Latest news with #SophieCox
BBC News
31-03-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Developer's appeal to build on Goring Gap is rejected
Campaigners are celebrating after winning their battle to prevent 475 homes from being built on one of the last greenfield sites in Worthing. Goring Gap is situated within two separate Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the North Wessex Downs and The Chilterns. The developer, Persimmon Homes, submitted a plan for its Chatsmore Farm project, but lost the appeal against Worthing Borough Council's (WBC) refusal to approve its proposal back in 2021.A spokesperson for Persimmon Homes said: "We are naturally disappointed with the decision of the planning inspector. "Our goal all along has been to help alleviate Worthing's exceptional housing need by building affordable homes for local people."Former Conservative MP for Worthing West, Sir Peter Bottomley, who has long fought to protect Goring Gap from development, told Radio Sussex that the "battle is not over", as big companies have "top barristers who can help them fight their cases"."The decision by the planning inspectorate is welcomed, but it should never gone to appeal in the first place," he added. Councillor Sophie Cox, leader of WBC, said it was "time for Persimmon to abandon its housing plans for Chatsmore Farm"."We have always been clear we would protect Chatsmore Farm from development and I'm delighted and relieved by the planning inspector's decision," she added."We recognise the pressing need for more new homes in Worthing, particularly affordable homes, but they must be in the right areas, not on green spaces like Chatsmore Farm."
Yahoo
27-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
UK universities launch 4D medical device manufacturing project
Researchers from the UK's University of Birmingham and Imperial College London have launched a new 4D medical device manufacturing project. The 4D Health Tech initiative seeks to fill a crucial gap in traditional medical device manufacturing design processes by incorporating factors such as growth, movement, and tissue regeneration or degeneration, which are often overlooked. The project will promote the use of materials that degrade predictably and promote faster healing, and combine this ethos with automated design, advanced manufacturing processes, and patient specific pre-clinical testing – which is expected to result in 'better' medical devices that cater to more diverse patient populations. Backed by £1.2m in funding from the UK Research and Innovation's (UKRI) Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), the three-year project will create Network Plus, an initiative intended to connect academics, businesses, clinicians, patients, and policymakers, serving as a conduit towards the creation of bigger, longer-term research projects in the field. The project funding is part of a broader £10m package allocated by EPSRC across the UK's manufacturing sector to respond to Tomorrow's Engineering Research Challenges, a paper the UKRI published in 2022. Concerning medical device and equipment manufacturing, the paper highlights the importance of a re-manufacturing and re-use approach to ensure sustainability in manufacturing for the sector to support a move towards the principles of a circular economy. According to Dr Sophie Cox, associate professor in healthcare technologies at Birmingham University's School of Chemical Engineering, medical devices designed to replace or repair our bodies typically neglect the dimension of time, a reality that compromises their function and lifespan. 'Our vision is to transform the way we engineer medical devices,' said Dr Cox. 'Fostering connections across the supply chain will create a new culture of 4D Health Tech embedding innovative thinking, patient perspective and diversity – ensuring this new age of medical devices offers improved healthcare outcomes for everyone.' In related manufacturing developments in the medical device sector, companies are ramping up their investment in 3D printing for the creation of custom prosthetics, implants and surgical tools that meet the individual needs of patients. According to GlobalData analysis, the medical 3D printing market is growing at a CAGR of 21% and forecast to reach a valuation of $4bn in 2026, up from $2bn in 2022. "UK universities launch 4D medical device manufacturing project" was originally created and published by Medical Device Network, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site.
