Latest news with #LeightonBuzzard
Telegraph
2 days ago
- Health
- Telegraph
Grandmother died of sepsis after being misdiagnosed with stomach complaint
A grandmother died of sepsis after doctors failed to recognise signs of a urinary tract obstruction, a coroner has found. Suzanne Edwards, 71, of Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire, visited her GP on Nov 29 2024 with abdominal pain and vomiting but despite urgent blood and urine tests she was not sent to hospital. Later that day her symptoms worsened and she went to A&E at Milton Keynes University Hospital, Bucks. Her test results were indicative of systemic inflammation and dehydration but she was diagnosed with gastroenteritis and discharged. Her condition deteriorated further and the following day her family called NHS 111. She was directed to an urgent care centre and transferred to Bedford Hospital where clinicians identified a 7mm stone in her urinary tract and sepsis. She underwent emergency surgery but died later on the evening of Dec 1 from septic shock. 'Heart of our family' Stacey Edwards, her daughter, said: 'My mum was the heart of our family – full of warmth, compassion and humour. 'It's devastating to know that her death may have been avoided if the signs of sepsis had been recognised sooner.' Her family described her as 'an unbelievably kind and caring woman with a wicked sense of humour and fun'. She leaves behind husband Terence, two children and two granddaughters. Stacey said: 'When she visited her GP she was so unwell she used a wheelchair. 'After she was taken to A&E we were told it was likely gastroenteritis. She was given IV fluids and pain relief but she was still in pain and struggling. 'There was very little communication from doctors and when she was discharged we were simply told to come back if symptoms returned. 'At home, things got worse. But because she'd been examined by medical professionals we thought she just needed time to recover. 'The call we received later that evening asking us to come in urgently is something we'll never forget. 'Neither is watching her suffer in those final days.' Jewellery went missing Soon after her death Mrs Edwards' family realised her jewellery worth thousands of pounds – three necklaces and four bracelets – were missing. Stacey said: 'Mum never took off her jewellery. 'It is heartbreaking to think someone may have taken advantage of such a tragic situation.' Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust launched a full investigation and search at the time but the items were never found. Tom Osborne, the senior coroner for Milton Keynes, recorded a narrative verdict saying there was a failure to recognise the signs of a urinary tract obstruction, leading to missed opportunities to treat Mrs Edwards before sepsis developed.
BBC News
3 days ago
- BBC News
Person seriously injured after reports Leighton Buzzard stabbing
A person has been taken to hospital with serious injuries after reports of a Police said officers were called to the Hockliffe Street and Lake Street area of Leighton Buzzard at about 01:50 people had been arrested, the town's community policing team said in a post on social urged anyone with information about the incident to get in touch. Follow Beds, Herts and Bucks news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
The Sun
6 days ago
- Automotive
- The Sun
The new Vauxhall electric Mokka GSE has some serious rally vibes… and it's closely related to speedy GTI
LAST month at Le Mans, Peugeot wheeled out an electric 208 GTI in front of tens of thousands of race fans. This week in a studio in Leighton Buzzard, Vauxhall unveiled the electric Mokka GSE in front of six people – and five of them work for Vauxhall. The other person was me. 3 3 Not quite as glamorous. Or as spendy. But at least the coffee was free. The reason I'm telling you this is because GTI and GSE are very closely related. Different tracksuits. But the same go-faster pants underneath. Both are front-wheel drive with a 280hp e-motor and a limited-slip differential. So they'll be nippy and grippy. The regular Mokka Electric is 156hp. Both have specially-tuned suspension with a rear anti-roll bar for sharper handling. Both have beefy brakes. They'll need them. I reckon Vauxhall will try to keep prices a few quid below £37k to qualify for the Government's new electric car grant. We'll see. As for looks, Vauxhall has given Mokka GSE some serious rally vibes with lots of yellow detailing, Alcantara seats, GSE badging and more. The steering wheel is flattened top and bottom. Performance data flashes up on the central touchscreen. The pedals are aluminium. It rolls on 20in aero wheels. Vauxhall Mokka hybrid is a smarter, greener & better equipped version of old motor… but small detail really lets it down Expect Corsa to get the GSE treatment, too. Only the EV, not Corsa petrol. GSE stands for Grand Sport Electric. Vauxhall boss Steve Catlin said: 'Mokka GSE is made to be exciting to drive and brings motorsport energy to the streets.' The streets of Leighton Buzzard and beyond. 3
Daily Mail
20-07-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE How Labour is 'taxing the high street into bankruptcy': Family-run pubs, bakeries and shops are hit with sneaky 200% hikes in business rates
Labour was today accused of 'taxing the high street into bankruptcy' through their punishing 'stealth' levy on small firms. Since Rachel Reeves quietly reduced much–needed reliefs last autumn, family–run pubs, bakeries and restaurants have been battered a rise in business rates. Startling figures recorded by one council reveal an independent pub was stung by a 226 per cent hike in fees, costing them almost £17,000 for one year. Meanwhile, supermarkets escaped with rises of as little as one per cent in business rates, which are similar to council tax for non–domestic properties. Although MailOnline has only obtained business rate rises for Central Bedfordshire Council (CBC) – an area that covers Leighton Buzzard, Dunstable and Biggleswade, experts warn the situation will be mirrored up and down the country. Cllr John Baker, who controls the pursestrings at CBC, said: 'The government seems totally incapable of controlling public spending, clobbering business to fund its profligate behaviour. 'If the Chancellor is serious about improving the poor economic climate, reversing those outrageous hikes in business rates and allowing businesses to hire more people would be a sensible first step.' Department stores and supermarkets are also in the firing line in the Chancellor's next Budget. In hope of clawing back billions, Ms Reeves is expected to increase business rates for bigger firms – despite warnings it will only accelerate the decline of the high street and lead to price rises. In last autumn's budget, Ms Reeves boasted that she was extending business rates reliefs for retail, hospitality, and leisure. But she actually reduced the Covid-era discount from 75 to 40 per cent – capped at £110,000 across an entire business. Smaller businesses are typically the biggest beneficiaries because they have fewer locations to spread this discount across. During the same budget, branded a 'disaster' by critics, Ms Reeves hiked employer National Insurance contributions and cut the threshold at which firms become liable to pay them. The minimum wage also rose to £12.21 an hour. The Federation of Small Businesses warned the triple whammy posed 'an existential threat to the future of the high street'. Paul Wilson, the FSB's policy chief, told MailOnline the 40 per cent relief was 'scant consolation for a squeezed business owners trying to find thousands of pounds'. He said businesses couldn't fight back by hiking their own prices because customers 'can only afford so much'. Job cuts and shorter opening hours – caused by businesses trying to claw back cash – risked handing bigger players an even greater advantage, Mr Wilson claimed. He said: 'The feedback were are hearing is that businesses are having to take those difficult decisions to scale back. High street businesses are questioning whether they can genuinely afford to keep competing with online.' The FSB's latest survey showed a record 41 per cent of small businesses now believe the tax burden is a top three barrier to growth. In Bedfordshire, local pubs and restaurants have seen their rates more than double. Data provided by Cllr Baker shows this costs businesses as much as £25,000 a year – more than a minimum wage full–time workers' annual salary. Award–winning pub, the Black Lion, on Leighton Buzzard High Street, was hit with a 226 per cent rise (£16,900) in its rates, from around £7,400 to £24,300. By contrast, many big supermarkets such as Tesco, Asda and Sainsbury's saw their rates raise by less than two per cent. Other firms have seen even bigger jump proportionally, including upmarket eatery Eileen's by Steve Barringer – a MasterChef: The Professionals finalist – where rates have shot up 260 per cent, from £300 to £1,080. What are business rates and who has to pay? Business rates are charged on most non-domestic properties, including shops, offices, pubs, warehouses, factories and holiday rental homes or guest houses. Rates are calculated by the Valuation Office Agency, part of HM Revenues and Customs, based on the cost of renting the business premises for a year, currently from April 2021. A rates 'multiplier' is then used to come to the final amount. This number has risen from about 34p in the pound in 1990 to 54.6p today for premises with a rateable value more than £51,000 or 49.9p for if it is less. Certain properties are exempt from business rates, for example farm buildings or places used for the welfare of disabled people. Other firms are entitled to discounts based on the nature and size of their business, for example, independent pubs and shops are likely to be eligible for at least one relief. Our analysis suggested that, on average, independent food and drink venues saw a 120 per cent rise in business rates, compared to an average of just one per cent for bigger firms. We have defined independent businesses as any which receives a relief designed to help what many would consider small or independent local firms. This is wider than just the businesses that get 'small business rates relief', which only applies to property with a rateable value of less than £15,000 and if the business has only one premise. Husband and wife Anthony and Anne Smith, who have owned and run two framing shops in Bedfordshire for the past 40 years, have been hit by a 150 per cent rise in their business rates. It will cost them more than £5,500 extra a year. Allframe, which employs half a dozen staff across the Leighton Buzzard and Dunstable sites, will likely have to raise their prices more than expected to cope, despite fears this could disrupt sales. Mr Smith told MailOnline: 'The problem you've got in any business when you get price increases is that you have to absorb the increase or put prices up. 'We've tried not to put our prices up as we're a luxury business. 'People need to go to to Tesco and Aldi to put food on the table... but don't need to get their pictures framed professionally.' The picture framer added that rates rises will 'ultimately go into it when we reevaluate prices'. Mr Smith added: 'Five thousands pounds is a lot to come off your bottom line in one fell swoop, when it's something you weren't expecting.' 'It will mean our prices go up more than we would have liked them to. It's going to impact on our profitability.' 'I think there's a general feeling that it's always small and medium businesses that that get hit,' Steve Watkins, cabinet member for business at Central Bedfordshire Council told MailOnline. 'These businesses have struggled since the pandemic and have not been able to get back to where they were before. 'The Government should target the big players in the market, rather than smaller businesses. Where's the huge tax increases on Starbucks and Amazon? 'If they want to regenerate town centres they are going about it the wrong way by making it harder for small businesses to survive.' He said the added costs are making it 'harder then ever' for small business owners, who are already facing skyrocketing rents, energy bills and wage bills, adding that they were at 'the end of their tether'. In Labour's manifesto, the PM pledged to replace business rates – which he said 'disincentivises investment, creates uncertainty and places an undue burden on our high streets' – with a new system. Business rates are calculated based on multiplying the 'rateable value' – an estimate of the annual rent in April 2021 prices – by a multiplier of 49.9p for the smallest of businesses, and 55.5p for all others. The Government announced last year it will permanently introduce a lower multiplier for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses with a rateable value of less than £500,000. The multiplier value is yet to be announced. Cllr Watkins accused Sir Keir of 'not being upfront with people' over the reduction in the rates relief, saying the announcement was the 'politics of spin'. He said the rates were a 'stealth tax' on business and were not as 'generous' as the Government claims, adding they 'absolutely have the possibility of taxing high streets and small businesses into bankruptcy'. Cllr Watkins added that if the direction of travel continues, it was hard to see how local businesses will still be around in a few years time, leading to an 'increasingly soulless high street'. 'If this is the first step to reforming, I dread to see what the next steps will be, as these ones have gone down like a cup of cold sick,' he added. 'Technocratic governments are big on five to ten year plans, but these businesses need plans now. 'The proof will be in the pudding... but the fact that they've not been upfront so far suggests we need to dig beneath the surface before I start clapping my hands.' A Government spokesman told MailOnline: 'Our reform to the business rates system will create a fairer business rates system that protects the high street, supports investment, and levels the playing field. 'A new, permanently lower business rates in 2026 will benefit over 280,000 retail, hospitality and leisure business properties and will be sustainably funded by a new, higher rate on the 1% of most valuable business properties.'
BBC News
02-07-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Work progresses on £30m leisure hub in Leighton Buzzard
Work is progressing on a new leisure and community centre that is billed as offering modern sports, fitness, and other facilities for local centre in Leighton Buzzard is due to open in summer 2026 and represents an investment of more than £30m by Central Bedfordshire council said the Leighton Leisure and Community Centre would "provide up-to-date leisure facilities for the surrounding area".The existing Tiddenfoot Leisure Centre would remain open until the new facility was ready. The sports hall and squash courts linked to Cedars Upper School would continue to be available for community use. Located to the north of Clipstone Brook, the plans include an eight-lane, 25-metre pool with spectator seating and learner pool which would measure a 17x10 metres and have a depth-adjustable floor for swimming lessons.A separate shallow pool, called 2confidence water", would be available for very young centre also features a 150-station gym, two squash courts, a spinning studio, and two multi-use exercise and support spaces will include a foyer and reception area, a large cafe open to both centre users and the public, flexible community rooms, and a dedicated will also be two Changing Places facilities for disabled visitors, a serving hatch from the cafe to the outside for pitch users, and additional changing facilities for those using the adjacent outdoor sports walking and cycling routes, planned as part of the Clipstone Park development, will connect the centre to other parts of Watkins, executive member for leisure at the council, said: "It's great that work is under way."The Leighton Leisure and Community Centre will be yet another great addition to our already brilliant leisure offering across Central Bedfordshire, and I look forward to attending the opening next year." Follow Beds, Herts and Bucks news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
