19th February 2026

Thursday 19th February 2026 – Guardian Review

CCTV cuts row, Glazebrook station shines, golf club cash boost and Jason mania at Parr Hall

Cheshire’s Mix 56’s Paul Smith chats with Gareth Dunning, Deputy Editor of the Warrington & Knutsford Guardian, about this week’s top stories across Warrington and Knutsford.

CCTV cuts spark police fury

Paul’s been impressed by Warrington’s CCTV control room – monitoring roads, pedestrian zones and spotting trouble – but Chief Constable Mark Roberts is furious about council plans to cut its funding.

The budget (final next month) would keep fixed cameras (e.g. on Bridge Street), but lose the live monitoring that follows incidents like town centre brawls from start to finish – key evidence for prosecutions.

Police warn it’ll hit town centre safety hard, especially the nighttime economy which has improved massively from its bad rep 10-15 years ago. They’re also miffed they weren’t consulted – council cites budget woes (£200m savings needed, 7.5% council tax rise, £350m gov’t plea), but hasn’t addressed the consultation snub.

Warrington BID (business team) has launched a petition, saying it’ll hurt business security. Keep watching this one.

Glazebrook Station – best kept for third year

Glazebrook Station has won Best Kept Station at the Cheshire Awards (held in Crewe) for the third year running! Volunteers have lovingly restored the classic red-brick building (old ticket office), added planting, organise clean-ups – turning it into a gem on the Warrington-Manchester line.

No café like Glazebrook’s neighbour Birchwood (great for a pint and lunch), but well worth hopping off for a village wander.

Warrington Golf Club raises £26k

Warrington Golf Club (main road, DA49 heading through Appleton) has smashed it, raising over £26,000 for local charities St Joseph’s Family Centre. They help those in need – domestic violence victims, people wanting a warm home – through year-long efforts, with the big cheque handover this week.

Well done, and good luck for 2026 fundraising!

Jason overload at Parr Hall

Parr Hall’s buzzing with big names: Jason Fox and Jason Donovan coming soon (Paul’s chatted to both, Gareth last week). “You’ve got to be called Jason for a Parr Hall gig,” jokes Gareth – thriving venue, full houses galore, attracting top acts like Jason Manford. David Jason next?

Cheers Gareth – back same time next week on Mix 56! (And nice one on the “Jason Dunning” slip…)