Cheshire Fest will return this summer for a four-day knee up over the June Bank Holiday Jubilee weekend, bringing the early noughties indie rock band The Zutons down from Liverpool for a headline set.
Taking place this year from a brand new home at The Lambing Shed, Moseley Hall Farm in Knutsford, the festival line-up will play host to a number of famous Manchester faces with further DJ sets coming from the likes of Clint Boon (Inspiral Carpets) and Peter Hook (Joy Division / New Order / The Hacienda).
Elsewhere, there’ll be a massive craft beer festival, a huge Big Top bingo party hosted by none other than Bongo’s Bingo, a street food village, artisan markets, and family entertainment involving a giant bubble display and circus acts.
Image: Cheshire FestImage: Cheshire Fest
There’ll be more bars serving everything from artisan gin and prosecco to lagers and softs, with several hosted by gin brand JJ Whitley Neil, and a Cheshire Fest Pub, on-site.
As for cocktail lovers, the Tipi Disco will offer a vibrant escape with premium mixologists and soulful music from Liverpool Disco Festival DJs.
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Thursday
Revellers will descend on a beautiful, new tree-lined location in the heart of the green Cheshire countryside for the event, which will kick off its first night with a Cheshire debut of Bongo’s infamous Bingo in the Big Top tent.
Here, festival-goers can expect crazy prizes, spontaneous dance-offs, rave intervals and magic moments of nostalgic escapism, all hosted by Jonny Bongo himself.
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Bank Holiday Friday
Image: Cheshire Fest
On the Bank Holiday Friday, Cheshire Craft Beer Festival will take over the site from 4-11pm, bringing over 40 UK breweries along to serve up their finest pours including Tiny Rebel and Beavertown.
There’ll be street food too, as well as cocktails for non-beer drinkers, all hosted in what will be the Big Top Beer Hall for the day.
Tables, seating and solid flooring will enable festival-goers to dance the night away to a music programme led by Judge Jules, who is bringing his own 10-piece live band down to keep the party going with covers of all the biggest dance hits from the past three decades, plus further sets from Take That’s Howard Donald and Radio 1’s James Cusak.
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‘Festival Day’ Saturday
Image: Cheshire Fest
Saturday will see Liverpudlian indie rock favourites The Zutons headline ‘Festival Day’, marking the fifteenth anniversary of their debut album Who Killed The Zutons with a mix of greatest hits and new tunes. produced by Chic co-founder Nile Rogers
Peter Hook and Clint Boon will team up as a DJ duo, taking over the Big Top, with further live performances from 90s house music queens Angie Brown and Rozella and a closing set from trio K-Klass. More artists are still to be announced.
Jubilee ‘Family Day’ Sunday
Image: Cheshire Fest
A family day will close the four-day festival, with the whole site becoming a giant street party for the afternoon.
A programme of family entertainment will see a magical, giant bubble show from eBulio bring all the colours of th rainbow floating through the fields, whilst elsewhere there’ll be a Greatest Showman Show by A Million Dreams, circus performances from Nula Hula and storytelling from Mark The Storyteller.
Elsewhere, music from cover bands like The Cavern Beatles, Manytones and more will send the vibrations of feel-good favourites floating across the site.
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Speaking on the returning event,Festival Director, Benjamin Harris said; “We are so glad to be able to bring Cheshire Fest back after a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic.
“The 2022 line up is definitely the best we’ve ever had and by partnering with so many local businesses, the festival will have a real community feel.
“It is the perfect festival for families and groups of friends to get together and enjoy some amazing music, great food and drink and enjoy socialising again.”
How to get tickets
The jam-packed weekend of events run from Thursday 2 June to Sunday 5t June – with four days of celebrations planned in honour of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.
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The second release of tickets is on sale now and can be purchased for individual days, or the whole weekend via cheshirefest.co.uk.
Day tickets start at just £8.50 for children and £12.50 for adults.
News
Teen sentenced after deliberately driving into a female police officer in Stockport
Emily Sergeant
A teen who deliberately drove into a female police officer at a retail park Stockport earlier this year has been sentenced.
Harvey Bell was at a retail park on Wilmslow Road in Cheadle back on 25 January 2025 when he seriously injured a Greater Manchester Police (GMP) officer during a shocking incident – which left the officer requiring hospital treatment.
At the time, the 19-year-old from Knutsford was present while police were investigating reports of class C drug use in a car park.
Police parked in front of an Audi and the officer signalled for Bell to remain stationary and turn the engine off, but instead he reversed, and as the officer approached the front windscreen, Bell drove at the officer, knocking her to the ground.
He then proceeded to drive over her legs with both sets of wheels, before heading out of the car park at speed.
#JAILED | A man who deliberately drove into a police officer in Stockport has been jailed.
Harvey Bell (12/08/2005) has been sentenced to 31 months in a Young Offenders Institute and was disqualified from driving for two years.
— Stockport Police (GMP) (@GMPStockport) June 4, 2025
Bell was subsequently arrested the following day and made no comment in his police interview, but then went on to plead guilty to causing serious injury by dangerous driving, as well as possession of cannabis on 27 March 2025.
The teen appeared at Manchester Crown Court this week where he was sentenced to 31 months in a Young Offenders Institute, and was also disqualified from driving for two years – which will take effect when he is released.
“What [Bell] did to me is permanently in the back of my mind, every call I go to, I feel the apprehension, the fear that any incident, no matter how innocuous it appears, can end with being assaulted or hurt,” the officer explained in a powerful victim impact statement read in court.
“This is an unseen result of Bell’s assault on me.”
She continued: “I know that Bell’s abhorrent behaviour is an exception, and the majority of the public we serve do not wish us harm, but assaults on police need to stop. An attack on a police officer is an attack on us all.
“Bell is a danger to society and had total disregard for my life.”
Featured Image – GMP
News
IKEA announces decision to close popular Greater Manchester site
Emily Sergeant
It’s the end of the road for one of IKEA’s popular Greater Manchester sites.
The Swedish furniture giant has announced its decision to close its ‘Plan and Order Point’ over in Stockport in a couple of weeks time.
The store – which is located in Stockport town centre’s Merseyway Shopping Centre – launched to huge success back in March 2023, and at the time, was the second of this ‘test and trial’ format to open in the UK, becoming a smaller space dedicated to kitchen and home planning, as well as ordering items.
IKEA says the closure comes as a result of ‘valuable learnings’ which plan to take this conceptual format in a direction to ‘better suit the needs of UK customers’.
IKEA is closing its close popular Stockport site this month / Credit: Jon Super (via IKEA)
Since the opening of the Stockport Plan and Order Point, IKEA claims it has seen an increased demand for Click and Collect services, a desire by customers to shop a smaller selection of home furnishing accessories, as well as the ability to return goods to physical IKEA units, and this is all something which the current location is unable to offer.
Learning from this change in consumer habits, the company says its future Plan and Order Point openings – including in those in other northern cities like Hull and York – will offer these services.
IKEA says it also remains ‘committed’ to trialling new formats, such as its upcoming small stores, one of which will open in nearby Chester later this year.
Luckily for IKEA fans, the retailer has confirmed that its major Greater Manchester store in Ashton-under-Lyne, as well as the neighbouring store in Warrington, will remain open as normal, offering all the services available at Stockport and more.
The Swedish furniture says the closure comes as a result of ‘valuable learnings’ about customer needs / Credit: Jon Super (via IKEA)
In addition to the upcoming opening of a smaller store in Chester, IKEA has revealed that the North West continues to be an area of interest for future expansion.
“After careful evaluation, we’ve made the difficult decision to close the IKEA Plan and Order Point at Merseyway Shopping Centre,” explained Salma Azad, who is one of IKEA’s Area Managers.
“In the two years since opening, we’ve taken valuable learnings, including how our customers prefer to meet IKEA, and we’ll take these insights into future openings, to serve shoppers in a more impactful way.”
Thanks to last year’s Click and Collect expansion, Stockport residents can now pick up purchases from Tesco Extra Stockport and Tesco Extra Stretford, as well as the Manchester store and the upcoming small store in Chester.
Stockport Plan and Order Point’s final day of trading will be on 16 June.
Georgina Pellant -
8th April 2022 
