logo
Grimsby's Top Town Market to reopen in Freshney Place

Grimsby's Top Town Market to reopen in Freshney Place

BBC News14-05-2025
A long-running market is to reopen on Friday in a temporary location inside a shopping centre, a council has confirmed.Traders of Top Town Market in Grimsby have been without a space since February after it closed as part of a £50m regeneration scheme.The new location is in a unit inside Freshney Place, which was left vacated by the One Beyond store.North East Lincolnshire Council said the temporary venue would be a space for traders to continue operating throughout the redevelopment of the western end of the centre.
The renovation of Freshney Place includes a new food hall and market in the former BHS store space alongside a five-screen cinema.The authority said there was no change to the market's opening hours.Council leader Philip Jackson described the new market space as looking "fantastic".He said: "Along with the other developments in the town centre, the redevelopment of Freshney Place is one of the largest single investments in the town's history and underlines our long-term commitment to revitalising Grimsby for the benefit of the entire community."According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, not all market traders have moved to the new space with some relocating elsewhere in the town.Amanda Austin, Freshney Place's centre director, said: "We're delighted to host the market during this transitional period and are looking forward to welcoming their customers. "This move highlights Freshney Place's role as a cornerstone of the town's regeneration – not only a place to shop and meet friends, but a hub of community life."The market has been on Bull Ring Lane since 1976 and the new permanent venue is due to be completed in spring 2027.
Listen to highlights from Lincolnshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Inheritance tax changes under consideration amid spending gap concerns
Inheritance tax changes under consideration amid spending gap concerns

The Independent

time37 minutes ago

  • The Independent

Inheritance tax changes under consideration amid spending gap concerns

The Treasury is reportedly exploring options to raise additional revenue from inheritance tax ahead of the autumn budget. According to The Guardian, officials are examining whether tightening rules around the gifting of assets and money could help address the UK's multi-billion-pound fiscal shortfall. Government U-turns over winter fuel payments and welfare reform have left Chancellor Rachel Reeves with a multibillion-pound spending gap to fill, amid similarly controversial pushes for a 'wealth tax' by some Labour MPs. Among the reported inheritance tax measures under consideration is a potential cap on lifetime gifts, part of a broader review into how assets can be transferred before death to minimise inheritance tax liabilities. A Treasury spokesperson said: 'The best way to strengthen public finances is by growing the economy – which is our focus. Changes to tax and spend policy are not the only ways of doing this, as seen with our planning reforms, which are expected to grow the economy by £6.8bn and cut borrowing by £3.4bn. 'We are committed to keeping taxes for working people as low as possible, which is why at last autumn's budget, we protected working people's payslips and kept our promise not to raise the basic, higher or additional rates of income tax, employee national insurance or VAT.' Under current UK rules, gifts made more than seven years before a person's death are exempt from inheritance tax. Gifts made between three and seven years prior are taxed on a sliding scale, depending on their value and the total estate. Last week, National Institute of Economic and Social Research (Niesr) predicted Rachel Reeves is now set for a £41.2 billion shortfall on her 'stability rule' in 2029-30 and has been left with an 'impossible trilemma' of trying to meet her fiscal rules while fulfilling spending commitments and upholding a manifesto pledge not to raise taxes. She will need to raise taxes or cut spending in the autumn budget to plug the gap, Niesr cautioned. In July, some Labour Party figures, including former leader Lord Neil Kinnock and Wales's First Minister Baroness Eluned Morgan, called for a wealth tax. Ms Reeves has not ruled out the possibility of a new wealth tax but has been eager to highlight that she will stick to her commitment not to hike tax for 'working people'. However, Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds dismissed the idea. 'This Labour Government has increased taxes on wealth as opposed to income – the taxes on private jets, private schools, changes through inheritance tax, capital gains tax,' he told GB News. 'But the idea there's a magic wealth tax, some sort of levy… that doesn't exist anywhere in the world. 'Switzerland has a levy but they don't have capital gains or inheritance tax. 'There's no kind of magic (tax). We're not going to do anything daft like that.'

Going to university is not what it once was - and students face a very different question
Going to university is not what it once was - and students face a very different question

Sky News

time2 hours ago

  • Sky News

Going to university is not what it once was - and students face a very different question

For around 700,000 teenagers on the treadmill that is the English education system, the A and T-level results that drop this week may be the most important step of all. They matter because they open the door to higher education, and a crucial life decision based on an unwritten contract that has stood since the 1960s: the better the marks, the greater the choice of institution and course available to applicants, and in due course, the value of the degree at the end of it. A quarter of a century after Tony Blair set a target of 50% of school-leavers going to university, however, the fundamentals of that deal have been transformed. Today's prospective undergraduates face rising costs of tuition and debt, new labour market dynamics, and the uncertainties of the looming AI revolution. Together, they pose a different question: Is going to university still worth it? Huge financial costs Of course, the value of the university experience and the degree that comes with it cannot be measured by finances alone, but the costs are unignorable. For today's students, the universal free tuition and student grants enjoyed by their parents' generation have been replaced by annual fees that increase to £9,500 this year. Living costs meanwhile will run to at least £61,000 over three years, according to new research. Together, they will leave graduates saddled with average debts of £53,000, which, under new arrangements, they repay via a "graduate tax" of 9% on their earnings above £25,000 for up to 40 years. A squeezed salary gap As well as rising fees and costs of finance, graduates will enter a labour market in which the financial benefits of a degree are less immediately obvious. Graduates do still enjoy a premium on starting salaries, but it may be shrinking thanks to advances in the minimum wage. The Institute of Student Employers says the average graduate starting salary was £32,000 last year, though there is a wide variation depending on career. With the minimum wage rising 6% to more than £26,000 this April, however, the gap to non-degree earners may have reduced. A reduction in earning power may be compounded by the phenomenon of wage compression, which sees employers having less room to increase salaries across the pay scale because the lowest, compulsory minimum level has risen fast. Taken over a career, however, the graduate premium remains unarguable. Government data shows a median salary for all graduates aged 16-64 in 2024 of £42,000 and £47,000 for post-graduates, compared to £30,500 for non-graduates. Graduates are also more likely to be in employment and in highly skilled jobs. There is also little sign of buyer's remorse. A University of Bristol survey of more than 2,000 graduates this year found that, given a second chance, almost half would do the same course at the same institution. And while a quarter would change course or university, only 3% said they would have skipped higher education. No surprise then that industry body Universities UK believes the answer to the question is an unequivocal "yes", even if the future of graduate employment remains unclear. "This is a decision every individual needs to take for themselves; it is not necessarily the right decision for everybody. More than half the 18-year-old population doesn't progress to university," says chief executive Vivienne Stern. "But if you look at it from a purely statistical point of view, there is absolutely no question that the majority who go to university benefit not only in terms of earnings." 'Roll with the punches' She is confident that graduates will continue to enjoy the benefits of an extended education even if the future of work is profoundly uncertain. "I think now more than ever you need to have the resilience that you acquire from studying at degree level to roll with the punches. "If the labour market changes under you, you might need to reinvent yourself several times during your career in order to be able to ride out changes that are difficult to predict. That resilience will hold its value." The greatest change is likely to come from AI, the emerging technology whose potential to eat entry-level white collar jobs may be fulfilled even faster than predicted. The recruitment industry is already reporting a decline in graduate-level posts. Anecdotally, companies are already banking cuts to legal, professional, and marketing spend because an AI can produce the basic output almost instantly, and for free. That might suggest a premium returning to non-graduate jobs that remain beyond the bots. An AI might be able to pull together client research or write an ad, but as yet, it can't change a washer or a catheter. It does not, however, mean the degree is dead, or that university is worthless, though the sector will remain under scrutiny for the quality and type of courses that are offered. The government is in the process of developing a new skills agenda with higher education at its heart, but second-guessing what the economy will require in a year, never mind 10, has seldom been harder. Universities will be crucial to producing the skilled workers the UK needs to thrive, from life sciences to technology, but reducing students to economic units optimised by "high value" courses ignores the unquantifiable social, personal, and professional benefits going to university can bring. In a time when culture wars are played out on campus, it is also fashionable to dismiss attendance at all but the elite institutions on proven professional courses as a waste of time and money. (A personal recent favourite came from a columnist with an Oxford degree in PPE and a career as an economics lecturer.) The reality of university today means that no student can afford to ignore a cost-benefit analysis of their decision, but there is far more to the experience than the job you end up with. Even AI agrees. Ask ChatGPT if university is still worth it, and it will tell you: "That depends on what you mean by worth - financially, personally, professionally - because each angle tells a different story."

Lidl is selling a range of camping gadgets that are perfect for the hot weather including cool box and chairs
Lidl is selling a range of camping gadgets that are perfect for the hot weather including cool box and chairs

The Sun

time3 hours ago

  • The Sun

Lidl is selling a range of camping gadgets that are perfect for the hot weather including cool box and chairs

LIDL is selling a range of budget-friendly camping gadgets as Brits soak up the sunny weather. The discount supermarket chain is stocking kids' sleeping bags and chairs, cool boxes and even an air mattress. 4 The new range will be perfect for camping during the end of summer and autumn and getting outdoors to make the last of the year's light. There are 30 items Crivit Camping range that range from air mattresses to cool boxes. And some even have a discount attached to them. For example, the camping cutlery set selling for £9.99 now has 20 per cent with Lidl Plus and is selling for £7.99. The Crivit Aluminium Camping Table normally sells for £24.99, but with the Lidl Plus card is currently selling for £19.99. The air mattress in a double size is selling for £14.99, while sleeping bags are selling for £12.99. A range of four cool bags are selling for £3.99 while backpacks are selling for £14.99. It comes after Crivit released a number of tents and festival gear for summer at Lidl several months ago. The incredible Crivit camping range has everything festival-goers need to set themselves up in the Wilderness, including the 4-Person Blackout Tent – popping up in stores for just £99.00 with Lidl Plus. Crivit was even selling stand up paddleboards at supermarkets. Lidl's $50 Hammock: Summer Comfort That Won't Break the Bank The Crivit All-Round Inflatable SUP is priced at just £99.99, and was available at Lidl stores from Thursday May 29. This bargain bed comes after Lidl have begun selling ice cool gel pillows that are easy to use and would be perfect for keeping cool on those hot car trips. For just £7.99 on the Lidl plus app, shoppers can get their hands on the Silentnight Cooling Gel Pillow Pad. That's more than £12 cheaper than a similar product on Argos, with the low price available until June 7. Described as perfect for restless sleepers and over heaters, the pillow give you instant cooling comfort, so you don't need to flip your pillow during the night. At 60x40cm it covers your entire pillow and simply needs to be slid inside your pillowcase on top of your normal pillow. How to save money on summer essentials SUNNIER days and warmer weather will leave many of us wanting to kit out gardens and outdoor areas. Sun Savers Editor Lana Clements explains how to get a great deal on summer essentials… It pays to know how to bag big savings on the likes of hot tubs paddling pools, egg chairs and outside bars. Many retailers have flash sales across entire ranges – often this ties into payday at the end of the month or Bank Holiday weekends. Sign up to the mailing lists of your favourite brands and you'll be first to know of special offers. It can be worth following retailers on social media too. Keep a close eye on the specialbuys at Aldi and middle of Lidl drops which drop a couple of times a week and usually mean great value seasonal items such as beach gear and paddling pools. If you are not in a hurry to buy an item, try adding it to the shopping cart and leaving it for a couple of days. Sometimes big brands will try to tempt you into the sale by offering you a discount. Always check if you can get cashback before paying. It's especially worth using sites such as Topcashback, Quidco and app Jamdoughnut when buying bigger ticket items such as garden furniture as you'll get a nice kickback. 4

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store