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The Herald Scotland
21-07-2025
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
Major British retailer to open new store in Scottish town
The premises was previously occupied by Lidl for 24 years; however, the company made the decision to close the branch on May 1. Sainsbury's confirmed it is working alongside Forrest Developments to transform the 6000 square foot shop. The supermarket chain states that the investment in the new store will create around 30 entry-level and management jobs for local people. READ MORE: Sainsbury's said it hopes the new Bearsden branch will be open 'in time for Christmas'. Patrick Dunne, Sainsbury's chief property and procurement officer & MD of Smart Charge, said: 'We have a great pipeline of new store investment planned in Scotland, with three new Scottish Sainsbury's stores opened already in 2025, and we're excited to include Bearsden – creating even more new jobs. 'We'll keep everyone updated about our plans for the new supermarket launch as construction and fit-out progresses. 'We hope to open it in time for Christmas this year.' The Forrest Group is currently carrying out an extensive programme of renovations and repairs before Sainsbury's completes the fit-out later this year. Donald Stewart, MD of Forrest Developments, said: 'We're very pleased to bring this good news to the people of Bearsden, as we bolster the options available to them for finding the very best food in their local area. 'It's vital to ensure communities have the amenities they need to work and live well, rather than allowing buildings to become disused, and to keep as many jobs as possible available locally. 'This is a great site and we're very happy to welcome Sainsbury's to the Forrest family as the latest tenant on our newest site.' The move has been welcomed by local councillor Alan Reid, who represents the Bearsden North ward. Councillor Reid commented: 'I welcome the refurbishment of the supermarket and car park in Baljaffray and look forward to Sainsbury's opening in the late summer – it's always good to see big brands coming to our area alongside our much-loved local independent retailers and businesses.'
Glasgow Times
21-07-2025
- Business
- Glasgow Times
Sainsbury's to open new store in Bearsden creating jobs
Sainsbury's is taking over a vacant unit at the Baljaffray Shopping Centre on Grampian Way in Bearsden. The premises was previously occupied by Lidl for 24 years; however, the company made the decision to close the branch on May 1. Sainsbury's confirmed it is working alongside Forrest Developments to transform the 6000 square foot shop so that it can provide 'everything customers need' to do their weekly grocery shopping. The supermarket chain states that the investment in the new store will create around 30 entry-level and management jobs for local people. It comes after the company implemented two increases in pay for hourly paid staff that are planned for 2025. Employees outside of London moved from £12 to £12.45 per hour and will see a further increase to £12.60 per hour in August. READ NEXT: Restaurant in Glasgow's West End sold to the Scotsman Group Sainsbury's hopes that the new Bearsden branch will be open 'in time for Christmas'. Patrick Dunne, Sainsbury's chief property and procurement officer & MD of Smart Charge, said: 'We have a great pipeline of new store investment planned in Scotland, with three new Scottish Sainsbury's stores opened already in 2025, and we're excited to include Bearsden – creating even more new jobs. 'We'll keep everyone updated about our plans for the new supermarket launch as construction and fit-out progresses. 'We hope to open it in time for Christmas this year.' Once open, customers will be able to browse a range of 'high quality, great value, tasty' products including fresh food, fruit and vegetables, food-to-go, and much more. Not only that, but the supermarket will also feature a Costa Coffee machine and benefit from a Click & Collect service. This will allow customers to order online from Sainsbury's much-loved Argos, Habitat and Tu clothing brands and collect them in-store. READ NEXT: Major retailer announced closure of Glasgow city centre shop The Forrest Group is currently carrying out an extensive programme of renovations and repairs before Sainsbury's completes the fit-out later this year. Donald Stewart, MD of Forrest Developments, said: 'We're very pleased to bring this good news to the people of Bearsden, as we bolster the options available to them for finding the very best food in their local area. 'It's vital to ensure communities have the amenities they need to work and live well, rather than allowing buildings to become disused, and to keep as many jobs as possible available locally. 'This is a great site and we're very happy to welcome Sainsbury's to the Forrest family as the latest tenant on our newest site.' The move has been welcomed by local councillor Alan Reid, who represents the Bearsden North ward. Councillor Reid commented: 'I welcome the refurbishment of the supermarket and car park in Baljaffray and look forward to Sainsbury's opening in the late summer – it's always good to see big brands coming to our area alongside our much-loved local independent retailers and businesses.'
NZ Herald
20-07-2025
- NZ Herald
How former teen killer William Izett's Auckland car theft led to a possible life sentence
But a return to prison, he said, was the only realistic option. 'No dignity in death' At 17 years old, Izett was the oldest of three teens who violently targeted 74-year-old Wellington resident Donald Stewart outside a toilet block in Hamilton in June 2010, resulting in his death. Their motive was to steal his 1989 Peugeot 405, which they took for a joyride before leaving it abandoned in a ditch where they had crashed it. William Izett appears in Auckland District Court on July 18 for sentencing on charges of heroin supply and possession of an AK-47-style gun, ammunition and explosive gel. Photo / Craig Kapitan Co-defendant Connor Rewha-Te Wara, who was 14 at the time, was sentenced to life imprisonment with a non-parole period of 11 years after pleading guilty to murder. Izett, meanwhile, was sentenced to four years' imprisonment after pleading guilty to manslaughter. Rewha-Te Wara had been the one who inflicted the fatal blows, Justice Patrick Keane noted when the trio appeared in the High Court at Hamilton to be sentenced together. The teens had formed a plan to steal the Peugeot after finding it with the lights on but doors locked as the driver used the facilities. When Stewart refused to hand over the keys after emerging from the toilet block, Rewha-Te Wara knocked him to the ground with a punch to the head. He was then dragged to an alleyway and suffered what the judge referred to as a 'sustained and brutal assault'. Donald Stewart buys petrol at a Hamilton Gull service station only hours before he was found dead in the central city. Photo / Supplied The judge acknowledged that Izett didn't participate in the physical attack and wouldn't have anticipated his co-defendant's level of violence. But that doesn't excuse standing by passively – neither stopping the younger teen nor helping the victim. 'You left in his car, leaving him where he lay,' the judge said. 'You afforded him no dignity in death. You stole his personal property and ultimately you were party to destroying it.' By that point, he had already had a lengthy and violent record, the court noted. Cannabis stabbing Two years after the Hamilton sentencing, while Izett was imprisoned in Dunedin, a Corrections officer said the inmate spat in his face. The officer reported the saliva going into his eyes, causing stinging. He then had to wait six months for blood test results. Izett, who had been angry because his cell was not unlocked as quickly as he wanted, pleaded guilty to assault. A decade later, in 2023, he was out of prison and living in emergency accommodation in a Hamilton motel when he was charged with wounding with intent to injure, possession of cannabis for sale and unlawful ammunition possession. Convicted killer William Izett admitted a decade later to stabbing a man at a Hamilton motel who had asked to buy his cannabis. Image / Google He was taking freshly cut cannabis plants to his room about 11am that day when the victim approached and asked if he could buy some. After telling the man to leave, Izett retrieved a hammer and knife from his car and challenged the man to a fight. The scuffle, caught on CCTV, ended with the defendant inflicting two knife wounds to the other man's torso. 'Hooked up' Five months after the stabbing guilty plea, the Ford Ranger went missing from Murrays Bay on Auckland's North Shore. However, the heist was short-lived. The vehicle had a GPS tracker, which led police to Izett's Dairy Flat home the next morning. Police found the registration plates in a wheelie bin at the property and the keys on the kitchen table. Social media messages later recovered by police suggested the vehicle, with plates that phonetically spelt 'hooked up', had been stolen as part of a scheme relating to the Mongols motorcycle gang, Judge Sharp noted. William Izett appears in Auckland District Court on July 18 for sentencing on charges of heroin supply and possession of an AK-47-style gun, ammunition and explosive gel. Photo / Craig Kapitan The heroin was found in a suitcase in the living room, divvied into snap-lock bags for distribution. The military-style, semi-automatic weapon was wrapped in sheets and a blanket nearby. In the same room, investigators found Orica Powergel, a putty-like, high-power explosive. Receiving such an expensive stolen vehicle carried a maximum sentence of seven years' imprisonment. But the discovery of the potent drug, found to have 76% purity, meant he faced up to life imprisonment. Judge Sharp described the heroin scheme as an independent commercial enterprise. There was no evidence that either defendant used the drug, with both instead addicted to methamphetamine – a much more common drug in New Zealand. 'Capable of change' At a jury trial earlier this year, Izett pleaded guilty to possessing the firearm and explosives, as well as receiving the stolen vehicle, but denied the heroin charge. Conversely, co-defendant Cherish-Ann Buchanan, 33, pleaded guilty to the heroin charge but denied receiving the vehicle or being in possession of the firearm. Jurors, however, found both guilty of the charges they denied. 'There's no secret that Mr Izett has stood or sat where he is sitting – he's been before the court before,' defence lawyer Kima Tuialii acknowledged at the start of the hearing this week. Police examine the scene where Donald Stewart's body was found by a street sweeper in 2010. Photo / Christine Cornege However, she emphasised her client's letter to the court and asked for a sentence that wouldn't be so crushing that he'd have trouble imagining his eventual reintegration into the community. 'He is somebody that is capable of change,' she said. Judge Sharp sentenced Izett to seven years and six months' imprisonment, while Buchanan was sentenced to four years and six months. Both sentences took into account reductions for what the judge described as backgrounds marred by 'tragic personal circumstances'. 'They involved things that should never have happened to them,' he said, declining to elaborate in open court. Izett's sentence included a three-month uplift for his significant history of prior offences. Buchanan received reductions for her previously clean record and for the hardship her imprisonment will cause for her five children. Craig Kapitan is an Auckland-based journalist covering courts and justice. He joined the Herald in 2021 and has reported on courts since 2002 in three newsrooms in the US and New Zealand. Sign up to The Daily H, a free newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Scottish Sun
08-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Scottish Sun
‘The stuff of nightmares' mums cry over Scottish kids park that ‘terrifies' children – but it has ‘fab' soft play & cafe
The attraction has drummed up some fond nostalgic memories for other people TAKE S-CARE 'The stuff of nightmares' mums cry over Scottish kids park that 'terrifies' children – but it has 'fab' soft play & cafe Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) A THEME park branded Scotland's answer to Disneyland has been delighting kids for generations. The Den and the Glen, based in Maryculter, Aberdeenshire, is advertised as 28 acres of 'magical make-believe fun' for kids and adults. 10 Shrek and his pals at The Den and the Glen in Aberdeenshire Credit: Donald Stewart - The Sun Glasgow 10 Online critics make cruel comments about the statues at the visitor attraction Credit: Donald Stewart - The Sun Glasgow 10 Some parents say their kids were 'creeped out' by the figurines Credit: Donald Stewart - The Sun Glasgow 10 The Den and the Glen has been dubbed Scotland's answer to Disneyland Credit: Donald Stewart - The Sun Glasgow It first opened as Storybook Glen in the 1980s and was a smash hit with youngsters. And recently the owners added a soft play, The Den. The park is packed full of homemade statues of beloved cartoons including The Simpsons, The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, The Teletubbies, Postman Pat and Fireman Sam. Kids can also visit Snow White's House and see the seven dwarves, Cinderella or Little Miss Muffet as well as Shrek. But while parents have fond nostalgic memories of The Den and the Glen, they've recently joked it's "nightmare fuel" for children nowadays. Scots mum Emma went viral on TikTok after sharing a video about the Scottish attraction, racking up 80,000 views. Alongside her clip, she said: "Somewhere I remember being so magical as a nightmare material. "I enjoyed walking round it, it's not changed a bit from when I was a child. My three-year-old, however, said it was creepy." She added: "[But] there is a bigger soft play now and brill cafe." The huge indoor centre boasts an all-weather play den with a climbing wall tower, a four-lane astro slide, giant ball canyon and sports arena guaranteeing hours of fun for your little one. But the outdoor theme park has still divided opinion on social media after Emma's video, with some parents agreeing that it could give kids a scare. 'My kids never get bored,' parents gush after Scotland's best soft play revealed One claimed: "Storybook Glen gave me nightmare fuel for years!!" A second wrote: "Omg yes!! I took my kids a few years back and my youngest said that he was scared. I do not remember it looking so horrifying!" "Storybook glen the stuff of nightmares", chimed in a third. A fourth added: "It's legit a child's horror show, not how it use to be when I was a kid." Meanwhile a fifth admitted: "Haha! I remember it being brilliant but went last year and those figures were freaky!" Others, however, were full of praise for the visitor spot and insisted they'd love to "relive their childhood" by going along. "This brought back so many memories cannot believe it is still going", one person said. Someone else hailed it "The Doric Disneyland", while a third added: "Omg what a blast from the past!!!" 10 A version of the Teletubbies appears in the park Credit: Donald Stewart - The Sun Glasgow 10 Some have dubbed the statues, including The Simpsons, as 'nightmare fuel' Credit: Donald Stewart - The Sun Glasgow 10 Others say they have fond memories of the theme park Credit: Donald Stewart - The Sun Glasgow 10 The park is now known as The Den and the Glen after a soft play was added Credit: Donald Stewart - The Sun Glasgow A fourth cried: "Is storybook glen still going. I'm 44 this year and would love to relive the childhood I loved it." A fifth insisted: "The kid will have loved it. I remember the disappointment (the horror) when I went back years later and saw it for what it truly was - but was still special as a tot!" And a sixth said: "Still a great day out tho, can't complain too much." The owners of the park previously told the Scottish Sun they had no idea how much of a kicking they were taking online until a relative flagged it up to them. They described maintaining the park as like painting the Forth Bridge and that once you reach the end you have to go back to the start all over again. But they revealed they put a lot of care and attention into the park and taking care of the statues and were hurt by a lot of the comments. The Den and the Glen has been approached for further comment. 10 Visitors trek from across the UK to see the attractions at The Den and the Glen Credit: Donald Stewart - The Sun Glasgow
