Latest news with #BPM
Scottish Sun
2 days ago
- Climate
- Scottish Sun
We're being charged £1MILLION to fix 70ft wall that collapsed on our homes… even though it's NOT our fault
Experts say it was dangerous from day one TALL ORDER We're being charged £1MILLION to fix 70ft wall that collapsed on our homes… even though it's NOT our fault RESIDENTS on a quiet street are facing a shocking £1million repair bill – after a 70ft wall collapsed into their gardens through no fault of their own. The huge retaining wall on Windmill Lane in Nottingham, crumbled without warning in February 2021, sending clouds of dust and tonnes of rubble crashing down behind six terraced homes. Advertisement 9 Lynn and Terry Oakley of Spalding Road live opposite house affected, they helped neighbours when they were evacuated Credit: BPM 9 A massive wall has collapsed between properties on Windmill Lane ans Palding Road in Sneinton Credit: BPM 9 Google Street view of the properties on Spalding Road, Nottingham, showing the wall prior to its collapse Credit: SWNS Now, more than four years on, the damage remains – and homeowners say they're being forced to pay the price for a council-built structure that experts claim was 'not fit for purpose.' 'The wall was originally constructed in 2003, commissioned by Nottingham City Council to replace a crumbling Victorian structure,' Nottinghamshire Live reported. Each household paid around £9,000 for the works at the time, and residents were relieved to see what they believed was a long-term solution. But on the night of February 3, 2021, that sense of security collapsed – literally. Advertisement Finance manager Luke Drayton, 30, was at home when disaster struck. 'We both looked out the window and could see a cloud of dust. You could see torches from other people who were all really scared just trying to see what had happened,' he recalled. The street was evacuated, and residents weren't allowed back in until 8am the next morning. Fortunately, no one was injured – but it could have been much worse. Advertisement 'To this day, if you go to the edge of the garden, that is an unwise and unsafe thing to do,' Mr Drayton told NottinghamshireLive. 'It very easily could have cost someone their life. The council is very fortunate that was not the case.' I'm fuming after nosy neighbours left note on my car asking my 'plans for parking', despite having a four-car driveway Since the collapse, gardens behind numbers 147 to 157 have remained unusable and dangerous. Residents have been quoted between £600,000 and £1million to fix the wall, in a neighbourhood where house prices range between £140,000 and £220,000. Advertisement 'We all lost half of our gardens,' said Mr Drayton. 'The £1million cost is a no-go for everybody. There's been lots of tears and emotional distress.' 9 A 70 foot wall has fallen into the gardens of properties in Nottingham after heavy rainfall Credit: SWNS 9 Residents had no say in the contractor or the project's management, yet they were left footing the bill both then – and now Advertisement He described how one neighbour put her home up for auction for just £25,000, adding: 'She was so done with it, she was ready to take the loss and move on with her life.' Another woman, who has since sold her home at a heavy loss, said she had paid nearly £10,000 for the wall's construction in 2003. She later had to undergo talking therapy to cope with the stress. 'After four years of us all trying to resolve the problem, I decided to sell my property at auction – a financial risk, but one I was prepared to accept,' she said. Advertisement 'The impact on us all has been quite profound.' According to documents, the wall was designed, built and supervised under Section 78 of the Building Act 1984, with Nottingham City Council in charge of the project. It was carried out by a company called Central High Rise Ltd. Residents had no say in the contractor or the project's management, yet they were left footing the bill both then – and now. Advertisement Mr Drayton said: 'This was a council-controlled, council-commissioned project.' But legal time limits have now expired. According to an email from Sedgwick International UK to Mr Drayton, dated August 23, 2023: 'Your claim would, in any event, seem to be Statute barred, due to the expiry of the Limitation period.' Nottingham City Council confirmed to residents it would take no further action, stating in April this year that the matter is considered private and falls to the homeowners. Advertisement 'The Council no longer intervenes in boundary wall, fence, or other structural issues that are private matters between land/property owners,' it said. 9 Five families were evacuated from their homes in the middle of the night after reports of a 'landslide' in Nottingham Credit: SWNS 9 Residents hired two independent engineering firms to assess the site Credit: SWNS Residents hired two independent engineering firms to assess the site. Advertisement Reports from May 2021 and October 2022 concluded the replacement wall was poorly built and unsafe from the start. One report stated: 'The replacement retaining wall was not fit for purpose and was a hazardous and dangerous structure from the day it was completed.' It also said the wall had not been suitably designed by a qualified structural engineer, and blamed both design and construction faults for its failure. Just 48 hours before the collapse, one homeowner reported a visible crack in the soil to the council after a gardener raised the alarm. Advertisement But they say they were told it was a private matter and not the council's concern. After the collapse, they were told they should have reported it. 'But we did,' said one resident. 'I feel like we were failed from the beginning.' According to residents, most insurance companies have refused to cover the repair costs, although around £60,000 was contributed to help clear debris. Advertisement Residents have also turned to Nadia Whittome, MP for Nottingham East, who has raised the matter with the council 'on a number of occasions.' But no breakthrough has been made. 'I have tried, along with my neighbours, so hard for all this time to resolve the problem,' one woman said. 'It's been an emotional rollercoaster. It's not just bricks and rubble – it's our peace of mind.' Advertisement The Sun has approached Nottingham City Council for comment. 9 Just 48 hours before the collapse, one homeowner reported a visible crack in the soil to the council after a gardener raised the alarm Credit: SWNS
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Italy Finance Minister says could quit as government splits on UniCredit
By Giuseppe Fonte and Angelo Amante ROME (Reuters) -Italian Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti said on Wednesday he would resign if he were overruled on "golden power" conditions the government has tied to UniCredit's bid for smaller bank Banco BPM. Giorgetti, from the hard-right League party, was speaking after reports in Italian newspapers, citing government sources, suggested that changes in the conditions were possible, but were being resisted by the minister. He told reporters in the Senate that without the full support of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on the issue he would quit immediately. "If there were the slightest misalignment (with Meloni) you wouldn't find a resignation threat, but the resignation itself. You don't announce your resignation, you do it," Giorgetti said. UniCredit's swoop on BPM, which derailed Rome's plans to combine BPM with state-backed Monte dei Paschi di Siena, is part of a wave of proposed takeover bids rocking Italian banking. In order to clear the deal, Meloni's administration has given UniCredit nine months to cease its activities in Russia and asked it not to reduce BPM's loan-to-deposit ratio for five years. The co-ruling Forza Italia party, led by Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, is pushing Meloni to ease these terms. Tajani replied "yes, absolutely," when asked by Reuters in parliament whether he was in favour of making the conditions on UniCredit less stringent. The party is being lobbied by Italian companies that are still relying on UniCredit to pursue their business activities in Russia, even though these have been much-reduced since Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Tajani said he was defending some 270 Italian firms still working legitimately in Russia, and showed no willingness to compromise. "I am not going to take a step back for anybody," he said, adding that he wanted Cabinet to convene to reconsider the golden power conditions on the UniCredit bid. STAND-OFF Giorgetti is determined to maintain a hard-line on UniCredit after the government said it was protecting Rome's strategic interests by avoiding "even the slightest risk" of aiding Russia's economy where the bank operates. Meloni has not recently spoken publicly on the issue. Giorgetti said the government was focused on monitoring compliance with the golden power conditions, and its response to issues raised by both Banco BPM and UniCredit would be fully coordinated between the Treasury and Meloni's office. UniCredit has appealed to an administrative court against the terms set by the government, and its CEO Andrea Orcel said on Tuesday it could let the offer lapse because it was no longer financially advantageous under the conditions imposed. Banco BPM also said it would appeal to an administrative court against a decision by Italian market regulator Consob to suspend the buyout offer for 30 days, to give UniCredit time to negotiate the golden power terms with the government. "They all go to court in this country and things get messy," Giorgetti said. (writing by Alvise Armellini, editing by Gavin Jones) Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Scoop
22-05-2025
- Business
- Scoop
Budget 2025 Cuts RNZ Funding To Pay For Local Journalism Initiatives
Press Release – Better Public Media Although Budget 2025 allocates $6.4 million over four years to council, community and court reporting via NZ On Air, RNZ funding is being cut by $18.4 million over the same period. The Better Public Media Trust welcomes Minister for Media and Communications Paul Goldsmith's recognition that funding local journalism is vital in a democratic society. But it is counter-productive to fund these initiatives at the expense of Radio New Zealand. Although Budget 2025 allocates $6.4 million over four years to council, community and court reporting via NZ On Air, RNZ funding is being cut by $18.4 million over the same period. 'The way to address the crisis in the news sector is not to try and drive public service media into the same economic crisis as the rest of the commercial media sector,' said BPM spokesperson Dr Peter Thompson. 'The government could save itself considerably more money with a levy on digital advertising to support the provision of reliable, in-depth public interest news.' 'Funding the Local Democracy Reporting and Open Justice projects by taking money away from RNZ is robbing Peter to pay Paul,' he said. 'The government seems to think the funding increases for RNZ under the previous government were unduly generous but has forgotten that those increases were in response to almost a decade of frozen budgets that RNZ suffered under the preceding National government.' BPM believes that public service media are an important component of New Zealand's media. Ensuring we have independent news media that can hold those in power to account is vital when the news media sector is in crisis and public knowledge is being undermined by online disinformation. A recent Trust in News in Aotearoa New Zealand report, produced by the AUT research centre for Journalism, Media and Democracy, shows that in 2025 RNZ was the most trusted news brand in New Zealand. Given that the government has set targets for RNZ to improve audience reach, trust and transparency, cutting its funding is surely counter-productive. 'The fundamental policy problem is that the news sector has lost a significant proportion of its advertising share – hundreds of millions of dollars – to the online platforms. Addressing this structural deficit needs much more than $6.4 million over four years,' said Dr Thompson. 'There are serious flaws in the Fair Digital News Bargaining Bill, which has stalled, but there is another inexpensive option which would make a real difference – a levy on commercial revenue streams could put a significant amount of revenue back into the news sector.' A one percent levy on digital advertising alone would raise around $18-20 million each year, which could support projects like Local Democracy Reporting and Open Justice, while increasing RNZ's budget. BPM is reassured to see the government supporting public interest journalism with funding disbursed by NZ On Air, but this should be supported through a levy model, not by reallocating RNZ's funding.
Scoop
22-05-2025
- Business
- Scoop
Budget 2025 Cuts RNZ Funding To Pay For Local Journalism Initiatives
The Better Public Media Trust welcomes Minister for Media and Communications Paul Goldsmith's recognition that funding local journalism is vital in a democratic society. But it is counter-productive to fund these initiatives at the expense of Radio New Zealand. Although Budget 2025 allocates $6.4 million over four years to council, community and court reporting via NZ On Air, RNZ funding is being cut by $18.4 million over the same period. 'The way to address the crisis in the news sector is not to try and drive public service media into the same economic crisis as the rest of the commercial media sector,' said BPM spokesperson Dr Peter Thompson. 'The government could save itself considerably more money with a levy on digital advertising to support the provision of reliable, in-depth public interest news.' 'Funding the Local Democracy Reporting and Open Justice projects by taking money away from RNZ is robbing Peter to pay Paul,' he said. 'The government seems to think the funding increases for RNZ under the previous government were unduly generous but has forgotten that those increases were in response to almost a decade of frozen budgets that RNZ suffered under the preceding National government.' BPM believes that public service media are an important component of New Zealand's media. Ensuring we have independent news media that can hold those in power to account is vital when the news media sector is in crisis and public knowledge is being undermined by online disinformation. A recent Trust in News in Aotearoa New Zealand report, produced by the AUT research centre for Journalism, Media and Democracy, shows that in 2025 RNZ was the most trusted news brand in New Zealand. Given that the government has set targets for RNZ to improve audience reach, trust and transparency, cutting its funding is surely counter-productive. 'The fundamental policy problem is that the news sector has lost a significant proportion of its advertising share - hundreds of millions of dollars - to the online platforms. Addressing this structural deficit needs much more than $6.4 million over four years,' said Dr Thompson. 'There are serious flaws in the Fair Digital News Bargaining Bill, which has stalled, but there is another inexpensive option which would make a real difference - a levy on commercial revenue streams could put a significant amount of revenue back into the news sector.' A one percent levy on digital advertising alone would raise around $18-20 million each year, which could support projects like Local Democracy Reporting and Open Justice, while increasing RNZ's budget. BPM is reassured to see the government supporting public interest journalism with funding disbursed by NZ On Air, but this should be supported through a levy model, not by reallocating RNZ's funding.
The Irish Sun
18-05-2025
- Business
- The Irish Sun
Once-thriving town that's now dubbed a ‘rubbish dump' set for new shopping centre & train station in £5bn revamp
AFTER years of delays, Croydon's centre is finally set to undergo a major transformation. From retail and housing to new public spaces and train station improvements, the London borough is set to see a hefty £5 billion invested into the area. 3 Croydon, London is set to see a major revamp to its town centre, including retail and transport Credit: Getty 3 Croydon Old town has been criticised by residents for the high levels of litter in the streets Credit: BPM Old Town boasts a rich history of -era buildings as well as being the 's summer residence for more than 500 years. However, the bustling area eventually became neglected, falling into disrepair. Some In 2012, Croydon was promised a Westfield location, however plans for the development were eventually scrapped. Read More On Town Upgrades Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield (URW) took control of the project in 2023, giving residents of the area new hope. Tim Hurstwyn, Development Director at URW spoke to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) about the He explained that unlike the old Westfield plans, which mainly focused on retail, this new initiative would be "mixed-used" and flexible. 'If the last few things have taught us anything, it is that building for a particular use is short-sighted," he said. Most read in News Travel He confirmed that construction is expected to start in 2028 and would see the Whitgift Centre transformed into a mixed-use space "emphasising community and accessibility". The current centre would be split into two areas: Whitgift North and South. Huddersfield Station Closure: £70 Million Revamp Set to Transform Travel Under the plans, Whitgift North would contain housing and other community-use spaces, depending on the local need. This area would also include a public square, a linear park, flexible workspaces, and retail units. Meanwhile, Whitgift South would remain primarily a retail-focused area with room for car parking, some houses, and a public area called Anchor Square. The south side would also go back to the listed Whitgift Almshouses and Electric House, which are URW's primary heritage concerns. The Whitgift's newer sibling, Centrale, which sits on the other side of North End, is also included in URW's redevelopment site. 'Downtrodden' English ghost town where locals feel 'left behind' being turned into 'vibrant' shopping hub in £9m revamp By Nicole Cherruault A "DOWNTRODDEN" English ghost town is being turned into a "vibrant" shopping hub in a £9million revamp. The town in northern Manchester set to totally transform as the More than 600 people were consulted over renovation plans in Eccles, Salford and work has now started on demolishing the town's shopping centre, which was suffering from falling visitors numbers. Following the demolition stage, a development partner will be appointed to bring new life to what residents described as a "downtrodden" town, reports The objective, the council said, is to create a "vibrant" and a "fit for purpose" centre for people to enjoy. Attracting more independent retailers, and new bars and cafes are among the council's top priorities. And just three miles from Salford Quays and Manchester city centre, the redevelopment project looks set to transform the area into a buzzing place for young professionals and business owners. This comes as locals despaired over the ailing town, saying they felt it had been "left behind" and it was in desperate need of some "drastic" improvements. The council stressed that the demolition work will be a long process, with the initial phase due only to be completed by the end of the year. However, Councillor Mike McCusker reassured locals that despite the renovations, the town centre "remains open for business", stressing that the works only affect a few areas. He said: 'Whilst we work on the town centre of the future, today's town centre remains open for business,' said Coun Mike McCusker, lead member for planning, transport and sustainable development at Salford council. 'I want to stress that this demolition work only affects certain parts of the town centre. 'The shops and businesses on Church Street are still open for business and unaffected by this work.' Meanwhile, Councillor McCusker, who represents the Eccles ward, shared his enthusiasm for the project, in particular for its focus on the local community. In a statement, he spoke of his "excitement" for the times ahead in materialising their vision for a brighter, more dynamic Eccles. He said 'Through our purchase of the shopping centre, we were able to put the future of the town centre in the hands of the council and the community. 'It has enabled us to begin this important and long-overdue programme of work, to deliver the vision we have developed with the community. 'The demolition work will take some time, but there are exciting times ahead for Eccles as we work to bring this vision to life.' A more modern site, Centrale opened in 2004, 34 years after the Whitgift, and therefore has less intensive works planned. While there is currently no indication as to how tall the planned development will be, one URW representative told the LRDS that the plans are not expected to reach the heights of the skyscraper buildings around East Croydon station. And the station is also set to undergo a development of its own as part of the town's ambitious £5.25 billion regeneration project, East Croydon Station, which welcomes 26,000 passengers a day, will see upgrades including a concourse expansion and reconfiguration of tracks to reduce bottle-nosing delays. 3 Work is set to begin on the Whitgift Centre in 2028 Credit: URW While construction is yet to begin on the station work, the transformation of Whitgift into a flagship retail space is anticipated to start in 2028. Completion is not expected until the 2030s. Executive Mayor Jason Perry said he is committed to bringing the transformation project to life. "We will work with residents and partners across Croydon in new ways to make this happen and to bring this transformation plan to life," he said. "My promise is to turnaround Croydon."
