A new train station for Halton and a controversial tidal barrage in the Mersey could be poised to go ahead after Steve Rotheram won a third successive term as mayor of the Liverpool City Region (LCR).

The LCR is comprised of six local authorities including Halton, and voters across each area were given the choice of five candidates recently when they went to the polls.

When votes were counted on Saturday, Labour's Mr Rotheram emerged victorious with 183,932 votes - also increasing his vote share by 9.7 points.

He finished ahead of Conservative Jade Marsden, who received 27,708, and the Green Party's Tom Crone, who picked up 26,417. The Liberal Democrats' Rob McAllister-Bell was fourth with 21,366 votes and independent Ian Smith came last with 11,032.

The Metro Mayor controls critical aspects of spending which impact on Halton residents' day-to-day lives, ranging from aspects of transport and infrastructure, to training and business investment.

Some of the big issues which could now impact the borough include Mayor Rotheram's proposed Mersey tidal barrage.

He wants to build what would be the largest barrage in the world between Wirral and Liverpool to harness tidal power to produce green energy. But fears have been raised by some local environmental groups about the possible impact on wildlife in the Mersey Estuary.

And at least one Halton councillor - Cllr Bill Woolfall - has raised concerns in the past over how it could impact the section of the Mersey passing through Halton. He previously stated: "We still don’t know if it will work, we don’t know the damage it will have upstream for, in particular, Halton, never mind what’s going to happen in Ince with the salt marshes."

Mr Rotheram also wants to construct a new train station in Daresbury by 2030, having pledged three new stations as part of his re-election campaign. The others would be Woodchurch on the Wirral and Carr Mill in St Helens.

Following his re-election, Mr Rotheram said: "We want to concentrate on the things that are really important to people right the way across the Liverpool City Region. We want to attract people to come to the region, it should be the go to place. I’ll do everything I can to ensure our economy grows year on year."

It was the first time voters in the region have elected a mayor using first-past-the-post method. Previously, the supplementary vote system was used where voters could pick a first and second choice of candidate.

Turnout was 23.7 per cent with 272,721 votes cast.