Latest news with #Maidenhead
BBC News
22-07-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Empty listed Maidenhead pub conversion plan rejected
A plan to use a Grade II listed pub that has been empty for more than two-and-a-half years as a house has been Bridge House, in Paley Street, near Maidenhead, shut in January 2023 but the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead (RBWM) said the applicants failed to show there was no demand for the of the building dates back to the 16th Century but it was substantially extended in the 20th Century. It was first listed in proposal to use the pub and an adjoining barn for a four-bedroom house was rejected by RBWM last week, which also rejected giving its owners listed building consent. Planning agents said five offers were submitted for the site between January 2023 and summer 2024 but no one wanted to use it as a pub.A report by real estate company Savills found the pub could not be run as a viable business "in the short, medium or longer term".RBWM said there were other issues with the application, including that it failed to show the effects the house would have ecologically and on biodiversity. You can follow BBC Berkshire on Facebook, X, or Instagram.
Times
20-07-2025
- Business
- Times
Frasers defends insolvency deals after MatchesFashion collapse
Mike Ashley's Frasers Group has defended its use of insolvency deals to buy struggling retailers, as it scours the high street for more purchases. The owner of Sports Direct, House of Fraser and Flannels has faced scrutiny over its strategy of buying distressed companies, such as MatchesFashion, and swiftly placing them into administration. Critics say putting companies into insolvency so soon after a takeover suggests a lack of genuine commitment to turn around those businesses, and is a means of asset-stripping: acquiring intellectual property while shedding liabilities such as creditor debts, stock, leases and staff. Others argue that Frasers is the only retail company trying to save failing businesses and the high street. Chris Wootton, Frasers' chief financial officer, branded criticism of its strategy as 'unfair'. He said: 'A lot of what we acquire is very, very distressed businesses that are bankrupt.' Wootton added: 'Without us saving them there has to be efficiencies found because … that's why they went into bankruptcy in the first place. 'We feel we can turn these businesses around and make them successful by bringing them into the Frasers Group ecosystem. We're very good at it and we've done it multiple, multiple times.' Ashley founded the retail empire in 1982 with a sports shop in Maidenhead. The group, which rebranded from Sports Direct to Frasers after acquiring the eponymous department store chain in 2018, now employs more than 32,000 people. Mike Ashley founded the retail group with a sports shop in Maidenhead CHRIS J. RATCLIFFE/BLOOMBERG/GETTY IMAGES Frasers has scaled up by buying troubled retailers at bargain prices, including House of Fraser, Jack Wills, Evans Cycles and Missguided. In several cases it has ended up restructuring or liquidating them soon after. The swift administration of MatchesFashion after its acquisition raised particular concern about the group's intentions. Frasers bought the Matches brand name and intellectual property for £19 million in a pre-pack deal in April last year. The transaction excluded £80 million worth of stock and the 250 remaining employees and came just a month after Matches had been placed into administration, with Frasers saying 'too much' would be required to save it. Nick Beighton, the former chief executive of Matches, called the move 'unnecessary' and insisted that the business could have been turned around. The deal drew criticism from brands, creditors and employees for both its timing and impact. Wootton defended the decision: 'Matches was a massively lossmaking business [and it] went into bankruptcy. We went in with our eyes open that it was going to be difficult to turn around and it proved to be. It wasn't like we went in with our eyes closed. We knew what would happen and ultimately we took a very quick decision to put it back into administration because we didn't feel we could, you know, turn it around successfully.' He said Frasers was 'constantly looking at where we can grow', including further acquisitions.
Telegraph
18-07-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
How Labour stands to lose out from its changes to the electoral system
SIR – When I was 16, Labour was in power. It was a time of bin men's strikes, nurses' strikes, food shortages, petrol crises, power cuts, job losses, soaring unemployment and soaring inflation. We teenagers could tell that our parents were desperately worried about money, and our own prospects looked grim. Had we been given the vote then, I know which party would not have received my support. Sir Keir Starmer's Government must be very confident about how it will perform over the next four years (' Votes at 16 as Starmer panics over Reform ', report, July 18). Deborah Tompkinson Maidenhead, Berkshire SIR – Labour's plan to extend the franchise to 16-year-olds could easily backfire and play into Reform UK's hands. If these young people were to reflect on their lot, they would realise how both Labour and Conservative policies in recent years have left them significantly worse-off than their forebears. Factors they might consider include: the effect of the bungled Covid response on secondary education, the eye-watering cost of a tertiary education of diminished value, sky-high property prices, a weakening jobs market, collapsing public services and crumbling infrastructure, poor-quality but expensive public transport, an ineffective and wasteful health service, immigration out of control, weakening social cohesion, and a social care system in disarray. Why would someone vote for any party at least partly responsible for such a catalogue of failings? The appeal of a new, non-establishment party offering a fresh approach to the next generation is clear. Sam Kendall-Marsden Huntingdon SIR – At a barbecue a while ago, I found myself in conversation with a 16-year-old. For no apparent reason, she told me that Margaret Thatcher was an evil person who had ruined the country. I asked how she had reached this view. 'My teacher told me,' she replied. I suspect Labour's latest move will, in effect, just give extra votes to the Lefties of the education unions. Tony Palframan Disley, Cheshire SIR – Sir Keir Starmer claims that the reason for giving 16-year-olds the vote is that they deserve a say over how their taxes are used. Given that young people are required to stay in some form of education or training until the age of 18, how many 16 and 17-year-olds are actually paying tax? Peter Higgins West Wickham, Kent SIR – Labour's arguably cynical decision to reduce the voting age will create fresh mental burdens for young people, arising from social media saturation by political parties and pundits. Research published last year indicated that nearly 20 per cent of British 16-to-18-year-olds felt their smartphone usage was problematic, leading to anxiety and depression. Does the Government really want to make this worse, with the inevitable bombardment of political messaging? Shouldn't these young people be allowed two years to settle into their next stage of life, without having another thing to worry about? Simon Taylor Martock, Somerset SIR – I fear that Annabel Hogan, in her excellent commentary (' Under-18s like me really don't need a say in who runs the country ', July 18), has unwittingly undermined her own argument. Her grasp of the essentials of the discourse, and the maturity of her expression, suggest that, despite being in her mid-teens, she possesses all the attributes required for competent voting. Her article provides hope that not all young people will be bought off with promises of free ice cream. Dermot Elworthy Tiverton, Devon SIR – I recall being enfranchised at the age of 18. I was still at school. I walked into the local office of my favoured party and asked the man behind the desk if he could explain why I should vote for it. He curtly asked me to leave. I cast my vote for Screaming Lord Sutch's Monster Raving Loony Party, which at the time was campaigning for greater availability of birth control on the NHS and the return of school milk. Chris Benn Grantham, Lincolnshire SIR – At 18 I voted for Anthony Eden because he was good-looking. He then took us into the Suez Crisis. Doris Grimsley Abbey Wood, Kent
BBC News
16-07-2025
- Climate
- BBC News
Berkshire farmers' concerns for crops in drought weather
A farmer who planned to harvest his crops at the end of June is hesitating due to the risk of wildfires which has delayed his work by three weeks. Colin Rayner uses combine harvesters and balers and said that when the fields are dry the machines may cause a spark which will set fire to the crops. "If the fire gets out of control it will leave my farm and get into people's houses and we have schools surrounding our fields."Another farmer George Brown is concerned about the quality of his oats and barley as he had to collect them early. Mr Rayner has been a farmer for 51 years in his family farm in Maidenhead which was established in grows barley, wheat, maize, sunflower, oilseeds rape and has some cattle and Rayner hesitated to harvest these crops which he planned on the 30 June "The risk was too great for my men and machinery and the public at wide and the fire and rescue service."The farmer had two minor fires this year and has delayed harvest till the land is less dry "luckily it didn't spread too quickly."If there is rain in the coming days Mr Rayner hopes to harvest next week which would be a three-week delay in harvest when timing is crucial for farmers. Hot and dry weather have caused farmers in Berkshire to harvest up to a month earlier than usual - having an impact on yields and quality of the Brown who grows porridge oats, spring barley and white clover on Priors Farm in Peasemore near Newbury shares the same concerns as Mr Rayner."We had a very wet winter, and it kept raining till the end of February, so planting was difficult this spring and ever since February we had almost no rain in the farm."His concern is the quality of the crops."Just the massive amount of dry weather there is concerns whether they have actually fully ripened [...] we can't really tell until we harvest it." Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue service said after the dry weather, the risk of wildfire across the country is 'substantial'. In the past few days they have responded to "a significant number of fires in the open, especially in rural areas." You can follow BBC Berkshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
The Independent
08-07-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Slavery victims cannot be ‘abandoned' over loophole concerns, says Theresa May
Victims of modern slavery cannot be 'abandoned' over fears of creating a legal loophole, Tory former prime minister Theresa May has told Parliament. The Conservative peer made the impassioned point after concerns were raised by her own frontbench that her attempt to protect those who fall prey to trafficking could be exploited by 'bad actors'. Baroness May of Maidenhead, who as home secretary introduced the Modern Slavery Act, was speaking as peers continued their detailed scrutiny of the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill, which has already cleared the Commons. Labour's flagship immigration reforms would introduce new offences and counter terror-style powers to tackle people smugglers bringing migrants across the English Channel. People selling and handling boat parts suspected of being used in migrant Channel crossings could face up to 14 years in prison and the Government wants to make it an offence to endanger another life during sea crossings to the UK. The total number of people crossing the Channel in small boats this year now stands at more than 21,000, a record for this point in the year. But Lady May was concerned trafficking victims could end up falling foul of the law by committing an immigration offence under coercion and called for 'duress of slavery' to be made a legal defence. She said: 'My concern is that in the attempt to smash the gangs, the Government may inadvertently catch up within the requirements of this Bill those who are acting not in order to make money or simply for themselves but because they have been forced to do so by their traffickers or slave drivers. They are acting under the duress of modern slavery.' Lady May added: 'It may very well be that somebody who is being brought under duress of slavery, who is being trafficked into sexual exploitation, for example, may in effect be committing an immigration crime. I believe that they should have the ability to use the fact that it was under duress of slavery as a reasonable excuse for a defence.' She told peers: 'If we are all agreed that people who have been enslaved should not be caught up by this Bill and be charged with these offences, then I urge the minister to accept that that needs to be specified on the face of the Bill.' But former archbishop of York Lord Sentamu said: 'What about a member of one of these criminal gangs that are bringing people over? They could easily say as their defence, 'I was under duress when I did what I have done'. What would be the response to such a line of defence?' Conservative shadow Home Office minister Lord Davies of Gower said: 'It is the duty of government to seek to protect those who are under duress of slavery.' But he added: 'This amendment might risk creating a considerable loophole which could be easily exploited by bad actors. This is not to say that I do not support the intent behind the amendment.' Responding, Lady May pointed out there was a mechanism in place for assessing if someone had genuinely been enslaved and trafficked into exploitation. She said: 'That should, if the process works well, weed out criminal gang members who claim such modern slavery. That addresses the loophole point Lord Davies of Gower raised.' She added: 'It is very tempting to say, as has been said to me by some colleagues, that all of this just creates loopholes. 'But I say to them that if we are genuinely concerned that slavery exists in our world today, in 2025, and that people are being brought into our country into slavery – that they are being trafficked by criminal gangs which make money out of their expectations, hopes and misery when they face exploitation and slavery – and if we feel that that is wrong, we should do something about it. 'We draw our legislation up carefully so that we do our best not to create loopholes. 'But we cannot simply say that we abandon those in slavery, or those who are being exploited, because we are worried about a loophole.' Home Office minister Lord Hanson of Flint argued protections being sought by Lady May were already covered by the Modern Slavery Act. A provision in the 2015 law 'provides a statutory defence against prosecution where an individual was compelled to commit an offence as a result of their exploitation', he said. Other changes proposed by Lady May to the legislation included ensuring the confiscated belongings of potential slavery victims were safeguarded so they may later be used to prove their status. She also called for a provision under which slavery victims coerced into acting as a guardian for children during sea crossings are not prosecuted for 'endangering another' as proposed by the Bill for people smugglers.
