The Lymm Shopper bus service will be under new management after Easter. Previous operator JJ Travel gave up the franchise due to retirement and a new operator, Direct Taxis, has taken over. The person who has been driving the bus in recent weeks will continue and work for the new company.

This is excellent news. I know many residents were anxious because they feared the service might stop altogether. The service provides a vital function for older people all over the village. It enables people living in Broomedge, Booths Hill, Statham and Heatley and places in between to get around the village and gain access to shops, medical centres and friends. As well as being a great benefit for local residents, the bus provides a boost for local businesses in the village.

Councillors and residents have been campaigning for a pedestrian crossing on Rushgreen Road by Sainsbury's in Lymm. Officers now say an assessment of the need will not take place until traffic conditions return to a more 'normal' state.

Rushgreen Road is narrow in places and traffic is too fast. HGVs sometimes use it illegally. This has been a problem for years but recently the situation has worsened with the Sainsbury's store and a new housing estate being completed nearby.

The Council should be installing more air monitors around the town to measure particulates in the atmosphere, says Councillor Peter Walker in the Liberal Democrat response to Warrington Borough Council's Air Quality Action Plan consultation.

The Council now measures only nitrogen dioxide comprehensively throughout the town. Pollution from nitrogen dioxide is reducing because of improved vehicle engine design and the increase in the number of electric vehicles. It is the effect of particulates in the air we breathe that may now be the greater health concern. The problem is tiny particles known as pm 2.5s which measure 2.5 micrometres or less.

The Liberal Democrat opposition group at the Town Hall has voted against the Council's Budget for next year.

We supported the increase in Council Tax by nearly 5% to help protect essential services but rejected the overall Budget because of a lack of clarity about the impact of the proposed cuts on the public.

£2m has been ring-fenced in the Council budget to provide a Traveller's Transit Site. So why has Warrington still not got one?

Warrington Borough Council has not addressed the lack of a Traveller's Transit Site since I was elected in 2016. This lack of political will to do the right thing means that this Labour-led Council has consistently dodged its promises and obligations both to the settled community in Warrington and to the travelling community. It has been a constant problem and during lockdown we have seen an increase in unlawful traveller encampments throughout the town.

A campaign by local residents, supported by Liberal Democrat Councillors Anna Fradgley and Dr Tim Martland, has helped persuade the Council to turn down the planning application to expand Lymm Truckwash. The Council said there was no reason to justify building on green belt and noted the proposal would have had an adverse impact on those living nearby.