- The Forum, Northgate Street, Chester 
- Grosvenor Shopping Centre, Chester City Centre
- Chester Retail Park, Sealand Road, Chester
- Caldy Valley Retail Park, Caldy Valley Road in Chester
- Broughton Shopping Park, in Broughton
- The Outlet Village, Kinsey Road, Ellesmere Port
- The Port Arcades, Whitby Road, Ellesmere Port
- Gemini Business Park, Warrington

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• Other businesses

Thomson's Chester guide is a Local area guide that includes many useful telephone numbers of the Local Community, the Local Government, Environmental & Conservation, Help lines, Business & Employment and Travel.
Furthermore it gives Maps, an Entertainment Guide, A-Z of Businesses, Classified.

Or check their web site to find:
Business finder Who? What? Where? Or by business category
People finder Phone numbers, Addresses, Email search, Address book,…
Local information Leisure, Weather, Education, Government, Community…
Net Search Web directory, Most Popular Web pages, Newsgroups…

Yellow Pages 'Chester & North Wales' or 'Wirral & Chester'.
The Yellow Pages have a Local Area guide about Chester in the front. An extra copy of the 'Yellow Pages' is provided for £5. Call 0800 671 444 (office hours). Payment by debit or credit card.

The UK Business by County Directory
Business directory, telephone numbers, e-mail.

 

• Tourist Information

Chester has two well-documented Tourist Offices
Tel.: 01244 402111 (menu selection service), Fax: 01244 403188
E-mail: tis@chester.gov.uk 

Chester Visitor & Craft Centre  
Vicar's Lane (near the Roman Amphitheatre), Chester CH11QX
Open:
November - April
10.00 - 17.00 Monday to Saturday
10.00 - 16.00 Sunday
May - October
09.00 - 17.30 Monday - Saturday
10.00 - 16.00 Sunday

Tourist Information Centre Town Hall, Northgate Street, Chester CH1 2HJ
Open:
November - April
10.00 - 17.00 Monday - Saturday
May - October (and Bank Holidays)
09.00 - 17.30 Monday - Saturday
10.00 - 16.00 Sunday
Both Centres are closed Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year's Day.

In addition to the Tourist Offices, the local bookshops also provide a wealth of books on …pub walks, tea walks, walks with children, cycling, best days out, … in Chester and Cheshire.

 

More information on activities and things to do in Chester can be found at:  www.thebestof.co.uk/chester . 

 

And for lots of good ideas of things to do, see also:  www.visitchesterandcheshire.co.uk.

 

For more information about neighbouring Wales you can contact Chester's neighbour in Wales, Tourism Flintshire.  For an Information Pack call 01352 759331, E-mail: welcome@tourism-flintshire.org.uk .

 

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• Clubs

Newcomers to Chester
This group, launched in 1991, welcomes and helps integrate newcomers and expatriates living in the Chester area.  The group provides an opportunity for new arrivals to come together in friendship and to meet others via a regular and varied programme of activities.
Website:  www.chesternewcomers.co.uk
E-mail:  info@chesternewcomers.co.uk

 

The Dutch Club - De Nederlandse Club
De Nederlandse Club is een groep Nederlanders die in en rond Chester wonen en/of werken en die het gezellig vinden elkaar zo nu en dan te ontmoeten. Het is geen officiële club met statuten. De vaste evenementen zijn een Nieuwjaarsborrel, Koninginnedag, Sinterklaas en een maandelijkse koffieochtend. Daarnaast worden er regelmatig andere leuke evenementen georganiseerd waarbij iedereen, jong en oud, van harte welkom is.
Website: www.geocities.com/nederlandseclubchester
E-mail: nederlandseclub_chester@hotmail.com

 

Double Dutch School
De Double Dutch School heeft als doel het geven van onderwijs in de Nederlandse taal en cultuur aan kinderen die Engelstalig onderwijs volgen, affiniteit hebben met Nederland en de Nederlandse taal actief of passief beheersen.
De school is gevestigd in Merton House School Chester. Er wordt lesgegeven op zaterdagochtend van 9.15-12.15 uur.
Website:www.doubledutchschool.co.uk

Health and Sports Clubs
There are many Health and Sports Clubs in and around Chester. Most of them advertise in local newspapers such as 'The Standard' and 'The Chester Chronicle'.

For kids
There are many sports clubs for children in and around Chester. Check the Yellow Pages 'Chester & North Wales' or ' Wirral & Chester' or Thomson's Chester guide. The 'Kids Direct' guide is full of ideas to entertain children under 12.  'Kids Direct' magazine is published three times a year - see www.kidsdirect.org, or tel. 01829 781700.

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Please note:  Outpost Chester deals solely with enquiries from Shell employees and their families, worldwide.

Although every effort has been made to ensure accuracy, Outpost Chester cannot assume responsibility for errors in the information included in this guide.

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