Woking Borough Council sells scrapped Victoria Arch scheme site
Network Rail previously told the council that it had no appetite to proceed with the railway works and the scheme was at "no longer either financially practicable or supported by key stakeholders".Finance portfolio holder Dale Roberts described the scheme as "ambitious, but in practical terms, fatally flawed" and "never viable in the way it was configured".He told a meeting of council's executive that the project collapsed due to the local authority's financial problems, but "the seeds of failure were sewn long before that"."We're closing a chapter on a project that could never have delivered," he added.The council has not revealed the sum generated by the sale of the land, but council documents show the "highest financial offer" was accepted.The local authority's original budget to redevelop the bridge was £115m, but that soon rose to about £169m.Housing portfolio holder Ian Johnson told the June meeting that problems first began to materialise when existing site residents refused to sell their properties to the council.The council also agreed to sell a site in Commercial Way and Goldsworth Road Industrial Estate.
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The Independent
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TUC in call for gender equality over pensions
Retired women effectively go more than four months every year without getting a pension because of a gender gap, according to research. The TUC estimated women were losing the equivalent of £7,600 a year on average. The union organisation said compared to men, retired women effectively stop receiving pension income from today. The income gap between men and women in retirement is now 36.5%, according to research from the Prospect union. The Government has revived the Pension Commission, which will bring together unions, employer and independent experts to look into the causes of the gap. TUC general secretary Paul Nowak said: 'Everyone deserves dignity and security in retirement, but too many retired women have been left without enough to get by. 'We must make sure that these inequalities are addressed for future generations. 'That's why reviving the Pensions Commission – bringing together unions, employers and independent experts – is a vital step forward. 'We now have a chance to make sure everyone, including women, receive the decent retirement income that all workers need.' A Government spokesperson said: 'We're determined to close the gender pensions gap, and the new state pension has already reduced historic inequalities faced by women and low earners. 'Alongside this, the Pensions Commission will tackle barriers to close the gender pensions gap in private pensions to ensure women have the dignity and security they deserve in retirement.'
The Independent
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How Arsenal silently hijacked Spurs' Eberechi Eze transfer well before anyone knew
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There was also the fact that, in those nine days, it didn't look like Arsenal would follow through on that agreement. The word put out was that they wanted to sell before any other purchase, and that they preferred a left winger. Interest in Eze was repeatedly played down. There had been a lot of mixed messages, which fit with the whole summer as regards Arsenal and the Palace star. Levy might certainly feel that now. The situation has led to some surprising sympathy for the Spurs chairman within the game. Their own negotiations for Eze had encountered repeated difficulties, as first reported by The Independent on Saturday night. The problems actually preceded that. Talks almost collapsed the Thursday before, and there were constant hold-ups over issues like add-ons and how much was being paid up front. Just when one issue was solved, another would arise. One description over the last few days was that 'the deal is both almost done and constantly at the point of collapse'. There is now a belief, especially within Spurs, that Palace were stalling. They were waiting for Arsenal to come back. It nevertheless looked so remote by Saturday that Eze himself had accepted Arsenal wasn't going to happen. He even spoke to Parish to try and get his move sorted, as Levy and the Palace chairman met on Monday morning. Eze was genuinely excited about joining Tottenham. It just wasn't the one he really wanted. His dream was a move to Arsenal. That suddenly looked like it would become a reality on Wednesday morning. Arsenal finally acted on that deal. That shift will be linked to Kai Havertz's injury but there is actually hope the German's absence won't be that long, maybe less than three months. The Havertz development just accelerated everything. Arsenal wanted to make sure they didn't miss out. Parish and Arsenal executive vice-chairman Tim Lewis have a closer relationship than Parish and Levy, even if they often bicker. 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This is a huge transfer, with a lot of money at stake. Levy knows the cost of that now. He will face even greater questions having lost out on two big transfers late on this summer, after Morgan Gibbs-White. Fan protests at Spurs are likely to heat up again. Arsenal have meanwhile signed a game-changer, in the way that some felt might be missing against Liverpool's and Manchester City's business. They've now pulled off the deal of the summer. It could be hugely significant in the season.
The Guardian
26 minutes ago
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Gender pension gap equates to £7,600 a year, say union leaders
Retired women in the UK in effect go four months of the year without a pension when their income is compared with that of men, union leaders have warned. The TUC said the income gap between men and women in retirement was 36.5%, equivalent to a shortfall of £7,600 a year on average. As a percentage this was more than double the gender pay gap, which measures the difference in average earnings from work; it stands at 13.1%. The union organisation said this meant that retired women effectively stopped receiving a pension from 21 August when compared with men, creating a four-month gap. Paul Nowak, the general secretary of the TUC, said the income gap between men and women in retirement should be central to the inquiry by the pensions commission, which the government launched last month. 'Everyone deserves dignity and security in retirement, but too many retired women have been left without enough to get by,' said Nowak. 'We must make sure that these inequalities are addressed for future generations.' The commission is expected to examine why retirement incomes have failed to meet expectations after reforms more than a decade ago forced employers to autoenrol staff in occupational pension schemes. Unions, employers organisations and pension experts will consider the best way to tackle the shortfalls. Based on annual research by the Prospect union, the report published by the TUC found that the gender pension gap was closing steadily each year as more women were able to save for retirement, but progress was slow. It said: 'Prospect's annual estimate of the gap is on a downward trend, driven by a reduction in the gender pay gap, historic increases in employment rates for women, and state pension changes. Between 2011-12 and 2022-23 it fell from 44.9% to 36.5%.' At about one percentage point a year, the decline in gender inequality will take until at least 2061 to close. Sign up to Business Today Get set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning after newsletter promotion The report highlights how income and gender inequality in retirement are larger than in the working population after decades when women, who take more time off work for caring responsibilities than men, miss out on pension contributions. The report said: 'The fact that women on average earn less than men in work means that, even if the pension participation gap was closed, they would still build up their pot more slowly than male colleagues. Women's average hourly pay is currently 13.1% lower than men's, rising to 18.9% for workers in their 50s.' Nowak said: 'We now have a chance to make sure everyone, including women, receive the decent retirement income that all workers need.'
