Latest news with #Cambridgeshire
BBC News
3 hours ago
- Business
- BBC News
Pub near St Neots Market Square to be turned into nine flats
A town centre pub that has been empty for about four years will be converted into nine District Council approved plans to redevelop the former Brook and Barter pub at St Neots Market Square, pub closed in 2021 and no offers were made to open a new business when it was marketed, said planning Hitchin, an Independent councillor on St Neots Town Council, said the creation of nine flats, including five studio flats, would be "overdevelopment". The proposal included plans to build five studio flats, one one-bedroom flat, and three two-bedroom Homes Ltd, who submitted the plans, said there would be space for a commercial unit on the ground floor of the building facing onto Market development would also be car free with 12 cycle parking spaces, said the Local Democracy Reporting Service.A planning statement said it would bring the site back into use and as the building had been "gradually deteriorating" and the unit required "extensive remodelling"."The applicant therefore proposed the total transformation of the site through redeveloping it, predominantly for residential purposes," the application stated. Kevin Gulson, a Conservative councillor on Huntingdonshire District Council, supported the plans and said he recognised the pub had been closed "for some time". Overdevelopment Concerns were raised by Hitchin, who said the town council supported the principle of creating new flats, but objected to the current said: "This is overdevelopment... and this raises real concerns about the living environment for future residents and does not reflect best practices in design or sustainable housing."Secondly, we object to the loss of valuable retail space. This is a prominent town frontage in Market Square, the replacement commercial space is minimal and poorly integrated, this results in a net loss to the town centre commercial vitality."She said turning the site predominantly into housing "undermines that [Market Square] investment" and would be "damaging to the local economy and vibrancy of the town centre".Steve McAdam, an Independent councillor on Huntingdonshire District Council, said the district council had previously refused plans to turn a shop or pub into homes, and asked planning officers what was different about this responded that developers needed to demonstrate there was no reasonable prospect of the pub or shop being retained or restored. Follow Cambridgeshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
BBC News
3 hours ago
- Business
- BBC News
Tiger bus pass in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough is extended
Young people will continue to receive cut-price bus fares after a popular scheme was of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority (CPCA) board agreed to keep Tiger passes until 31 March gave under-25s access to £1 bus journeys and have been used for about 1.8 million trips since May 2024, but concerns had been raised about funding mayor Paul Bristow said it was "exactly the kind of scheme we should be prioritising" at a meeting on Tuesday. However, it was agreed the local fare cap - which prices single journeys for older riders at £2.50 - would end on 31 October to free up £1.4m to fund the meant tickets would increase to £3 from that date. Tiger passes were introduced in May 2024 and their budget was due to run out in a Conservative, said: "I inherited a scheme that was going to run out of money this autumn. "Now users have certainty until April next year, while we, as a board, get the detail right on a Tiger pass that's a permanent fixture of public transport in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough."The estimated cost of the Tiger pass extension was £ representatives on the board suggested reallocating underspends from other budgets to save axing the fare their proposal was not supported by other members and the motion was unanimously board agreed to develop ways of making the Tiger pass permanent over the meeting, members also decided to begin procurement of bus services on the number nine from Littleport to Cambridge and 31 from Ramsey to would be funded by scrapping the South Cambridgeshire DRT, number 15 Haslingfield to Royston and number 8A March to Cottenham. Follow Cambridgeshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
Daily Mail
8 hours ago
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Pictured: Mother arrested in Mauritius with her son, six, after being 'coerced' into carrying suitcase full of cannabis
A British mother-of-two has been arrested in Mauritius accused of trying to smuggle cannabis inside her six-year-old son's suitcase. Natashia Artug, 35, was detained alongside seven other people accused of carrying more than 161 kilograms of the drug - worth £1.6 million - in their luggage. The boy's luggage alone is said to have had 24 packages of drugs wrapped in clear cellophane inside weighing 14kg. Natashia from Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, who is 'vulnerable' was coerced into travelling to Mauritius by people involved in the drug trade who threatened her and her family, Justice Abroad has said. She also did not know the bags contained cannabis, the nonprofit added. Natashia's partner Florian Lisman, a 38-year-old Romanian, was also arrested and said to be carrying 32 drug packages, an i-Phone and £260 pounds. The other Brits detained were Patrick Lee Wilsdon, 22, Lily Watson, 20, Shannon Ellen Josie Holness 29, Laura Amy Kappen 28, and Shona Campbell, 32, who each had between 30 and 32 packages, according to local newspaper Le Mauricien. They were all on the same British Airways flight from London Gatwick to Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam airport last month. The suspects have all been charged with drug trafficking and remain in custody. Each suspect carried Apple AirTags, which can be fixed to an item to track its location, and up to £900 in cash. The trackers - around the size of a 50p piece - are thought to be used by international drug trafficking gangs to help smugglers keep tabs on their shipments. Mauritian authorities described the use of the child's luggage to transport the drugs as 'outrageous and inhumane', adding 'this is one of the most revolting cases we have encountered in recent years'. The boy, who was unaware of the contents of his bag, has reportedly already flown back to the UK and is staying with his father. Justice Abroad has launched a Crowd Justice fundraising campaign to raise £5,000 towards her legal defence. The organisers write: 'Natashia is a single mother of two, who suffers from Fibromyalgia but who attends university and is working to give her children a better future. 'She was coerced into travelling to Mauritius with her young son, and to carry the luggage which she did not know contained cannabis, by individuals involved in the drugs trade who took advantage of her vulnerability and made threats to cause serious violence to her and her family if she refused to obey their orders. 'This case raises serious concerns about the exploitation of a young mother by a criminal gang. She now faces criminal trial in Mauritius separated from her children and without the resources to mount an adequate defence and to put together the evidence of the duress and exploitation which resulted in her being involved in.' A Foreign Office spokesman told MailOnline: 'We are supporting a British national detained in Mauritius and are in contact with the local authorities.'
Times
9 hours ago
- Politics
- Times
Independence or more immigration? Why Scotland can't have both
T here was a fascinating piece in The Sunday Times by my colleague David Leask about English folk becoming SNP candidates for the Holyrood election. One was Math Campbell-Sturgess, a 42-year-old former army reservist from Cambridgeshire. 'Independence isn't about where you come from,' he said. 'It's about who makes the decisions that matter in your life.' Campbell-Sturgess is not typical of English folk living in Scotland. Leask unearthed hitherto-unseen polling data that breaks down people's views on independence according to their country of birth. Only 35 per cent of English-born voters in Scotland support independence, and 65 per cent prefer a UK that sticks together. Immigrants to Scotland from further afield have similar views: only 40 per cent are in favour of breaking up Britain while 60 per cent are opposed.
BBC News
17 hours ago
- BBC News
Cannabis farm worth £1m found in Huntingdon former shop
A cannabis factory worth an estimated £1m has been discovered inside a former Poundland and found more than 1,000 cannabis plants at the unit on the High Street in Huntingdon town centre, plants and growing equipment were seized by officers on Monday, but no arrests were inspector Colin Norden said officers had been on anti-social behaviour patrols when they saw the signs of a suspected cannabis factory. Officers said the key signs to spot a potential cannabis factory included frequent visitors at unsocial hours, blacked out windows or condensation on the windows and bright lights in rooms throughout the added a powerful, distinctive, sweet and sticky aroma could sometimes be noticed as well as noise from fans and electricity meters being tampered Norden said: "While no arrests have been made at this time, an investigation is ongoing."Growing and selling cannabis is not only illegal but can also generate funds for gangs to use in other criminal enterprises."We will continue to disrupt drug dealing networks and stop criminals making money from the illegal drugs trade and we continue to ask for the communities support in doing this." Follow Cambridgeshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
