We are all aware of the importance of bus services to rural communities including those in the Eden Valley. The news that Labour/LibDem coalition run Cumbria County Council has been awarded £380,000 under the government's scheme for funding Supported Bus Services during 2020/21 is therefore to be welcomed; as is the proposal by the County Council to use part of the money to support new bus services between Appleby and Kirkby Stephen and to connect Kirkby Stephen town centre with the railway station and surrounding villages. We should be grateful to officers in the County Council's transport service for their work in securing this funding.

The Labour/Liberal Democrat executive of Cumbria County Council have decided that their Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs) will be reopened from Tuesday 12 May for a restricted service following an agreement with Renewi Cumbria Ltd and Cumbria Waste Management, the companies that operate the sites.