
Plans to build 600 new homes near Yarm unveiled
Plans to build 600 new homes near a market town have been unveiled. Developer Taylor Wimpey is preparing an outline plan for the development on land south of Green Lane, in Yarm.The firm is holding a two-week consultation on the plans which include building two to five-bedroom homes, including up to 20% of affordable housing as well as homes to rent. Stockton West Conservative MP Matt Vickers said he was against the "barmy" development and there were already too many properties in the town.
Taylor Wimpey says feedback from the consultation will shape the planning application which it intends to submit to Stockton Borough Council in the summer, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said. Vickers said: "The idea of building yet more housing in Yarm is utterly barmy."In recent years the Labour council has allowed the packing, stacking and racking of thousands of homes on green field sites and created unbearable pressure on our local infrastructure, from roads to schools to healthcare services. "We must ensure Yarm's unique character is preserved."The council said it could not comment on the proposals because it had not yet received a planning application. An exhibition event will be held at Yarm Sports and Social Club on Leven Road on Thursday between 15:00 and 19:00 BST.
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Telegraph
17 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Farage ‘seeks less powerful chairman' after Yusuf quits
Nigel Farage is considering appointing a less powerful Reform UK chairman after the sudden departure of Zia Yusuf, The Telegraph understands. Senior party figures have discussed splitting the role into several positions when Mr Yusuf is replaced, following his dramatic resignation on Thursday. Reform sources told The Telegraph that the former chairman had 'rubbed some people up the wrong way', and that a key factor in his departure was high workload. 'He was on a mission, working 18 hours a day,' said one source. 'He was doing it all unpaid, and he expected everyone else to work equally hard.' Mr Farage and the party's officials are working out how to replace the 38-year-old businessman, who said he no longer thought it was 'a good use of his time' to work on getting Reform into government. It came after an apparent dispute between Mr Yusuf and other senior figures over whether the party should campaign to ban the burka, which was suggested by the newest Reform MP Sarah Pochin at Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday. Mr Yusuf said later it was 'dumb' to suggest policies Reform did not support, but Lee Anderson, the Reform chief whip, said he backed a ban. Mr Farage and Richard Tice, the deputy leader, both said they thought there should be a 'debate' on face coverings, including burkas, in the UK. One party source said Mr Yusuf was 'unpopular' with other members of staff, and had become 'super stretched' in managing the day-to-day running of Reform and the party's new ' Doge ' efficiency drive in the ten councils it won in last month's local elections. That workload led him to become 'authoritarian' and a 'control freak', said another figure close to Reform. Mr Farage said on Thursday that Mr Yusuf brought a 'bit of a Goldman Sachs mentality' to the role, which others said was a coded reference to his high-pressure management style. But the Reform leader also said he was 'sad' his chairman was leaving, and that he had only ten minutes' notice that he intended to resign. The tipping point for Mr Yusuf came on Wednesday, when he learned of Ms Pochin's question about burkas to Sir Keir Starmer from reading about it online. Mr Yusuf, who is a Muslim, had been receiving abuse from far-Right trolls online, which Mr Farage said had become difficult for him to bear. He had also reportedly become frustrated that another staff member had taken control of the party's operations, and felt he had been isolated from conversations about policy. He said on Thursday: '11 months ago I became Chairman of Reform. I've worked full time as a volunteer to take the party from 14 to 30 per cent, quadrupled its membership and delivered historic electoral results. I no longer believe working to get a Reform government elected is a good use of my time, and hereby resign the office.' Multiple sources said Mr Yusuf had performed well in the job, but was not a popular figure within the team. 'He didn't do what a chairman is meant to do, which is to bring people in and bring them along with you,' said one Reform source, adding: 'He isolated a lot of the staff.' Another added: 'Everyone is very sad about it. He wasn't popular with the staff, but he did a good job in the role. It all happened very suddenly – he'd had enough.' The next chairman may be given a more traditional figurehead role within the party, rather than running its expansion, elections and financial affairs as Mr Yusuf did. Mr Farage could appoint a chief executive alongside a new chairman, using funds raised by Nick Candy, the Reform treasurer. Upcoming donations returns are expected to show that the party raised more than £2.5 million in the first quarter of this year – putting Reform in contention to be the biggest fundraiser among the Westminster parties. Both the Conservatives and Labour have suffered a cash crunch since last year's election, and have laid off staff members. Early contenders to replace Mr Yusuf include Andy Wigmore and Arron Banks, the ' bad boys of Brexit ' who worked with Mr Farage on the campaign in 2016. One figure close to the party said Mr Farage could approach Ann Widdecombe, the former Conservative MP and MEP who stood for Reform at the 2019 election. Ms Widdecombe, who said last month she disagreed with Reform's policy to expand access to the winter fuel allowance, told The Telegraph she had not been approached about the job. Mr Yusuf's departure is the latest in a series of internal disputes within Reform, including a public row between the chairman and Rupert Lowe, who was elected for the party last year but has since been ejected. Mr Yusuf did not respond to a request for comment.


The Sun
33 minutes ago
- The Sun
Huge ‘Jack & the Beanstalk' tree towers over our homes – it's grotesque & irresponsible… but council won't chop it down
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Telegraph
an hour ago
- Telegraph
Labour spends £35k on pub beer mats to boast about minimum wage rise
Labour spent more than £35,000 of taxpayer cash on beer mats in pubs advertising the increase to the national minimum wage, a minister has admitted. The Government sent out promotional material to pubs across the country to tell workers that the minimum wage and national living wage were going up. Justin Madders, the employment minister, rationalised the £35,580 expense as he said the beer mats offered a 'unique opportunity to engage audiences in a social, high-dwell environment where financial conversations naturally occur'. The red and pale blue beer mats were government-branded and said: 'Millions got a pay rise.' 'National minimum and living wages went up on 1st April', it added, and displayed a barcode for customers to scan for details on how to 'make sure you're getting paid correctly'. The employment minister responded to a written question by Richard Holden, the shadow paymaster general, about the cost of the drink mats. He said: 'The cost to advertise in pubs using beer mats was £35,580, which was approved at official level.' He confirmed that the advertising push was approved by the Cabinet Office, and came out of the 2025 National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage campaign budget of £650,000. He added: 'The 2024 campaign saw an increase in reach to eligible workers. However, recognition remained low, reinforcing the need for bolder, more engaging formats for the 2025 campaign, which expected to deliver an estimated 3.2 million impressions. 'It offered a unique opportunity to engage audiences in a social, high-dwell environment where financial conversations naturally occur. 'This setting encourages discussion and word-of-mouth sharing about rate changes and offers an effective nudge for audiences to 'check their pay'.' 'We will be ruthless' Sir Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves have both pledged a war on waste in Whitehall, with the Government having taken such moves as freezing government credit cards and abolishing NHS England. The Prime Minister said in October: 'We will also be ruthless in clamping down on government waste, just as we will be ruthless on clamping down on tax avoidance ', emphasising the intention to show so the British people that 'every penny counts'. He added: 'Every single person in this country had to do that during the cost-of-living crisis and government must be no different.' The national living wage for those aged 21 and over rose from £11.44 per hour to £12.21 per hour, an increase of 6.7 per cent. The national minimum wage for those between 18 and 20 went up from £8.60 to £10 per hour, a 16.3 per cent boost. The Government has also begun to name and shame firms that do not pay their workers the appropriate wages, demanding they pay back what they owe and in some instances a further financial penalty.