Latest news with #HomeGroup
BBC News
2 days ago
- General
- BBC News
Consett housing estate building work stops over blocked nest fears
Building work at a housing estate has been stopped after concerns it could block swifts from accessing their in the Bridgehill area of Consett, County Durham, raised the alarm on Friday amid fears potential nesting sites could have been boarded up during ongoing roofing association Home Group said it had halted the work and would take scaffolding down. Save Newcastle Wildlife, which had called for workers to down tools immediately, said the action meant the remaining swift population in the area was safe. Surveys by the campaign group in recent days found more than 19 nests and about 50 birds were also counted."Sadly, we were told by residents that some houses that had nests had already been boarded up," they Watson, a maintenance project surveyor at Home Group, said they were aware nests could be present before the start of the works and "as a result there have been no nests affected".A spokesperson added any existing scaffolding was at properties where there were no Police, which was contacted by the Save Newcastle Wildlife, said the housing association had agreed to pause the building works until added there were plans to fit bird boxes. The swifts, which are red-listed over declining global populations, arrive in the UK from Africa each said a colony had been nesting in the estate for at least 50 years. A spokesperson for Save Newcastle Wildlife said it was one of the largest in the area. "They really mean quite a lot to people," they resident said the birds reminded him of his father - with the family getting a tattoo of a swift shortly before he died."I love the swifts, the whole family does," he said."We always keep an eye out for them."He said he was worried the birds might not return to the estate."Next year is going to be a good tell tale to see how many do come back." Follow BBC North East on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
7NEWS
05-05-2025
- 7NEWS
Perth businessman Paulo Silvestro accused of assault using wheel of cheese
A prominent Perth businessman who is accused of attacking a supermarket owner with a wheel of cheese will fight the charges. Paulo Silvestro, 62, has indicated he will plead not guilty to assaulting the owners of an Italian grocer. Police were called to the Stirling IGA in March. Silvestro's family runs the well-known WA building company Home Group. His co-accused, Marco D'Agostino, has also indicated he will plead not guilty to assault. The matter will return to court in July.
BBC News
04-02-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
AJ Raffles author's Middlesbrough villa to house young homeless
The former home of a famous author is being transformed to support young people in need. Erdely Villa, in Middlesbrough, belonged to novelist Ernest Hornung, who created popular fictional character AJ Raffles the gentleman thief in who was married to the sister of fellow author and Sherlock Holmes creator Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, was born in the house in Marton Road in Council said it was being transformed into 12 self-contained flats and staff accommodation for "struggling" young, homeless people. Between 1924 and 1979, the building was used as a convent of the Holy Rood, gaining a reputation as a haunted house. From 1979, the building was used as temporary will become the home of 16- to 24-year-olds facing "serious challenges", the council said. The building, which has been empty for seven years, will be Ofsted-registered for those who are 16 and 17 and in need or care project is a partnership between housing association Home Group and the Hernandez, Home Group's director of operations, said: "The building certainly has a rich history and we're delighted to be creating a new chapter in its life."Our work at Erdely Villa is designed to support young people in developing independent living skills over a period of one to two years to assist their move on to independent housing."Hornung's Raffles and his sidekick Harry "Bunny" Manders were a comic parallel of Doyle's Sherlock Holmes and Dr Mayor Chris Cooke said: "It's great to see a building with such a varied and fascinating history take on a new and vitally important role in the life of our town."
