BBC News
By David Pittam
image captionCoalville, as the name suggests, is a former mining town
Across the country, people will be heading to the polls to have their say in the local elections on Thursday.
Leicestershire County Council, which is currently run by the Conservatives, is one of 143 local authorities in England where seats are up for grabs.
We went to the former mining town of Coalville in Leicestershire to ask what matters to voters there, and what services they want to see supported as councils face unprecedented financial pressures. Where are social services?
Publicans are famous for offering their customers an ear and some casual advice, but Gemma King, landlady of The Snibstone, feels she is having to step in for social services.
BBC News
By David Pittam
image captionThis patch of green was filled with discarded rubbish and food waste
On 6 May people across the country will be taking to polling stations to have their say on who runs their local area.
Derby City Council is one of 143 local authorities in England hosting elections, with a third of the seats up for grabs.
We went to Normanton Road - a busy and diverse street that cuts through some of the city s most deprived areas - to ask people what matters to them. Stop ignoring Normanton
image captionSukhwinder Singh said if there was a list of places with the most rubbish in the country, we d be right at the bottom
BBC News
By David Pittam
image captionMarc Farrow-Johnson, like many of the people we spoke to, expressed concerns over the state of Mansfield town centre
Voters across the country will head to the polls next month to put thousands of councillors, mayors and police and crime commissioners in positions of power.
The elections on 6 May will decide who runs local services such as schools, libraries and bin collections.
Nottinghamshire County Council is one of 143 local authorities in England holding elections, so we went to one town in the county to find out what issues matter most to them.
In 2017 the Conservatives fell three seats short of taking overall control of the county council, which has been governed by a coalition.
BBC News
By David Pittam
image captionA message has been stencilled on the board covering the dismantled section of wall
When a Banksy mural appeared on the side of a beauty salon in Nottingham, it was an uplifting moment.
At the time, the city was struggling with one of the highest Covid infection rates in the UK, and - as one resident put it - we needed something like this .
It is no surprise then that the sudden removal of the hula-hooping girl has not gone down well.
The piece was cut from the side of the salon in the early hours of Wednesday, having been sold to a Essex-based art collector.