Latest news with #Redevelopment
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Horse racing ends in Surrey as city reclaims Fraser Downs land for redevelopment
Horse racing at Fraser Downs in Surrey, B.C. has come to an end after nearly 50 years, as the city moves to redevelop the land for housing and other public amenities. Great Canadian Entertainment, which owns and operates the track, said Friday the closure takes effect immediately though the adjacent Elements Casino Surrey will remain open. The decision follows notice from the City of Surrey, which owns the Cloverdale Fairgrounds where the racetrack is located, that it is terminating the lease. Mayor Brenda Locke says the land, which occupies about five hectares of the Fairgrounds, will be folded into the city's broader redevelopment plans for Cloverdale Fairgrounds, which include new housing, a $3 billion hospital, public spaces, cultural facilities and expanded recreation amenities. "Our city is growing rapidly toward one million residents," she said in a statement to CBC News. "Ending the lease with Fraser Downs allows us to begin critical planning to revitalize the Cloverdale Fairgrounds and Town Centre…this is a city-building decision about using public land for the greatest public good." The Fraser Downs is one of two horse racing tracks in B.C., and the only racetrack for standardbred horses. WATCH | Rat infestation shuts down popular Surrey horse racetrack: It opened in 1976 as Cloverdale Raceway and was rebranded in 1996. "We respect the long history of horse racing in Surrey and the people connected to it," Locke said. "We carefully weighed those impacts against the city-wide benefits of revitalization." The announcement comes months after Great Canadian Entertainment ordered the stables closed to address a longstanding rat infestation at the site. Horse owners and trainers said the facility was unique in Metro Vancouver and critical for housing and training animals ahead of the fall racing season. At the time, Harness Racing B.C. said the closure would affect about 218 members, including up to 100 people employed during racing season. The organization launched a legal challenge against the closure but lost after the B.C. Supreme Court ruled in May that the temporary closure to address the infestation did not constitute "irreparable harm" to the industry. No horses have been stabled at Fraser Downs since late May.
CBS News
6 days ago
- Business
- CBS News
Baltimore Orioles, Maryland have not started negotiations on development around Camden Yards
The Baltimore Orioles and the state of Maryland have not yet started talks on redeveloping the area around Camden Yards. WJZ's media partner, The Baltimore Banner, reports that no progress has been made on negotiations under new owner David Rubenstein. The state and former Orioles owner John Angelos signed an extension on the current lease in 2023, which started the clock on a four-year window for the team and state to reach a deal on building around the ballpark. Through the lease agreement, the Orioles were awarded $600 in state bonds to improve the baseball stadium and the surrounding area. The Orioles were also given access to conduct inspections and site evaluations to move forward with creating a redevelopment plan, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore's Office told the Banner. The governor's office also said that the Orioles have not yet submitted their redevelopment plans. "Since then, the team has not submitted a redevelopment plan, but the Maryland Stadium Authority and the Moore-Miller administration stand ready to begin engaging with the Orioles regarding their vision for redevelopment for the Camden Yards complex," the governor's office said in a statement to the Banner. In December 2023, the Baltimore Orioles and the Maryland Stadium Authority agreed on a long-term lease deal to keep the Orioles at Camden Yards. The length of the term hinges on whether the Orioles get the necessary approvals to redevelop land around the ballpark. It is an issue they must resolve by the end of 2027. If the redevelopment proposals go through, the lease would last for 30 years, and the team would have the option to extend it beyond that. You can read more here. "This is a very large and complex deal. We're talking about a deal that is a multi-decade deal keeping one of the most storied franchises in all of sports in the city of Baltimore," Gov. Wes Moore said at the time. "We were just very consistent. …We knew this was not going to be something that was going to be bulldozed through. You had to work in partnership to get this done, and that is what our team committed to."
BBC News
08-08-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Shepherd's Bush Market could be made into a community asset
A bid to list Shepherd's Bush Market as an asset of community value has been submitted by campaigners concerned about its future. Friends of Shepherd's Bush Market filed the application to "protect" the site a year after redevelopment plans were approved, said the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).The group believes owner Yoo Capital wants to sell the west London site once work is complete and that an asset of community value (ACV) status would be a step towards community ownership and would safeguard the market's Yoo Capital said the site was not for sale and the scheme offered the market and traders "the best chance of future success". Yoo Capital's plans for the market, which runs between Goldhawk Road and Uxbridge Road, include new stalls, 40 council homes on adjoining Old Laundry Yard, and a nine-storey commercial and Fulham Council's planning committee approved the proposal in December raised concerns over support being promised to traders, leases they would be offered and increasing summer City Hall announced it would not call in the application and it was granted conditional final approval in August. 'Heart of our community' Group spokesman Jake Simms dubbed the market the "heart of our community".He said: "Yoo Capital's plans would destroy the market's social value - displacing traders, pricing out locals, and eroding the market's diversity - all for the sake of lining their investors pockets."The market needs investment, but this must be led by the community."If Hammersmith and Fulham Council grant the ACV, the community would be given priority for five years if the site is put up for sale. Shepherd's Bush Market Tenants' Association said its members were "fully supportive of the development by Yoo Capital".It said Friends of Shepherd's Bush Market was trying frustrate the process of moving forward. The market, it added, would cost millions of pounds to buy."Where would the Friends get that money?" a spokesperson Capital's managing director Andrew Thorpe said: "Our plans offer the market and its traders the best chance of future success and we look forward to starting works early next year."
The Journal
07-06-2025
- Politics
- The Journal
Threat of industrial action in secondary schools as ASTI rejects Leaving Cert reform package
THE ASSOCIATION OF Secondary Teachers in Ireland have rejected measures aimed at enabling Leaving Cert reforms, and voted in favour of industrial action. ASTI members voted to reject the Senior Cycle Redevelopment – Implementation Support Measures' by 68% to 32%. The turnout was 73%. The reforms, which are due to be implemented this September, propose allocating a minimum of 40% of Leaving Cert marks to project work or practicals across all subjects in an effort to provide a more comprehensive evaluation of student's skills. But teachers have voiced concerns about how the moves will affect the way students are assessed and marked, especially in the context of the risk of students using artificial intelligence to complete assignments. In a separate ballot, the union voted by 67% to 33% in favour of industrial action, 'up to and including strike action', in opposition to the accelerated implementation of the Leaving Cert reforms. The union said the outcome points to 'a lack of confidence in the accelerated Senior Cycle Redevelopment Programme as it is currently constituted'. ASTI General Secretary Kieran Christie said the support measures on offer 'do little to provide a Senior Cycle experience for all students that addresses the core inequalities that are in place in the second-level system'. Advertisement He said ASTI research published this year shows that a key concern 'is the lack of resources and capacity in schools to introduce such radical change in an effective manner', along with developments in AI and insufficient teacher training in some subject areas. 'The support package available from the Department fails to sufficiently address these concerns,' he added. The ASTI said it will continue to be available to engage with the Minister for Education and her Department 'in relation to how these and other significant concerns can be addressed'. In a statement, Education Minister Helen McEntee said the support measures on offer followed 'positive engagement' between the Department and the ASTI, as well as the Teachers Union of Ireland (TUI). Last week, TUI members voted by 73% to 27% to accept the supports package. The Department said that it will seek to engage with the TUI leadership in the coming days as it proceeds to implement the support measures. McEntee said ASTI members have committed to cooperating with Senior Cycle Redevelopment and had confirmed to Department officials that their members will teach the new and revised specifications from the next school year. She also said that the vote 'will not affect the implementation of targeted supports for students contained in the package'. 'As I confirmed in April, the implementation of the programme will continue with the introduction of the first tranche of new and revised Leaving Certificate subjects in September 2025 as previously announced. 'The package of additional supports contains a number of significant measures aimed at supporting students directly. I am absolutely committed to delivering on those measures as we proceed with implementation of this programme.' Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal
Irish Independent
13-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Independent
Teachers warned that pay hikes will be clawed back if Leaving Cert reform is blocked
A Department of Education letter to secondary teacher unions reminded them that payment of increases due under current and future wage deals depend on them backing reforms. It said it reserved the right to seek a pause or clawback of pay rises in the event of industrial action or 'non-compliance' with a Senior Cycle Redevelopment plan. The letter said payment of pay rises worth 1pc under this deal and 2pc under the next, under a special local bargaining clause, are subject to compliance with the deal. It also says 'outstanding payments' due under the pay deal, which are separate to the local bargaining pay rises, are subject to their compliance. These outstanding payments include three pay rises worth 3pc that are due to all 400,000 public servants under the deal. They include a 1pc pay rise on August 1, a 1pc pay rise on February 1 next year and another 1pc in June 2026. The TUI has recommended that its members accept the reform package but the ASTI is not issuing a recommendation to its members on how they should vote. Students will be awarded a minimum of 40pc of their marks for project or practical work under the reforms that are designed to ease exam pressure on students. 'It should be clearly understood that the benefits of this agreement are dependent on parties to it approving the agreement and complying with it,' said the letter sent on May 8. 'The payment of the 1pc and 2pc element of local bargaining are subject to this agreement being complied with for the duration of the Senior Cycle Redevelopment Programme. 'The department reserves the right to seek a pause or clawback of these increases in the event of industrial action or other non-compliance in the future in respect of Senior Cycle Redevelopment, through the appropriate Public Service Agreement structures. 'The outstanding payments due under the Public Service Agreement 2024 to 2026 are subject to compliance with the PSA, including commitments relating to supporting, and co-operating with, Senior Cycle Redevelopment.' However, the department said if cooperation ceases at any stage, it t will refer the dispute to dispute resolution mechanisms that are part of the deal. The letter from Dalton Tatton, assistant secretary general, said the department considers a document it sent the ASTI and TUI as 'a full and final offer' in relation to support measures for this phase of Leaving Cert redevelopment. Among measures to support the rollout of the reforms, the letter referred to revised arrangements for teachers securing permanent contracts and a 'reconfiguration' of extra hours being worked. The development of a 'right to disconnect' policy is also mentioned, along with working groups to monitor a programme that relates to AI. Kieran Christie, general secretary of the ASTI, said the union's ballot will end in June. 'We're balloting our members and bringing the full facts to their attention without a recommendation,' he said. 'We are mindful and our members are mindful of their obligations under the agreement.' He said the union sees the letter in the 'context of normal engagement in bargaining and industrial relations'. He said the ASTI has been aware of the potential penalties since its members accepted the public sector pay deal and the letter is a 'further elaboration on that'. It is understood that there is a feeling among a portion of members of the unions that the reforms were rushed and will involve an excessive workload. Sources said there are also concerns around the use of AI and authenticating projects.
