WINSFORD could soon be adding its very own LGBTQ+ Pride festival to its list of civic events this autumn. 

At Winsford Town Council's last meeting on Monday, June 19, councillors were invited to propose new ideas for this year's community events calendar.

This already includes a Bonfire Night celebration at Barton Stadium on Sunday, November 5; the Christmas Street Festival on Friday, November 24; and the Remembrance Day event on Sunday, November 12.

Cllr Stella Mellor, who represents Verdin ward as a member of Winsford’s Salt of the Earth independents group, proposed the town launch its own LGBTQ+ Pride festival. 

This was seconded by Labour town councillor for Wharton Ward, Nathan Pardoe, and the motion was carried following a vote by full council. 

June is Pride Month, when the ongoing 54-year campaign for LGTBQ+ rights is honoured and celebrated around the world, though festivals take place all year round, depending on local factors. 

The month was chosen to commemorate the Stonewall Riots which took place in New York in June 1969, where members of the gay community fought back after police officers became violent during a raid on a nightclub in the early hours of the morning. 

Campaigners often cite the incident as a turning point in the gay rights movement. 

The Winsford event is set to take place on Thursday, September 7, at Winsford Marina, though these details are still provisional. 

Cllr Pardoe said: "I believe that we must stand with Winsford's LGBTQ+ community. Their rights are human rights.

“LGBTQ+ people need our solidarity more than ever at a time when some are all too keen to fuel hate and discrimination.

"It's for these reasons I was happy to support Cllr Mellor's suggestion that Winsford Town Council organise a Pride event this September.

“I'm grateful the council supported this, and hope that Cllr Mellor and the other Winsford Salt of the Earth councillors deliver on her ambitions."