Latest news with #Eastgate
Press and Journal
4 days ago
- Business
- Press and Journal
The retail expert helping Eastgate Shopping Centre bring big brands to Inverness
A retail expert working to attract big brands to Inverness has revealed which types of shops would benefit most from the 'incredible' city. Jonathan De Mello has been working with the Eastgate Shopping Centre to fill empty units. He has more than 25 years of experience transforming city centres at the helm of JDM Retail. And after extensive research and visits, he feels he knows what Inverness is missing most. Jonathan has been working alongside owners of the Eastgate, Savills, as well as centre manager Chris Kershaw. He feels understanding the city's issues have allowed the team to establish a 'baseline' for where Inverness is and where it can be. Jonathan said: 'The piece of work which we were commissioned for was basically to look at where the city is and attracting occupiers which can add to that. 'It's obviously lost shops like Debenhams and Topshop, but that impacts every city in the UK. These are big spaces to fill. 'I've visited the city a couple of times during the project and we've also built up a lot of knowledge of the city over the years. 'I think the work we have done has been very useful to them, because it helps to understand the potential of Inverness as well as the Eastgate.' Jonathan explains the units he saw in his visits to the city as 'what you would expect from such a tourism hotspot'. He said: 'Tourism is a huge part of the Highlands, a lot of visitors use Inverness as a starting point for their trip. 'It generates a high amount of money, the work we've done shows £762 million of annual tourism spend in the region. That is obviously very high. 'But I actually think the city has a good mix of retail offerings. There are also a lot chain retailers trading in Inverness and especially in the shopping centre. 'And what I was struck by is the performance of these operators. 'I work with a lot of trading information and from what we know, the retailers in Inverness are generally ahead of what they do elsewhere in the whole of the UK.' Jonathan knows the city has a lot of potential, but also knows it has a long way to go to reach it. That's why his data shows a lot of Highlanders still travel to Aberdeen for shopping trips. But, Jonathan said with low rents compared to other cities, brands are able to make larger profit margins. He said: 'Inverness has a vibrant streetscape, the shopping centre and of course the tourism boost, which is pretty unique to the city. 'It is also the main shopping area for the whole of the Highlands, so that helps. There are also 12,000 students at the University of Highlands and Islands. 'There is a big audience, significantly lower rents than elsewhere and it sits in the top 13% for profit in the UK. I'd say it is worth checking out.' Jonathan is also working to transform the streets of Aberdeen following a commission from Aberdeen Inspired. He added: 'I would love to work more on the city, and if the council wanted to work with me on something similar to Aberdeen I would jump at the chance.'
Daily Maverick
30-06-2025
- Business
- Daily Maverick
South Africa has barely scratched the surface of its rooftop solar potential
Johannesburg alone has enough rooftop space to power the entire country through midwinter without coal. So why have installations slowed? In recent years solar panels have begun popping up across Johannesburg. Tucked away atop office parks, apartment complexes, shopping centres and car park shades, these panels have been quiet evidence of what some are calling ' South Africa's rooftop solar revolution '. Since the height of the load shedding crisis in September 2022, households and businesses across the country have added more than 3,800MW of rooftop solar capacity – 25% of which is in Gauteng alone and at peak, enough to save the grid almost four stages of load shedding. But in recent months the rooftop revolution has shown signs of slowing, as Ed Stoddard noted in August last year. Since then the outlook has worsened. In the fourth quarter of 2024 only 25MW came online. And in the first quarter of this year less than 13MW was added. Currently, rooftop solar's quarterly growth rate is less than 0.2% – a precipitous drop from the torrid 20% seen in mid-2023. Given such a steep decline, it might be natural to conclude that South Africa has hit its rooftop solar ceiling. In truth, South Africa has only scratched the surface. According to World Bank data, the area inside Johannesburg's ring road motorways contains 12,453MW of rooftop solar capacity – more than seven times all of Gauteng's current rooftop capacity. Even when one accounts for nights and overcast days, that level of rooftop solar would provide enough power annually (19,719 GWh) to run the whole of South Africa for an entire month in mid-winter without burning a single granule of coal. If one were to expand to include those roofs outside the ring road (not to mention those in Pretoria, Durban or Cape Town), that number would only grow. So, if there is no shortage of roof space to add new solar arrays, what accounts for the recent drop-off in installations? Sceptics of rooftop solar would suggest that the technology has run up against its natural financial constraints. Pointing to the French asset management firm Lazard's Levelized Cost of Energy Report, these sceptics will argue that rooftop solar simply cannot compete in terms of costs. Glancing at Lazard's data, this critique seems initially on point. Residential rooftop solar costs between $122 and $284 per MWh generated, while community, commercial and industrial rooftop solar (think Eastgate's new array) costs between $54 and $191 per MWh. Coal, on the other hand, costs between $69 and $168 per MWh, utility-scale solar $29 and $92 per MWh and onshore wind $27 and $73 per MWh. But Lazard's data can be misleading. First, Lazard's reports are aimed at large-scale investors and policymakers, not businesses or homeowners. For homeowners and businesses, the fact that utility-scale solar and wind cost far less than a rooftop array is irrelevant. After all, they simply cannot build a utility-scale array. The relevant decision, then, is not rooftop versus utility solar, but rooftop solar versus the grid. Second, Lazard's data does not account for local variations in costs. Lazard is, after all, a global asset manager, and its cost metrics are global averages. As such, they do not consider the geographic and economic conditions that make rooftop solar much more attractive in South Africa, such as the country's high levels of solar irradiation, its relatively low cost of labour, its high cost of electricity and its unreliable grid. How, then, does rooftop solar perform in South Africa? Far better than average. Under Eskom's new pricing model, a typical customer who consumes 9,600kWh per year pays R4.16 per kWh – about $228 per MWh. In contrast, according to Ayden Smith at a rooftop solar setup big enough to cover that same customer's needs (~8kW array in Johannesburg) currently costs about R140,000 with batteries. Spread over the 25-year lifetime of the array, this levels out to a cost of only $31.96 per MWh. Under Nersa's new net-billing rules, that average customer would break even on their investment in fewer than four years. After that, they would earn a savings of R750,000 over the lifetime of the array – more than enough to cover the costs of a replacement system. And if Eskom decides to increase its current tariffs in the future (likely given current trends), that break-even timeline will shrink, and net savings will grow. It is quite clear that the financial case for rooftop solar is not just sound. It is remarkably robust. And it is likely to remain so. The world is still dealing with a glut of solar panels, courtesy of the post-pandemic boom in Chinese production. (Indeed, as the Financial Times reported in 2024, panels have become so cheap that some Dutch and German homeowners have begun using them as fencing material.) And as the Trump administration's new tariffs come into effect, those panels once destined for the US are likely to be shipped to regions with lower trade barriers, allowing South Africans to reap the benefits of Donald Trump's quixotic trade war. But if the picture for rooftop solar is so rosy, why the sudden drop in installations? Energy analyst Chris Yelland suggested that it was, in large part, due to the end of load shedding. Without the threat of power cuts – the logic goes – homeowners and businesses had less incentive to invest in rooftop solar. It is a theory that makes a lot of intuitive sense. But, unfortunately, it is not backed up in the numbers. In truth, rooftop solar had already begun its dip in July 2023 – well before the end of acute load shedding in March 2024. What the dip in rooftop solar did coincide with was a marked increase in interest rates. Between January and July 2023, the real prime interest rate jumped from 3.6% in early 2023 to more than 7% by July 2023 and eventually reached a peak of 8.7% in October 2024. As real interest rates climbed higher and higher, financing for rooftop solar arrays became much more expensive. To make this concrete, our typical homeowner financing that R140,000 array in January 2023 would have paid roughly R27,500 in real interest over the life of the loan. By February 2025 that same homeowner would be paying R48,200 – a 75% increase. While ultimately a small sum compared with the savings earned over the array's lifetime, it is more than enough to cause prospective buyers to think twice before purchasing. In the short term, high real interest rates are likely to continue to weigh down demand for rooftop solar. But ultimately this is good news in the medium and long term. The recent rise in real interest rates is, after all, temporary – a result of the Reserve Bank's efforts to bring down inflation. As rates continue to come down, it is likely that we will see a revival in installations. But if rates remain elevated due to domestic political turmoil or the fallout from the trade war, it might be time for the government to revive and re-update the terms of its Energy Bounce‐Back (EBB) Loan Guarantee Scheme. Designed to mobilise financial institutions like Standard Bank to help end the power crisis, the EBB scheme encouraged lenders to enter the rooftop solar market via partial loan guarantees. While laudable, the scheme, which ended in August 2023, did not produce much in the way of results – likely due to the aforementioned rise in real interest rates. In the next iteration of the EBB scheme, the government should consider conditioning its guarantees on banks capping solar loan interest rates at 1.5% over prime, and in so doing lower the cost for prospective rooftop solar owners. While this would force financiers to take a slight haircut, recent drops in inflation have given banks more than enough margin to continue to turn a profit. That said, it is still too early to tell if a new version of the EBB programme is even necessary. But what is clear is that rooftop solar is an excellent long-term investment for homeowners and businesses – with or without more favourable financing. And despite the recent downturn, rooftop solar will remain key to speeding South Africa's path to a cleaner, greener future. DM Dr Paul T Clarke is a Chicago-based writer and academic focusing on issues of climate change, crime and policing, and the green transition. His writing has appeared in Africa is a Country, the Mail & Guardian, the Johannesburg Salon and the history journal Comparative Studies in Society & History. He holds a doctorate in African studies from Harvard University and an MA in anthropology from the University of the Witwatersrand.
BBC News
13-06-2025
- General
- BBC News
Museum of Gloucester artefacts unboxed by public
Boxes of artefacts belonging to a museum, including many which have never been displayed before, are being unpacked by members of the public.A total of 6,658 boxes from the Museum of Gloucester's collection are being sorted at the city's Discovery Centre in Eastgate Shopping Johansson-Hartley, the museum's collection officer, said Anglo Saxon leather and a Roman tile with a print of a dog were among the "amazing" items which had so far been unpacked, relabelled and "preserved for the future".Archaeologist Mark Horton said the year-long project made archaeology "accessible" to the public. Ms Johansson-Hartley said some of the boxes had not been opened up "for 50 or 60 years"."We're making sure everything is preserved for the future."We wanted to be in a public space particularly because we wanted to open up the heritage that we have hidden away in storage to the public," she said. People can drop into the shopping centre to witness history being unboxed and offer a helping hand of the archaeological collections at the Museum of Gloucester date back to the Roman and medieval periods."We do have some that predate that to the Dobunni tribe - the Iron Age - and pre-that as well," Ms Johansson-Hartley said. Mr Horton said the project, which is supported by Cotswold Archaeology and the National Lottery Heritage Fund, was changing the public's perception of archaeology."Everyone thinks all these artefacts are precious because they're put in museums, in cabinets and no-one can touch them without proper gloves on."But this is the real world of archaeology... to make this accessible to the community who can work on this material without worrying it's going to break or anything is so fantastic," he added.
Associated Press
09-06-2025
- Health
- Associated Press
CCHR Demands Urgent Reform to Stop Child Abuse in Youth Behavioral Facilities
LOS ANGELES, Calif., June 9, 2025 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — Amid a surge of reported abuse and deaths in psychiatric and behavioral residential programs for youth, the Citizens Commission on Human Rights International (CCHR) is urging immediate and sweeping federal intervention. CCHR warns that continued inaction by state and federal agencies endangers lives and enables a mental health system where vulnerable children and adolescents are subjected to trauma, neglect, and avoidable harm. In December 2024, Congress passed the bipartisan Stop Institutional Child Abuse Act, calling for a study by the National Academies of Sciences into the state of youth in institutional programs. However, the legislation granted a three-year window to complete the investigation—a delay CCHR deems unconscionable now, given ongoing reports of harm. 'Children are dying. Others are being restrained, secluded, forcibly drugged, or sexually abused,' said Jan Eastgate, President of CCHR International. 'How many more cases of tragedy must occur before regulators respond with urgency? A three-year timeline is a death sentence for some of these children.' A 2024 peer-reviewed study in Psychiatric Services confirmed that the use of seclusion and mechanical restraints remains widespread in U.S. psychiatric hospitals, despite the documented trauma and risk of death. The study called on the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and The Joint Commission to implement reforms to end the practice. A previous New York Times investigation estimated at least 86 deaths in youth behavioral programs from 2000 to 2015, noting that children in these institutions are often subjected to conditions that would be unlawful for prisoners—including isolation, and physical and chemical restraint.[1] In just the past few weeks, a string of new incidents has surfaced from across the U.S. involving youth facilities, including: Two girls, aged 12 and 13, died by suicide in May in a North Carolina behavioral treatment facility, forcing its closure.[2] Reports of hundreds of prolonged restraint incidents in a single California psychiatric facility within months.[3] A teenage boy was repeatedly sexually abused by staff at a New Mexico behavioral facility.[4] Seclusion and restraint of children as young as five; Vermont state authorities confirmed over 500 cases.[5] New legislation was passed in Maryland restricting the use of physical restraints during youth transport to psych facilities.[6] Although multiple federal investigations have led to substantial fines and civil settlements, CCHR asserts these penalties have failed to deter misconduct, patient harm, and deaths. 'Financial penalties are clearly not enough. Many of these settlements are treated as the cost of doing business,' Eastgate noted. CCHR also emphasizes that current tools used by government agencies—such as consent agreements or Corporate Integrity Agreements (CIAs)—do not work. These measures allow institutions with a history of serious violations to remain operational after promising internal improvements. 'Voluntary promises are violated again and again, and children suffer the consequences,' Eastgate said. 'These agreements create a dangerous illusion of accountability.' The organization is calling on Congress and the Administration to take such actions as: Accelerate the Stop Institutional Child Abuse Act investigation. Withhold CMS and Medicaid funding from facilities with substantiated abuse records. Freeze new licenses or bed expansions for companies under investigation. Establish criminal penalties for executives and staff found complicit in systemic abuse. Prohibit the use of further Corporate Integrity or improvement agreements for known violators. In June 2024, a U.S. Senate Finance Committee report into several for-profit youth behavioral hospital chains described the harms children experienced resulted, in part, from financial models that prioritize revenue over safety. The Committee urged 'bold intervention' to prevent further tragedies. Prominent legal professionals agree. KBA attorney Kayla Ferrel Onder stated: 'More effective oversight systems need to be in place to protect patients. This includes stricter penalties for facilities found guilty of abuse or fraud. Jail time for executives and significantly larger financial penalties may be necessary to curb misconduct prevalent in the behavioral healthcare industry.'[7] Attorney Tommy James cites horrendous physical abuse and emotional trauma in behavioral residential facilities, stating, 'those responsible must be held accountable.'[8] Another attorney, Kayla Ferrel Onder said the abuse is so extensive that it reflected a 'systemic failure,' which needs to stop.[9] CCHR maintains an extensive record of documented youth abuse in psychiatric facilities, including seclusion, restraint, sexual assault, and forced drugging. 'Children should not be warehoused, abused, or silenced,' said Eastgate. 'What is happening now is a humanitarian crisis hiding in plain sight.' Quoting lawmakers who have supported the Stop Institutional Child Abuse Act, Rep. Ro Khanna stated: 'The industry has gone unchecked for too long.'[10] Senator Tommy Tuberville added: 'We need more sunlight… to stop the waste, fraud, and abuse in the system.' 'This is not a policy debate—it is a moral imperative,' Eastgate concluded. 'We are calling on legislators, prosecutors, and health agencies to act now. No more broken promises. No more promises of avoidable deaths. No more children forgotten in the system.' About CCHR : The government-acclaimed watchdog and award-winning advocacy group was established in 1969 by the Church of Scientology and Professor of Psychiatry, Dr. Thomas Szasz. To learn more, visit: Sources: [1] Alexander Stockton, 'Can you punish a child's mental health problems away?' The New York Times , 11 Oct. 2022, [2] Jeffery Collins, 'Residential treatment school closes in North Carolina after deaths of 2 girls,' AP News , 3 June 2025, [3] 'California watchdog finds for-profit psychiatric hospital abused patients,' San Francisco Chronicle , 19 May 2025 [4] 'Suit alleges teen repeatedly abused by worker at former youth residential treatment center,' Santa Fe New Mexican, 29 May 2025, [5] 'Youth in Vermont custody have been physically restrained hundreds of times in recent years,' VT Digger , 22 May 2025, [6] [7] [8] Erica Thomas, 'Tuskegee youth facility dubbed 'House of Horrors' in latest lawsuit,' 1819 News , 27 Aug. 2024, [9] 'Letter: The alarming pattern of abuse at Acadia Healthcare facilities,' Springfield Daily Citizen , 29 May 2025, [10] citing MULTIMEDIA: Image link for media: Image caption: 'Children should not be warehoused, abused, or silenced. What is happening now is a humanitarian crisis hiding in plain sight.' – Jan Eastgate, President, CCHR International. NEWS SOURCE: Citizens Commission on Human Rights Keywords: Family and Parenting, Reform, Stop Child Abuse, Youth Behavioral Facilities, Citizens Commission on Human Rights, CCHR International, Jan Eastgate, LOS ANGELES, Calif. This press release was issued on behalf of the news source (Citizens Commission on Human Rights) who is solely responsibile for its accuracy, by Send2Press® Newswire . Information is believed accurate but not guaranteed. Story ID: S2P126791 APNF0325A To view the original version, visit: © 2025 Send2Press® Newswire, a press release distribution service, Calif., USA. RIGHTS GRANTED FOR REPRODUCTION IN WHOLE OR IN PART BY ANY LEGITIMATE MEDIA OUTLET - SUCH AS NEWSPAPER, BROADCAST OR TRADE PERIODICAL. MAY NOT BE USED ON ANY NON-MEDIA WEBSITE PROMOTING PR OR MARKETING SERVICES OR CONTENT DEVELOPMENT. Disclaimer: This press release content was not created by nor issued by the Associated Press (AP). Content below is unrelated to this news story.
Mail & Guardian
13-05-2025
- Automotive
- Mail & Guardian
Mall taxi rank upgrades are a strategic imperative in enhancing mall environments and enhancing the commuter experience
The main terminals for taxis in South Africa are taxi ranks, normally located near shopping malls and shopping complexes, serving commuters in various communities. According to the As compared to other Gauteng metros, City of Johannesburg conducted an Taxi rank integration in property management supports dignification Malls with well-designed taxi ranks can help alleviate traffic congestion by providing a dedicated area for taxis to wait and load and offload passengers. For taxi commuters, the taxi rank linked to a mall is part of their customer experience and sense of arrival. It is imperative that this is a dignified experience. The establishment of taxi ranks at malls supports fostering a more structured, regulated and safe environment for both taxis and passengers This ensures the provision of designated areas where taxis can queue, ensuring a more orderly and predictable process for passengers. Furthermore, the overall experience for taxis and passengers at well-managed taxi ranks is enhanced as a result of improved safety and security measures where unauthorised or unsafe pick-up points are reduced. Established in 1979, the Liberty Two Degrees managed Eastgate Shopping Centre was the first superregional mall in the eastern suburbs of Johannesburg. As the mall experienced growth in customers from the greater parts of the east of Johannesburg, noticing that a lot of the commuters to the mall and its surroundings used public transport, in 2005 the mall established a taxi rank in its premises as a vital transport hub for the community. Today, the mall houses more than 200 retailers and approximately 30% of Eastgate's customers rely on taxi services. Establishing safer environments that support informal trading Due to the high unemployment rate in South Africa, many are engaging in desperate means for survival. The informal trading market is expanding as a result and acts as a safety net for many, providing employment and income opportunities for those excluded from the formal labour market. Informal traders, who in some cases operate in unsanitary conditions, have been deemed a challenge across the country. The lack of appropriate facilities as well as resources to support informal trading is largely to blame. To curb this challenge, those affected are addressing some of these issues to establish structure, safer environments and overall positive experiences. Naturally, the establishment of taxi ranks at malls unintentionally introduces various survivalist businesses, creating a hub of informal economic activity. This leads to overcrowding due to a lack of appropriately demarcated trading areas for informal traders. In line with L2D's Interactive Spaces strategy, which aims to create dynamic and responsive experiences, Eastgate Shopping Centre has embarked on an upgrade of its taxi rank which commenced in January 2025 and is due to reach completion in September 2025. This upgrade includes a comprehensive effort to revitalise the area currently occupied by informal trading vendors, addressing a long-standing issue related to informal trading activity. Integrating informal trading within controlled and safe spaces of mall taxi ranks benefits the businesses of the informal traders and serves as a business incubator. It also aims to manage public space allocation and regulate competition and ensure safety. A covered lockable area with well-lit walkways and facilities along with visible signage, addresses some major safety concerns that informal traders have in such areas. Mall taxi ranks play a major role in addressing such issues. The move to enhance the aesthetic appeal of the mall surroundings is a shift towards a more regulated and safe informal trading platform. Eastgate's strategy ensures that each informal trader enters into a lease agreement with the taxi rank operator and a copy of the lease will be shared with Eastgate's leasing team for oversight, to ensure fairness. This approach creates a much safer and organised environment for pedestrians and taxi commuters, as well as Eastgate shoppers. Opportunity in collaboration Collaboration with stakeholders is crucial and cannot be taken for granted. It ensures buy-in, the sharing of knowledge and seamless processes. The upgrading of taxi ranks requires collaboration with the Taxi Association, this ensures such projects are implemented in a way that aligns with the taxi industry's needs and addresses key issues such as infrastructure disparities and the integration of public transport. Eastgate's taxi rank upgrade is a strategic move, entailing an extensive scope of work that includes; an improved flow of taxis within the rank by creating a circular one-way traffic flow, designated queueing areas for boarding and elevated walkways with kerbs to clearly separate vehicle traffic from commuter walkways, covered parking where customers board the taxis, a new covered waiting area with seating available, refurbished ablution facilities and control offices, a covered informal trading area that is lockable as well as a pedestrian walkway connecting the rank to Entrance 6 of the mall. In the construction process, Eastgate had to also factor in a temporary taxi rank relocation with ablution facilities. For this to be successful, Eastgate engaged the four Taxi Associations operating at the Eastgate Taxi Rank, with whom they've had a longstanding relationship, to put in place a revised taxi rank management agreement for the future operation of the upgraded taxi rank. This will ensure both parties have a common vision for the taxi rank and that it is well maintained and sustainable. Taxi ranks should not be overlooked in property management Mall based taxi ranks are not just transport hubs, they are also centres of informal economic activity, supporting various businesses and providing employment. The integration of taxi ranks in property management initiatives is vital as a contributor to increased foot traffic and accessibility to malls. Well-designed mall taxi ranks can help alleviate road congestion and ultimately frustration, while enhancing experience and perception. Malls play a critical role in ensuring the success of any project outcomes, with stakeholder engagement being imperative to achieving this. A comprehensive approach fosters collaboration, builds trust and ultimately leads to a more successful and sustainable outcome.
