Latest news with #Dorset
News.com.au
4 hours ago
- Entertainment
- News.com.au
Developers accused of forcing residents out of town
Residents of an idyllic UK village made famous by a hit TV show have accused 'faceless developers' of ruining their town. Disgruntled locals in Littlebredy, Dorset, have said their picturesque town has become 'totally different' after a number of changes, The Sun reports. Set in the heart of the 2,047-acre (828ha) Bridehead Estate, the tiny hamlet was thrust into the spotlight when it featured in ITV crime drama 'Broadchurch'. But now residents say their tranquil slice of rural England is under siege – and they are already fighting back. Until recently, the estate had been in the hands of Sir Philip and Lady Catherine Williams – the seventh generation of the family to live there since 1797. The couple were seen as part of the village's fabric, opening up the stunning grounds and waterfall to locals and visitors alike. But the large number of Broadchurch fans descending onto their home and gawping at the houses saw them become increasingly frustrated. It meant the £30 million ($A62 million) estate – which includes a manor house and thatched cottages – was sold by the popular owners to a 'faceless' investment company called Belport Ltd, the Telegraph reports. Just last month, the path to the lake and a tumbling waterfall -which was used as a crime scene in 'Broadchurch' – was closed, piling on misery for residents. However, locals have vented their frustrations after the multimillion-dollar estate was sold off, fearing their community is being ripped apart in a secretive land grab. Oxfordshire-based Belport Ltd have padlocked the gates to the estate and slapped up warning signs telling walkers to keep out. Belport said it may reopen the path if 'issues' could be addressed. The firm claims it's for 'health and safety' reasons, but villagers say it's nonsense. Protester Russell Giles, 65, from Dorchester, told the Telegraph: 'They are taking away land that's been used by the public for 65 years. 'It feels so heavy-headed and unnecessary, a faceless corporation taking over. The idea that they are doing it for health and safety is ludicrous. 'If we don't fight for our rights, we lose access to nature. And here, people might also lose their homes. It feels like an injustice.' The first casualty was longstanding resident and well-known cookery writer Christine McFadden, who was forced out after her tenancy wasn't renewed. 'I lived in Littlebredy for 21 years and absolutely loved it. But now it is totally different,' she said. Her old home has now been turned into an office for the new estate managers. She added: 'I was so upset when I got asked to move, but now I'm glad I don't live there. No one knows what's happening.' And Christine isn't the only one. Dozens of worried residents fear they could be next, with many living in homes under rolling short-term tenancy agreements. One local, who didn't want to be named, admitted they have 'no idea who the new owners are' and confessed that residents are 'completely powerless'. Belport has claimed it has no plans to evict anyone and is simply carrying out upgrades to bring the homes up to 'minimum energy and safety standards'. Last week, around 70 campaigners and locals took part in a mass Right to Roam protest. Frustrated residents scaled a stone wall, enjoyed a picnic by the waterfall and read poetry in protest. Locals fear the upgrades will push rents sky-high, pricing them out of the homes their families have lived in for generations. 'POWERLESS' The anonymous local said the community feels 'at the mercy of the investors' and it seems like 'an end of an era'. Organiser Nadia Shaikh blasted the move from Belport as morally wrong, saying: 'Of course the new owners have the legal right to take access away, but to do so is, in our view, morally wrong and deeply sad.' In a statement, Belport said: 'Belport's background is in estate management and we have the goal of modernising and improving our assets through ongoing investment. 'Having bought the Bridehead estate, our principal focus is to orchestrate a sequence of upgrade works to each of the estate properties in Littlebredy, which will bring them up to current and anticipated minimum energy and safety standards required of all landlords. 'Contrary to reports, there are no plans to evict anyone.' The statement adds that access to the waterfall and lake, which has been accessible since the 1950s, had been 'temporarily suspended pending a health and safety review of access routes, trees and open water'. However, the company states that if any issues that arise can be addressed 'sufficiently [then] we intend to reopen the area to the public'.
BBC News
10 hours ago
- BBC News
Ex-Metropolitan Police officer from Stevenage guilty of rape
A man has been convicted of raping a woman while he was a Metropolitan Police Cummings, 26, who had been a special constable in Dorset before working in London, denied rape but was found guilty following a trial at St Albans Crown of Lytton Way, Stevenage, was accused of raping two women he had relationships on Wednesday unanimously found him guilty of raping one woman. They have yet to reach a verdict in relation to the second woman's allegation. James Thacker KC, leading the prosecution team, told the trial that one woman said she was raped in 2021 and the other in has been found guilty of the 2024 charge. Jurors are due to continue discussing the other charge on of the women said she was raped while still in a relationship with Cummings. The other said she was raped shortly after their relationship two women lived in different parts of the country and did not know each other, Mr Thacker told the said Cummings had been arrested at his mother's home in Weymouth, Dorset. Cummings denied both rape charges and said the sex was Lloyd-Jacob, his barrister, told jurors that they could not be sure he was guilty of Lloyd-Jacob said the question was whether Cummings "could not reasonably have believed" that the women were consenting. Cummings has already been convicted of committing other offences against the two women, jurors have was found guilty of controlling and coercive behaviour in an earlier trial and has admitted in an earlier trial failed to reach verdicts on the rape charges and, as a result, this trial was served as a special constable in Dorset from April 2018 before joining the Met as a regular officer in November 2019. He is no longer an officer. Follow Beds, Herts and Bucks news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
Daily Mail
11 hours ago
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Report: Three Labour MPs suspended for persistent defiance of Starmer
Three Labour MPs have been suspended by the party as Keir Starmer belatedly tries to instill some discipline in his fractious backbenchers. Brian Leishman, Chris Hinchliff and Neil Duncan-Jordan, who have all been in the Commons less than a year, are reported to have lost the whip for what what described as 'persistent breaches of party discipline'. They were all involved in a major welfare rebellion that forced the government to scrap major cuts to the huge disability benefits bill. Mr Duncan-Jordan, the MP for Poole in Dorset, had consistently refused to toe the line on a range of issues, while Alloa and Grangemouth's Mr Leishman had also criticised plans to close a local oil refinery. Mr Hinchcliff, the North East Hertfordshire MP, has attacked Angela Rayner 's planning reform that would make it easier to build on the green belt, and rebelled over welfare cuts. The action comes weeks after backbenchers managed to water down plans to cut the UK's massive disability benefit bill. And earlier this month, former Labour MP Zarah Sultana formally quit the party and said she would link up with ex-leader Jeremy Corbyn in a new hard Left party. Mr Duncan-Jordan confirmed he had been suspended, telling the Politics Home website: 'Since being elected I have consistently spoken up for my constituents on a range of issues, including most recently on cuts to disability benefits. 'I understood this could come at a cost, but I couldn't support making disabled people poorer. 'Although I've been suspended from the Parliamentary Labour Party today, I've been part of the Labour and trade union movement for 40 years and remain as committed as ever to its values. 'To my constituents: it's business as usual. I remain your hardworking local MP, I will continue to take up your concerns and speak up for Poole.' Mr Leishman added: 'I have voted against the Government on issues because I want to effectively represent and be the voice for communities across Alloa and Grangemouth. 'I firmly believe that it is not my duty as an MP to make people poorer, especially those that have suffered because of austerity and its dire consequences.' The Universal Credit Bill cleared the Commons after elements to restrict eligibility to Pip were scrapped, with any changes postponed until after a review led by disability minister Sir Stephen Timms. Mr Leishman called for the welfare law to be withdrawn, even in the essentially meaningless form it finally passed the Commons at the end of June. The MP for Alloa and Grangemouth voted in favour of a cross-party amendment that would have stopped the Bill before second reading. At the time he said: 'Today was a prime example in how not to legislate. 'A shambolic afternoon with policy being made up off the cuff and on the notion of promises to come. 'The Government should do the honourable and decent thing and withdraw this dreadful Bill.' Liz Kendall insisted this morning that the Government's welfare reforms were in 'the right place' now after she was forced to scrap most of the planned changes in the face of a Labour revolt.
Daily Mail
11 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Syrian asylum seeker, 18, appears in court accused of raping woman in a public toilet on popular seafront
A Syrian asylum seeker appeared in court accused with the rape of a young woman in a public toilet on Bournemouth seafront on Wednesday. Mohammed Abdullah, 18, allegedly attacked the 20-year-old woman in the toilet in Undercliff Drive, Bournemouth, at about 2am on July 6. Dorset Police originally arrested a 31-year-old Bournemouth man in connection with the incident but he was later released with no further action taken. Abdullah, who arrived in Britain as an asylum seeker in 2023 and has been granted permanent leave to remain here, was subsequently arrested at his home address in West Drayton, Middlesex, on Monday. He appeared at Poole Magistrates' Court charged with rape and sexual assault. Several of his family members watched on from the public gallery as he spoke only to confirm his name, age and address via an Arabic interpreter during the hearing. Harry Price-Smith, defending, said: 'He's originally from Syria and came to this country with his family two years ago as an asylum seeker, and has been granted indefinite leave to remain. 'His mother, father, two sisters and a family friend are all here in court to support him.' Abdullah, a student, was granted conditional bail by magistrates but has been remanded in custody while the prosecution appeals the decision. He is due to appear at Bournemouth Crown Court for a plea and trial preparation hearing on August 14. Magistrate chair Jim Hoggart said: 'You are going to be placed on remand until the matter can be heard by a crown court in the next few days.' Detective Inspector Shaun Inkpen, of the Dorset Police Major Crime Investigation Team (MCIT), said: 'After extensive enquiries, an 18-year-old man from the West Drayton area of Middlesex was arrested on suspicion of rape and sexual assault. 'After consulting with our colleagues in the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), charges were authorised in respect of rape and sexual assault. 'I would like to pass on my thanks to the members of the public who have come forward and assisted our investigation. 'The victim is continuing to be supported and has been updated with the developments in the investigation.'
Daily Mail
13 hours ago
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Three Labour MPs suspended by the party for 'persistent' defiance of Keir Starmer as PM turns on backbench welfare rebels
Three Labour MPs have been suspended by the party as Keir Starmer belatedly tries to instill some discipline in his fractious backbenchers. Brian Leishman, Chris Hinchliff and Neil Duncan-Jordan, who have all been in the Commons less than a year, are reported to have lost the whip for what what described as 'persistent breaches of party discipline'. They were all involved in a major welfare rebellion that forced the government to scrap major cuts to the huge disability benefits bill. Mr Duncan-Jordan, the MP for Poole in Dorset, had consistently refused to toe the line over benefit cuts, while Alloa and Grangemouth's Mr Leishman had also criticised plans to close a local oil refinery. Mr Hinchcliff, the North East Hertfordshire MP, has attacked Angela Rayner 's planning reform that would make it easier to build on the green belt, and rebelled over welfare cuts. The action comes weeks after backbenchers managed to water down plans to cut the UK's massive disability benefit bill. And earlier this month, former Labour MP Zarah Sultana formally quit the party and said she would link up with ex-leader Jeremy Corbyn in a new hard Left party. Brian Leishman, Chris Hinchliff and Neil Duncan-Jordan, who have all been in the Commons less than a year, are reported to have lost the whip for what what described as 'persistent breaches of party discipline'.
