Latest news with #Scarborough-based
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Why is fuel in my town 10p more than the towns next door?
Fuel prices can be affected by a variety of factors from global conflicts to the cost of a barrel of crude oil, but in parts of North Yorkshire a 30-minute drive can see the cost of a litre drop by up to 11p. Now motorists in Scarborough, who say they are routinely paying more than those in nearby Whitby, Malton and Pickering, have backed calls for retailers in the town to bring their prices in line with the rest of the county. Scarborough-based driving instructor Nigel Brown says he can cover about 3,000 miles (4,800km) each month and spend more than £100 a week on petrol. But he says he rarely stops at petrol stations in the town due to the cost. Earlier this week at the Sainsbury's petrol station in Scarborough a litre of unleaded was priced at 134.9p and a litre of diesel was 143.9p. Yet, less than 20miles (32km) away at the same supermarket's forecourt in Whitby unleaded was selling for 126.9p a litre and diesel 132.9p. Similarly other retailers prices outside of Scarborough are also notably cheaper. "I work all around, in Malton, Driffield and Pickering, and it's at least 10p dearer in Scarborough than all of those places," the My Four Wheels driving instructor says. "I tend to save mine and get it further afield, especially when I'm in Malton doing lessons. "I know it's not a massive difference, but the extra miles you get makes all the difference. "If they can bring all the petrol prices in line, there's no reason why they can't have Scarborough the same as Bridlington and Whitby, they're all interlinked. "Whitby is also a tourist place but their prices are a lot lower." He says he thinks the higher price also impacts on the cost of driving lessons in the area, which is about £35 an hour. Fellow driving instructors Iain and Lynne Hall who operate Hall Driving School in Scarborough say they had noticed fuel costs were steeper in the town after visiting other North Yorkshire villages and making a trip to Liverpool. "I don't understand why one coastal town would be more expensive than another coastal town, it seems bizarre," Mrs Hall says. "I haven't a clue why it is, I know they all compete with each other, but I don't know how they set the prices," Mr Hall adds. The couple recently decided to make the switch to electric cars, citing fuel costs as part of the reason. "We didn't realise until we'd gone electric how much difference there would be," Mr Hall says. "Regarding regional variations with fuel, there doesn't seem to be a variation with electric. "It doesn't matter where we are in the country, the price stays the same whether we charge here or charge up the road." As they are retired and only work part-time, each estimate they drive about 200 miles (320km) a week. "I worked out recently how much we'd saved based on petrol prices and it's about £2,000 a year in fuel," Mr Hall adds. "It's a huge amount, it's made a big difference." A Sainsburys spokesperson said the supermarket prices fuel locally and always aims to be competitive. However, neither Sainsburys nor the Petrol Retailers Association were able to explain the reason for the gap in prices in North Yorkshire. Simon Williams, head of policy at the RAC, said that despite asking this question for years, it was still veiled in mystery. "Sometimes it can be because an area is more affluent than another area but sometimes it can be just that there isn't a presence of a lower cost retailer," he said. "Everyone pays the same wholesale price, albeit at a slightly different time, depending on when they're buying. "The supermarkets buy the most fuel because they sell the most fuel, so they have the ability to reflect wholesale changes up or down far more quickly than small independent retailers who tend only to buy new stock every couple of weeks." According to the RAC, the Competition and Markets Authority found that major retailers overcharged drivers by £900m in 2022 and in 2023, while across the board retailers were deemed to have overcharged by £1.6bn. The RAC has called for all retailers to lower their pump prices to reflect wholesale prices. Meanwhile, Luke Bodset from the AA said the problem was a "long-running gripe" with motorists known in the industry as the "pump-price postcode lottery". "The focus has been primarily on supermarkets: why, when eggs, bread, etc are the same price wherever you go, is road fuel not treated similarly?" he said. "The 'reasons' given by the retailers are [that] pump prices are set locally – forecourts within an area will compare their prices with those of nearby rivals and set them accordingly. "And so, unless one forecourt budges on price, the others don't see a need to move." He said that competitive fuel stations were hard to find unless you live locally to them, but hoped that would change with a new government scheme. Expected to come in early next year, the fuel finder project will require every forecourt to register its pump prices with a central database so people can compare prices. "It is expected that the transparency will not only direct drivers to the cheap fuel stations, without having to come across them by chance, but also spur competition," Mr Bodset said. "Those retailers who keep their prices high will see customers drawn away to the cheaper ones and be pressured to bring down theirs in turn." Listen to highlights from North Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North. RAC The AA Drivers paying more than they should for fuel, says watchdog
BBC News
05-05-2025
- Automotive
- BBC News
Scarborough petrol prices: Why is fuel more up to 10p more expensive in the town?
Fuel prices can be affected by a variety of factors from global conflicts to the cost of a barrel of crude oil, but in parts of North Yorkshire a 30-minute drive can see the cost of a litre drop by up to motorists in Scarborough, who say they are routinely paying more than those in nearby Whitby, Malton and Pickering, have backed calls for retailers in the town to bring their prices in line with the rest of the county. Scarborough-based driving instructor Nigel Brown says he can cover about 3,000 miles (4,800km) each month and spend more than £100 a week on he says he rarely stops at petrol stations in the town due to the this week at the Sainsbury's petrol station in Scarborough a litre of unleaded was priced at 134.9p and a litre of diesel was less than 20miles (32km) away at the same supermarket's forecourt in Whitby unleaded was selling for 126.9p a litre and diesel other retailers prices outside of Scarborough are also notably cheaper. "I work all around, in Malton, Driffield and Pickering, and it's at least 10p dearer in Scarborough than all of those places," the My Four Wheels driving instructor says."I tend to save mine and get it further afield, especially when I'm in Malton doing lessons."I know it's not a massive difference, but the extra miles you get makes all the difference."If they can bring all the petrol prices in line, there's no reason why they can't have Scarborough the same as Bridlington and Whitby, they're all interlinked."Whitby is also a tourist place but their prices are a lot lower."He says he thinks the higher price also impacts on the cost of driving lessons in the area, which is about £35 an hour. Fellow driving instructors Iain and Lynne Hall who operate Hall Driving School in Scarborough say they had noticed fuel costs were steeper in the town after visiting other North Yorkshire villages and making a trip to Liverpool."I don't understand why one coastal town would be more expensive than another coastal town, it seems bizarre," Mrs Hall says."I haven't a clue why it is, I know they all compete with each other, but I don't know how they set the prices," Mr Hall couple recently decided to make the switch to electric cars, citing fuel costs as part of the reason."We didn't realise until we'd gone electric how much difference there would be," Mr Hall says."Regarding regional variations with fuel, there doesn't seem to be a variation with electric. "It doesn't matter where we are in the country, the price stays the same whether we charge here or charge up the road."As they are retired and only work part-time, each estimate they drive about 200 miles (320km) a week."I worked out recently how much we'd saved based on petrol prices and it's about £2,000 a year in fuel," Mr Hall adds."It's a huge amount, it's made a big difference." A Sainsburys spokesperson said the supermarket prices fuel locally and always aims to be neither Sainsburys nor the Petrol Retailers Association were able to explain the reason for the gap in prices in North Williams, head of policy at the RAC, said that despite asking this question for years, it was still veiled in mystery."Sometimes it can be because an area is more affluent than another area but sometimes it can be just that there isn't a presence of a lower cost retailer," he said."Everyone pays the same wholesale price, albeit at a slightly different time, depending on when they're buying. "The supermarkets buy the most fuel because they sell the most fuel, so they have the ability to reflect wholesale changes up or down far more quickly than small independent retailers who tend only to buy new stock every couple of weeks."According to the RAC, the Competition and Markets Authority found that major retailers overcharged drivers by £900m in 2022 and in 2023, while across the board retailers were deemed to have overcharged by £ RAC has called for all retailers to lower their pump prices to reflect wholesale prices. Meanwhile, Luke Bodset from the AA said the problem was a "long-running gripe" with motorists known in the industry as the "pump-price postcode lottery". "The focus has been primarily on supermarkets: why, when eggs, bread, etc are the same price wherever you go, is road fuel not treated similarly?" he said."The 'reasons' given by the retailers are [that] pump prices are set locally – forecourts within an area will compare their prices with those of nearby rivals and set them accordingly. "And so, unless one forecourt budges on price, the others don't see a need to move."He said that competitive fuel stations were hard to find unless you live locally to them, but hoped that would change with a new government scheme. Expected to come in early next year, the fuel finder project will require every forecourt to register its pump prices with a central database so people can compare prices."It is expected that the transparency will not only direct drivers to the cheap fuel stations, without having to come across them by chance, but also spur competition," Mr Bodset said. "Those retailers who keep their prices high will see customers drawn away to the cheaper ones and be pressured to bring down theirs in turn." Listen to highlights from North Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Why is fuel in my town 10p more than the towns next door?
Fuel prices can be affected by a variety of factors from global conflicts to the cost of a barrel of crude oil, but in parts of North Yorkshire a 30-minute drive can see the cost of a litre drop by up to 11p. Now motorists in Scarborough, who say they are routinely paying more than those in nearby Whitby, Malton and Pickering, have backed calls for retailers in the town to bring their prices in line with the rest of the county. Scarborough-based driving instructor Nigel Brown says he can cover about 3,000 miles (4,800km) each month and spend more than £100 a week on petrol. But he says he rarely stops at petrol stations in the town due to the cost. Earlier this week at the Sainsbury's petrol station in Scarborough a litre of unleaded was priced at 134.9p and a litre of diesel was 143.9p. Yet, less than 20miles (32km) away at the same supermarket's forecourt in Whitby unleaded was selling for 126.9p a litre and diesel 132.9p. Similarly other retailers prices outside of Scarborough are also notably cheaper. "I work all around, in Malton, Driffield and Pickering, and it's at least 10p dearer in Scarborough than all of those places," the My Four Wheels driving instructor says. "I tend to save mine and get it further afield, especially when I'm in Malton doing lessons. "I know it's not a massive difference, but the extra miles you get makes all the difference. "If they can bring all the petrol prices in line, there's no reason why they can't have Scarborough the same as Bridlington and Whitby, they're all interlinked. "Whitby is also a tourist place but their prices are a lot lower." He says he thinks the higher price also impacts on the cost of driving lessons in the area, which is about £35 an hour. Fellow driving instructors Iain and Lynne Hall who operate Hall Driving School in Scarborough say they had noticed fuel costs were steeper in the town after visiting other North Yorkshire villages and making a trip to Liverpool. "I don't understand why one coastal town would be more expensive than another coastal town, it seems bizarre," Mrs Hall says. "I haven't a clue why it is, I know they all compete with each other, but I don't know how they set the prices," Mr Hall adds. The couple recently decided to make the switch to electric cars, citing fuel costs as part of the reason. "We didn't realise until we'd gone electric how much difference there would be," Mr Hall says. "Regarding regional variations with fuel, there doesn't seem to be a variation with electric. "It doesn't matter where we are in the country, the price stays the same whether we charge here or charge up the road." As they are retired and only work part-time, each estimate they drive about 200 miles (320km) a week. "I worked out recently how much we'd saved based on petrol prices and it's about £2,000 a year in fuel," Mr Hall adds. "It's a huge amount, it's made a big difference." A Sainsburys spokesperson said the supermarket prices fuel locally and always aims to be competitive. However, neither Sainsburys nor the Petrol Retailers Association were able to explain the reason for the gap in prices in North Yorkshire. Simon Williams, head of policy at the RAC, said that despite asking this question for years, it was still veiled in mystery. "Sometimes it can be because an area is more affluent than another area but sometimes it can be just that there isn't a presence of a lower cost retailer," he said. "Everyone pays the same wholesale price, albeit at a slightly different time, depending on when they're buying. "The supermarkets buy the most fuel because they sell the most fuel, so they have the ability to reflect wholesale changes up or down far more quickly than small independent retailers who tend only to buy new stock every couple of weeks." According to the RAC, the Competition and Markets Authority found that major retailers overcharged drivers by £900m in 2022 and in 2023, while across the board retailers were deemed to have overcharged by £1.6bn. The RAC has called for all retailers to lower their pump prices to reflect wholesale prices. Meanwhile, Luke Bodset from the AA said the problem was a "long-running gripe" with motorists known in the industry as the "pump-price postcode lottery". "The focus has been primarily on supermarkets: why, when eggs, bread, etc are the same price wherever you go, is road fuel not treated similarly?" he said. "The 'reasons' given by the retailers are [that] pump prices are set locally – forecourts within an area will compare their prices with those of nearby rivals and set them accordingly. "And so, unless one forecourt budges on price, the others don't see a need to move." He said that competitive fuel stations were hard to find unless you live locally to them, but hoped that would change with a new government scheme. Expected to come in early next year, the fuel finder project will require every forecourt to register its pump prices with a central database so people can compare prices. "It is expected that the transparency will not only direct drivers to the cheap fuel stations, without having to come across them by chance, but also spur competition," Mr Bodset said. "Those retailers who keep their prices high will see customers drawn away to the cheaper ones and be pressured to bring down theirs in turn." Listen to highlights from North Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North. RAC The AA Drivers paying more than they should for fuel, says watchdog
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Portland City Council hits pause on music venue moratorium
Apr. 28—The Portland City Council voted Monday to refer a proposed moratorium on new theater and live music developments larger than 2,000 seats to the Sustainability and Transportation Committee. The decision, which came in a nearly unanimous vote at the council's meeting Monday night, means an order proposing the six-month moratorium will be revisited at the May 19 meeting, at the soonest. That should give the committee time to answer underlying questions about the potential impact of live venues and new parking on traffic and road safety. At-large Councilor Benjamin Grant initially motioned for the moratorium to be simply postponed and revisited at the May 19 meeting, but he later altered the motion to instead refer the issue to the committee, which next meets on May 14. "I don't think we are ready for this question right now," Grant said. "There's been a lot of motion, a lot of activity, but not a lot of progress addressing some of the key issues." Though Grant agreed that additional questions need to be answered before new projects can move forward, he argued that a moratorium was the wrong tool for the job. Councilor Wes Pelletier, who proposed the moratorium along with Councilor Anna Bullet, cast the sole vote against referring the moratorium. He and Bullett had originally sought a full vote Monday. "I'd have preferred that we'd created a more substantive period in which we could evaluate the city's ordinances and land use code to make sure we're planning our city center wisely," Pelletier said in a text message. "But I'm hopeful the Sustainability and Transportation Committee will come back with a strong course of action." Dozens who had filled the council chambers, including members of the public and developers, filtered out of the room following the vote. Many who had come to offer public comment mumbled frustrations as they shuffled out. At its May meeting, the transportation committee will consider questions surrounding parking and congestion related to live events. The moratorium, as currently drafted, would stretch into the fall unless the city first implements new rules related to permitting and zoning for large event spaces and concert halls. In the meantime, "no permit applications for any new theaters or performance halls with a capacity exceeding 2000 people shall be accepted, processed, reviewed, or approved," according to the moratorium order. Pelletier, who represents District 2, and Bullett, who represents District 4, proposed the moratorium this month. It would directly impact a controversial plan to build a new venue at 244 Cumberland Ave. — tentatively called the Portland Music Hall — though it does not explicitly name the project. Pelletier has previously told the Press Herald the moratorium was not targeted at that single application. LIVE NATION PROPOSAL AT CENTER Mile Marker Investments, a Scarborough-based developer, partnered with Live Nation to propose the new venue, which would be about a block from the roughly 1,900-seat Merrill Auditorium. Despite public pushback, the companies have maintained that the music hall would fill a middle-ground niche between smaller auditoriums, like Merrill and the State Theatre, and larger spaces like Thompson's Point, which can fit about 6,000 for an outdoor show. By filling that gap, the music hall could attract acts that may otherwise be simultaneously too big and too small to book Portland's existing venues, the developers have said. But frustrated neighbors, including residents and other businesses, have charged that the relatively large venue and its central placement near several existing event spaces could choke local traffic and create hazardous conditions for pedestrians and cyclists during busy nights. In written comments submitted ahead of Monday's meeting, locals expressed concern with the pace of development, the size of the proposed space and broad distaste toward Live Nation, a live music corporation that owns venues and operates ticketing services across the country, among other activities. The company is currently involved in an antitrust lawsuit for what the Justice Department last year called "unlawful conduct that thwarts competition." The order for the moratorium noted that the city's land use code does not require any spatial buffer between large theaters and performance spaces, "which should be considered to protect public safety and ensure that these venues are not clustered and do not overburden public infrastructure." It applies to all applications submitted after Dec. 1, 2024 — less than three weeks before the proposed venue's application was filed. The order also requires the council's Housing and Economic Development Committee to review the city code "and develop amendments ... to address the concerns" raised. The pause will last through Oct. 25 unless altered by the council, or until any new amendments to the city code take effect, whichever comes first. Construction on the new site was originally slated to begin this fall, with doors opening in late 2027. It's not clear how or whether the moratorium — should it eventually pass — would impact that time frame. Todd Goldenfarb, managing director of Mile Marker Investments, referred questions about the moratorium to a Live Nation spokesperson Monday afternoon. A spokesperson for Live Nation declined to speak in person about the vote after the meeting and instead sent a written statement from Ryan Vangel, Live Nation's president. "We're committed to building a great new entertainment venue that will expand the music scene in Portland," Vangel said, echoing language he used in a statement issued last week. "We look forward to working with the (Portland) Planning Board to show how our plan will make it safe and enjoyable for fans to come to Portland Music Hall." OTHER BUSINESS Though discussion of the moratorium took up a significant portion of the meeting, the council took up a handful of other discussions, including giving a first read to an order that would accept a new contract between the city and the Portland Police Superior Officers Association, the union representing Portland Police Department officers. That order will be read again and voted on at a future meeting. The meeting began with nearly 30 minutes of public comment on non-agenda items, mostly from residents and business owners who expressed frustration about the homeless people who are gathering in Monument Square, saying the group is growing and becoming increasingly hostile. The council also unanimously approved an order to tweak the calculations used in certain ranked-choice voting races. The previous formulas for counting proportional ranked choice-voting were written in late 2023, but the city has not had a reason to use them. "This does not change ranked-choice voting that we use for (the) mayor, City Council — single-race ranked choice in any way," City Clerk Ashley Rand. The new formula for proportional ranked choice voting, which applies only when numerous candidates are running for more than one available and identical seat, is designed to more accurately tabulate the winning candidates, according to the order. Such cases are rare, but could include putting together a City Charter Commission years down the line. Copy the Story Link
Yahoo
28-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Portland City Council hits pause on deciding whether to pause venue developments
Apr. 28—The Portland City Council voted Monday to refer a potential moratorium on new theater and live music developments larger than 2,000 seats to the Sustainability and Transportation Committee. The decision, which came in a nearly unanimous vote at the council's Monday night meeting, means an order proposing the six-month moratorium will be revisited at the May 19 meeting, at the soonest. At-large Councilor Benjamin Grant initially motioned for the moratorium to be revisited at the May 19 meeting, but he later altered the motion to instead refer the issue to the committee, which next meets on May 14. "I don't think we are ready for this question right now," Grant said. "There's been a lot of motion, a lot of activity, but not a lot of progress addressing some of the key issues." Though Grant said he agrees additional questions need to be answered before new projects can move forward, he argued that a moratorium was the wrong tool for the job. Councilor Wes Pelletier, who proposed the moratorium along with Councilor Anna Bullet, cast the sole vote against referring the moratorium. He and Bullett had originally sought a full vote Monday. Dozens who had filled the council chambers including members of the public and developers, filtered out of the room following the vote. Many who had come to offer public comment mumbled frustrations as they shuffled out. At its May meeting, the transportation committee will consider questions surrounding parking and congestion related to live events. The moratorium, as currently drafted, would stretch into the fall unless the city first implements new rules related to permitting and zoning for large event spaces and concert halls. In the meantime, "no permit applications for any new theaters or performance halls with a capacity exceeding 2000 people shall be accepted, processed, reviewed, or approved," according to the moratorium order. Pelletier, who represents District 2, and Bullett, who represents District 4, proposed the moratorium this month. It would directly impact a controversial plan to build a new venue at 244 Cumberland Ave. — tentatively called the Portland Music Hall — though it does not explicitly name the project. Pelletier has previously told the Press Herald the moratorium was not targeted at that single application. LIVE NATION PROPOSAL AT CENTER Mile Marker Investments, a Scarborough-based developer, partnered with Live Nation to propose the new venue, which would be about a block from the roughly 1,900-seat Merrill Auditorium. Despite public pushback, the companies have maintained that the music hall would fill a middle-ground niche between smaller auditoriums, like Merrill and the State Theater, and larger spaces like Thompson's Point, which can fit about 6,000 for an outdoor show. By filling that gap, the music hall could attract acts that may otherwise be simultaneously too big and too small to book Portland's existing venues, the developers have said. But frustrated neighbors, including residents and other businesses, have charged that the relatively large venue and its central placement near several existing event spaces could choke local traffic and create hazardous conditions for pedestrians and cyclists during busy nights. In written comments submitted ahead of Monday's meeting, locals expressed concern with the pace of development, the size of the proposed space and broad distaste toward Live Nation, a live music corporation that owns venues and operates ticketing services across the country, among other activities. The company is currently involved in an antitrust lawsuit for what the Justice Department last year called "unlawful conduct that thwarts competition." The order for the moratorium noted that the city's land use code does not require any spatial buffer between large theaters and performance spaces, "which should be considered to protect public safety and ensure that these venues are not clustered and do not overburden public infrastructure." It applies to all applications submitted after Dec. 1, 2024 — less than three weeks before the proposed venue's application was filed. The order also requires the council's Housing and Economic Development Committee to review the city code "and develop amendments ... to address the concerns" raised. The pause will last through Oct. 25 unless altered by the council, or until any new amendments to the city code take effect, whichever comes first. Construction on the new site was originally slated to begin this fall, with doors opening in late 2027. It's not clear how or whether the moratorium — should it eventually pass — will impact that time frame. Todd Goldenfarb, managing editor of Mile Marker Investments, referred questions about the then-upcoming vote to a Live Nation spokesperson Monday afternoon. A spokesperson for Live Nation and Mile Marker declined to speak in person about the vote after the meeting but promised to provide a written statement later Monday evening. He did not immediately provide that comment. Copy the Story Link We believe it's important to offer commenting on certain stories as a benefit to our readers. At its best, our comments sections can be a productive platform for readers to engage with our journalism, offer thoughts on coverage and issues, and drive conversation in a respectful, solutions-based way. It's a form of open discourse that can be useful to our community, public officials, journalists and others. We do not enable comments on everything — exceptions include most crime stories, and coverage involving personal tragedy or sensitive issues that invite personal attacks instead of thoughtful discussion. You can read more here about our commenting policy and terms of use. More information is also found on our FAQs. Show less
