5th March 2026

Thursday 5th March 2026 – Guardian Review

Tax hike confirmed, Owen Cooper’s Soccer Aid call-up, bus lane changes and a new editor in town
Cheshire’s Mix 56’s Paul Smith catches up with newly promoted Guardian Editor Gareth Dunning for this week’s Warrington & Knutsford Guardian Review.

Council tax up 7.5% and deep cuts

Monday night’s budget meeting at Parr Hall confirmed what many feared: a 7.5% council tax rise has been agreed. For an average Band D home, that’s about £150 extra a year from 1st April, with new bills landing soon.

Alongside that comes a tough package of cuts: Hatters Row is being mothballed, and there’ll be no Warrington Walking Day procession this year, with only a possible community event and talk of a walk returning next year.

CCTV cameras will technically remain on, but from October there will be no staff to operate them unless a deal is struck with police, and leisure and library services also face reductions – stark reading for residents.

Owen Cooper to star at Soccer Aid

On to happier news – Warrington’s own teen actor Owen Cooper is set to become the youngest ever Soccer Aid player.

Before his acting career took off, he played under-15s for Warrington Rylands and still has strong footballing roots locally.

Soccer Aid, usually broadcast live on ITV, blends football legends with stars from TV, film, music and comedy, raising millions for charity each year. Another huge milestone in what’s already been an incredible year for Owen.

Jason Manford heads up Children’s Adventure Farm Trust

Comedian Jason Manford has been announced as the new president of the Children’s Adventure Farm Trust, taking over a role left vacant since the death of Bobby Charlton. Jason’s been a long-term supporter and celebrity patron, regularly helping out at the farm.

The charity is lucky to be in a patch where plenty of well-known faces live nearby and actively back their work, and Gareth is sure Jason will throw himself into the role and do a fantastic job.

New bus lanes on Winwick Road

There’s a first look this week at the new bus lanes on Winwick Road, where motorists will have noticed plenty of roadworks recently. The long-term aim is to get buses moving more quickly into town, especially from the Poplars estate.

Most of the works are nearly done, with new lanes near the college, another by Long Lane, plus the red bus lane at the Tesco turning straight into the town centre. The proof will be in the pudding over the next few weeks – and drivers are urged to watch out for the extra bus lane markings.

Cat photography business gets Theo Paphitis boost

Over in Birchwood, cat photographer Manda has won support from entrepreneur Theo Paphitis as part of his weekly Small Business Sunday feature.

Each week he highlights a different small business; this time it’s a Warrington resident with a specialist cat photography brand.

She even grabbed a photo with Theo, who’s now promoting her to his millions of social media followers – a brilliant showcase of Warrington’s small business creativity.

And finally – congratulations, Editor Dunning

Paul rounds things off by congratulating Gareth Dunning on becoming editor of the Guardian newspaper.

Gareth jokes that if you hang around long enough, it eventually lands in your lap – and that the main change might just be “more complaints”.

From everyone at Cheshire’s Mix 56, and no doubt many readers too – congratulations, Gareth and see you same time next week for the Warrington & Knutsford Guardian Review.