Chester & district · Local news you can trust
Halloween in Chester 2026: zoo trail 17 Oct to 1 Nov, a free city trail, the £12 children's ghost walk on 29 Oct, Holt pumpkins and fireworks on the 31st.
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Events
What's On in Chester: Marathon 11 Oct, Fireworks 31 Oct
Chester's next six weeks: the marathon on 11 October, Blood Brothers at Storyhouse, Halloween fireworks on 31 October and Jane Eyre from 10 November.
Backford
A41 Backford Crash: Pillion Passenger, 22, Dies
Cody Dobbs, 22, died after the A41 motorbike crash at Backford on 19 September. The rider is no longer under arrest; police still want dashcam footage.
Chester
Chester Northgate Phase 2: 400 Homes Plan on Show 20 Oct
Revised plans for 400+ homes on the old Forum site go on show from 20 October, with a free film night at the Picturehouse. Dates, times and how to book.
Northwich
Northwich Market Opens at Barons Quay, All 19 Stalls Let
The new £1.8m Northwich Market opened on 18 September with every stall taken. Here is the full trader line-up, the opening hours and how to get there.
House Prices
Chester House Prices Hit Another Record: £270,104
Cheshire West homes averaged £270,104 in July, a new high and up £14,778 in a year. The pace eased from 6.6% to 5.8%, still five times England's rate.
Council
Council This Week: £3.3m Blacon Diagnostic Centre
Councillors examine a £3.3m NHS plan for a diagnostic centre on Blacon Parade on 1 October. It would add 6,894 tests a year. What is on and how to speak.
Chester
Chester, 26-27 September: Town Crier Final, Francis Rossi
The World Town Crier Tournament final is free in Exchange Square on Saturday. Plus Tatt Fest, Lucy Beaumont and Francis Rossi at Storyhouse, 25 to 27 Sept.
Half Term
Chester October Half Term 2026: 26 to 30 October, What's On
Chester's October half term is 26 to 30 October 2026: Halloween at Chester Zoo, a £12 children's ghost walk, Horrible Histories at Storyhouse and the fireworks.
New Year's Eve
Chester New Year's Eve 2026: No Fireworks, Four Parties
No fireworks in Chester on New Year's Eve. Four ticketed parties from £70 (£27 a child), two gastropubs open until 11pm, and last trains from about 8.30pm.
Moulton
Moulton Pub, Club and Church Up for Community Asset Listing
Four Moulton buildings went before Cheshire West on 17 September as assets of community value. The council has until 12 November to decide each one.
Elton
Encirc Elton: £98m Warehouse 44m Tall, 16 New Jobs
Encirc wants a 44 metre automated warehouse at Elton, near Ellesmere Port. It puts the build at £98m and the permanent jobs at 16. Comments close 8 October.
Jobs
Chester Area Claimant Count Hits 6,020, Two-Year High
6,020 people in Cheshire West and Chester claimed unemployment benefits in August, up 275 in a month. It is the highest count since September 2024.
Plenty gets written about Chester for people who are visiting for a day. This site is for the people who live here, in the city itself and out through Christleton, Saughall, Blacon, Tarvin, Kelsall and Tarporley, and in Ellesmere Port, Neston, Frodsham, Helsby, Northwich and Winsford, which share a council with Chester and very little else.
That council is Cheshire West and Chester, and it decides the things that shape an ordinary week here: what gets built inside the walls and on the edge of the villages, what parking costs, when the bins go out, what happens to a high street unit. We read the registers and the committee papers it publishes and report what is in them.
Every fact here is linked to the official document it came from. Check it yourself if you want to.