The council's financial position has been making national headlines, the government has appointed ministerial envoys to oversee reform, Birchwood Park is being sold to Goldman Sachs, and proposed cuts include street lighting reductions and service reviews.

If you have a garden and you live in the WA3 area, you are genuinely well placed. Within a short drive there is one of the most visited garden centres in the country, a well-established local nursery, and a farm-based plant centre that most people combine with a breakfast stop. Here is what each one offers and what to expect.

Most landlords take out buildings insurance without a second thought. Far fewer think seriously about what happens if their tenant simply stops paying rent.

Not all money spent on a home comes back when you sell. Some improvements consistently produce a return above their cost. Others, despite feeling significant when you are living through them, make little difference to what a buyer is prepared to offer.