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BBC News
20 minutes ago
- BBC News
Cheshire East Council 'slow to respond' to issues, says panel
A body set up to advise and challenge a Cheshire council has said the authority "continues to be slow to respond" to some of its issues, although it has made progress in some independent assurance panel was created following a report into Cheshire East Council last summer.A report from the panel said the council had acknowledged and "responded openly and positively" to its issues but it appeared to be "overwhelmed by the challenge".Cheshire East Council, which will discuss the report at a meeting on Monday, said the panel had "recognised the council's commitment to improvement". The independent assurance panel was set up following a corporate peer challenge of the council, conducted by councillors and staff from other local panel has met six times, and has published its first progress update on the said it recognised and welcomed the council's commitment to it said that while "recognising the good progress that has been made in some areas", it was accepted by the panel and the council that "improvement is not where the council would have wished it to be at this juncture". 'Remain unclear' The report said pace was a "significant issue" and also that the council did not have a "single, prioritised and resources improvement plan setting out how it will address the challenges it faces".It also said that savings in the authority's transformation plan - which was passed last August - "remain unclear to the panel"."The council have, as yet, been unable to articulate what these savings are or when they will be delivered," the report panel also said it was concerned that Cheshire East's involvement in the devolution for Cheshire could "remove capacity from the improvement journey".Cheshire East Council has faced financial difficulties in recent years and was given a best value notice by the government in May, which is a formal notification of its concerns. A spokesperson for Cheshire East Council said: "The panel has recognised the council's commitment to improvement and positive collaboration between political leadership and senior officers to drive change."The panel also recognised the challenges the council is facing and the work we still need to do to meet these challenges. "They highlight the pace required, the need to coordinate our wide-ranging improvement work through a single outcome-focused plan, and to build on our relationships with the panel and government departments to provide clear assurance around our progress." See more Cheshire stories from the BBC and follow BBC North West on X. For more local politics coverage, BBC Politics North West is on BBC One on Sunday at 10:00am and on BBC iPlayer.
BBC News
22 minutes ago
- BBC News
North Yorkshire visitor numbers up as £4bn tourism economy grows
More than 32 million people visited North Yorkshire during 2024, a 3.8% increase on the previous year, according to North Yorkshire authority said the tourism sector was worth more than £4bn annually, supporting more than 38,000 full-time jobs. The analysis will be used to drive forward a 10-year vision for the county's visitor economy and help target areas of growth, the council said. Leader Carl Les said: "The new figures clearly show just how important the visitor economy is to North Yorkshire." Among the locations to see a boost in visitor numbers was Castle Howard, which recorded a 10% increase during summer 2024 thanks, in part, to a series of events including a sculpture exhibition, the council said. The stately home's visitor attraction director, Abbi Ollive, said: "Castle Howard had a record-breaking year in 2024, with visitor numbers exceeding pre-pandemic levels for the first time."We are delighted to have seen this growth last year and to be working on programmes of events that bring people to this destination and that contribute to the local economy."A destination management plan was launched last October and is the first ever overarching strategy for tourism in the plan is being developed by Visit North Yorkshire, a destination management and marketing organisation that is overseen by North Yorkshire council's head of tourism Tony Watson said: "A great deal of work has already been done by the team to reach the targets set out in the destination management plan. "We are committed to driving forward the visitor economy, as it is so important to North Yorkshire." Listen to highlights from North Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
BBC News
23 minutes ago
- BBC News
Wembley Stadium's local council plans to tax overnight visitors
A north London council could introduce a new tax on some visitors staying overnight in the borough to help fund improvements to the Stadium in the borough attracted nearly three million people last year, with acts including Oasis and Coldplay set to perform this Council said a levy would turn the high visitor numbers into "a vital new source of funding" to be used to tackle challenges caused by the area's success as a cultural motion to introduce a mandatory visitor levy on hotel and short-stay accommodation - was proposed at a council meeting on Monday, where the next step - of getting permission to impose the fee - was agreed. Brent Council is exploring ways of ensuring "the benefit of our world class events are felt by all residents", according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS). The influx of visitors brings economic benefits, with each non-sporting event at the Wembley Stadium boosting the local economy by around £ it also negatively impacts on residents through increased noise, congestion, waste and pressure on council Council's Mary Mitchell said London boroughs should follow the proven model already in place in cities across the UK and Europe. She suggested the money raised could fund street trees, waste enforcement, enhanced cleaning and improvements to parks and green spaces. The LDRS said the council will write to the relevant secretary of state requesting powers to introduce the will also write to the mayor of London asking for his support for a voluntary levy on stadium and arena tickets to fund grassroots cultural to the LDRS, Manchester's £1 a night additional charge on hotel stays has raised £2.8m in its first year, while Edinburgh's 5% addition to accommodation costs is projected to bring in around £50m per year.
