Lancing road junction could be closed for park, Adur Council says
The new park in the North Farm Road junction would include trees, planting and seating to "encourage people to spend time" outdoors.Also included in the plans are a new planting and seating area at the end of Penstone Park, with the entrance made one way and the road narrowed.West Sussex County Councillor Garry Wall, cabinet member for economy, said the scheme could be funded buy pooling money from business rates to "support delivery of a viable scheme".A consultation on the plans, which are available on the district council's website, will run until 27 July.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
a minute ago
- The Independent
Homemade scones in peril at National Trust cafes as job cuts loom
Visitors to some National Trust cafes could be forced to go without homemade scones as proposed job cuts are poised to hit kitchen staff. The beloved British bakes could be shipped in from a central source rather than being freshly baked in cafe kitchens in less profitable venues, leaving customers fearing for the traditional treat's quality, according to reports in The Times. It comes as the Trust is set to axe around six per cent of its staff – approximately 550 jobs – in a bid to reduce costs and find £26m in savings. In a statement, the charity blamed the recent employer's National Insurance increase and National Living Wage rise, which they said had added more than £10m to their annual wage bill. A spokesperson for the charity said the changes, if adopted, would affect just ten per cent of its cafes. 'The proposed changes would affect less than 10 per cent of our cafés, all of which are smaller outlets where rising costs are making it increasingly difficult to be financially sustainable,' they told The Independent. 'We would still have food and drink available at these cafés, however, and in more than 90 per cent of our cafés there would be no change to what we offer.' The charity, which cares for over 500 historic houses, gardens, castles, and natural spaces in the UK, previously said that it was struggling with rising costs, despite growing visitor numbers. 'To meet our aims and create a sustainable future for the organisation in a tough financial environment, our first step must be to ensure we are financially strong and properly resourced for the future,' they said. 'Although demand and support for our work are growing with yearly increases in visitors and donations; increasing costs are outstripping this growth.' The charity said that the proposed changes will enable it to 'keep on caring for and championing our shared historic and natural environment in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, long into the future'.
Daily Mail
2 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Labour admits BREXIT is to thank for Britain securing a better US trade deal than Europe - as bloc's leaders hit out at their 'badly negotiated' agreement
Brexit is to thank for Britain securing a better trade deal with the US than Europe, Labour admitted yesterday. Jonathan Reynolds, the Business Secretary, said there was 'absolutely no doubt' that the UK was better off as a result of having its own trade policy. His comments came after Donald Trump announced he had agreed 'the biggest deal ever made' between the US and the European Union. The agreement will subject the EU to 15per cent tariffs on most of its goods entering America. It is lower than a 30per cent levy previously threatened by the US president - but worse than the UK's deal - and was quickly lambasted by European leaders. After a day playing golf in Scotland yesterday, Mr Trump met the president of the EU Commission Ursula von der Leyen to discuss the broad terms of an agreement. But Viktor Orban, the Hungarian PM, hit out: 'Donald Trump ate von der Leyen for breakfast'. 'This is what happened and we suspected this would happen as the U.S. president is a heavyweight when it comes to negotiations while Madame President is featherweight.' Former Belgian prime minister Guy Verhofstadt branded the deal 'scandalous' and 'badly negotiated', saying there was 'not one concession from the American side'. French prime minister François Bayrou said: 'It is a dark day when an alliance of free peoples, united to affirm their values and defend their interests, resolves to submission.' And Bernd Lange, the EU Parliament's trade chief, said: 'My first assessment: Not satisfactory. 'This is a lopsided deal. Concessions have clearly been made that are difficult to accept. Deal with significant imbalance. Furthermore lot of questions still open.' But Ms von der Leyen said the deal was 'huge', adding: 'It will bring stability. It will bring predictability. That's very important for our businesses on both sides of the Atlantic.' Mr Trump said the 'partnership' would 'bring us very close together'. He added: 'I think it's great that we made a deal today instead of playing games and maybe not making a deal at all.' Full details of the deal have not yet been confirmed, and a written text still needs to be agreed. But the agreement is worse than a similar deal struck between the UK and US, which will see tariffs of only 10per cent placed on British exports. Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds this morning admitted that the UK's favourable deal was a direct benefit of Brexit. He told Sky News: 'All of the trade negotiations that we've got use the fact that we are not part of the customs union anymore, I'm absolutely clear of that. I think we can make the best of that.' Pressed on whether he would call it a Brexit benefit, he added: 'I'm absolutely clear, I've said in Parliament many times, this is a benefit of being out of the European Union, having our independent trade policy, absolutely no doubt about that.' When the UK and US signed a trade deal in June, it reduced tariffs on car and aerospace imports to the US. But agreement on a similar arrangement for Britain's steel imports was not reached, leaving tariffs on steel at 25per cent. American concerns over steel products made elsewhere in the world, then finished in the UK, are said to be among the sticking points. Sir Keir Starmer is expected to spend most of the day with President Trump on Monday, when he will have a chance to press the president on a steel deal. But Business Secretary Mr Reynolds suggested it may take more than a meeting between the two leaders to resolve the matter, telling BBC Breakfast: 'We were very happy to announce the breakthrough that we had a few months ago in relation to sectors like automotive, aerospace, which are really important to the UK economy. 'But we always said it was job saved, but it wasn't job done. There's more to do. The negotiations have been going on on a daily basis since then. There's a few issues to push a little bit further today. 'We won't perhaps have anything to announce a resolution of those talks, but there's some sectors that we still need to resolve, particularly around steel and aluminium, and there's the wider conversation about what the US calls its reciprocal tariffs.'
Telegraph
2 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Miniscule public sector productivity growth is nothing to celebrate
Let us start with the good news. The latest official estimates suggest that public service productivity grew by 1.0 per cent in the first quarter of the year compared to the same period of 2024, led by a 2.7 per cent increase in healthcare. But gosh, was that needed. The annual data show that public service productivity was still 4.2 per cent lower in 2024 than the pre-pandemic peak in 2019. Over this period, the output of public services – such as the number of treatments on the NHS, and lessons provided in state schools – has risen by an average of around 12 per cent. However, the inputs required to produce that output – mainly labour and materials – have risen even further, by almost 17 per cent. The difference between these two numbers is the shortfall in productivity. Worse still, this follows a long period of stagnation which goes back to at least 1997, when comparable data are first available. Over more than a quarter of a century, productivity in public services has improved by a grand total of just 0.3 per cent. This year alone, day-to-day public spending is expected to exceed £500 billion, mainly on health, education and defence. Raising public sector productivity by one per cent a year over five years would therefore allow the government to provide the same services for about £25 billion less. In turn, this could fill the 'black hole' in the public finances without the need for any cuts in services, or yet more tax increases. Of course, this is easier said than done. It is generally harder to raise productivity in services activities than in, say, manufacturing, energy, or communications. This is especially true of activities requiring lots of personal contact, such as medicine and teaching, or the arts and entertainment. But the problems do appear to be much larger in the public than the private sector. Four factors come up over and over again. One is the lack of competition. It is no surprise that sectors where market pressures are stronger also tend to be those where productivity gains are greater. Another is that the public sector is more heavily unionised – and the unions themselves tend to be more militant. This is reflected in greater resistance to change, including more flexible working practices that put service users first. Third, public services are too reliant on the Treasury for funding. This might make sense for genuine public goods, such as defence, which cannot be left to the markets. But it leaves services like the NHS vulnerable to short-termist political choices. Providing any service 'for free' is also unlikely to be good for efficiency. Finally, and related to all the first three, the public sector has been relatively slow to adopt new technologies – as almost anyone who has engaged with the NHS will know. The scope for AI to transform the provision of public services is surely huge. There are at least some encouraging signs. NHS productivity did start to improve in the final years of the last Government, partly thanks to pressure from then-Chancellor Jeremy Hunt. The latest data suggest this trend is continuing and Wes Streeting is certainly making the right noises. However, the scale of the challenge cannot be underestimated either. The public sector is becoming an increasingly unmanageable Leviathan. The Government is taking on more and more functions, while backtracking on commitments to reform in many other areas – from planning regulations to welfare spending. Some real action is needed soon to keep the cost of public services from spiralling out of control.
