Latest news with #StNeots
BBC News
15-05-2025
- General
- BBC News
Cambridgeshire's 'longest-serving' lollipop lady remembered
An 82-year old woman thought to be a county's longest-serving lollipop lady has been remembered in her home Hayes helped children at Priory Junior School in St Neots, Cambridgeshire, cross the road for more than 40 years, before retiring in lined the streets to pay their respects during Mrs Hayes' funeral procession on was described by local people as a "friendly, lively person". Mrs Hayes was based on Longsands Road, where there is a junior school and an academy she retired, representatives from the county council, Priory Junior School, Longsands Academy and parents presented her with gifts during a special Hayes was awarded a British Empire Medal (BEM) in 2023 for her voluntary and charitable work. 'She enjoyed the children' Malcolm and Thelma Goodger live near the road where Mrs Hayes worked and said they knew her well."She enjoyed the children, they enjoyed her," said Mr Goodger."She's very friendly towards them, they thanked her, they gave her presents at Christmas."He said she often dressed up to raise money for charities."Give her a theme she'll dress up for it."He added that being a lollipop lady was "not a task a lot of people take on - you've got to be quite brave sometimes to step out in front of the traffic as they come by here in the mornings". Mrs Goodger worked with Mrs Hayes for nearly 25 years and said she was a "good sport"."She still done her work, but she done as much as she could for fundraising [too] and loved it, absolutely loved it."She just didn't want to give up but ill health got in the way."A family tribute described Mrs Hayes, who was born in 1942, as a "much-loved mother, sister and grandmother". Her funeral was held at Huntingdon Crematorium. Follow Cambridgeshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
The Sun
14-05-2025
- Automotive
- The Sun
Iconic car dealership to shut in just HOURS & be demolished as brand axes nearly half its sites
AN ICONIC car dealership will close in just two days' time as a major brand continues to scrap sites. The family-run dealer is going to be demolished shortly after it shuts. 2 TC Harrison Ford in St Neots, Cambridgeshire, will close its doors for the last time on Friday. The closure was confirmed after planners granted permission for a new retirement village to be built on the dealership's site last year. TC Harrison confirmed last month that the dealership would close on May 16 2024. Happily, there will be no job losses following the closure. All business activities and staff will relocate to the the firm's Huntingdon branch, just 11 miles away. This site will in turn expand to accommodate the increased staff and activity. A spokesperson for TC Harrison announced: "Following the planning approval for the proposed retirement village on our St Neots premises, I can now confirm that all our business activities and staff will be transferring to the Huntingdon dealership on May 16, 2025. "Huntingdon is 11 miles from St Neots, just off the A141. "We have scheduled a series of announcements to our customer database outlining our collection and delivery services (amongst other offers) to maintain customer convenience. " Planning has been approved for further expansion at our Huntingdon dealership and works will commence in due course. Popular car dealership abruptly shuts after 'trade-in trick' uncovered – as drivers blast 'worst experience ever' "We look forward to welcoming as many of our St Neots customers as we can." The TC Harrison dealership in St Neots is just the latest casualty in a five-year plan by Ford to close almost half of its dealerships in the UK. Ford announced this in 2020, with the aim of boosting profitability at its dealers by reducing their quantity and expanding their sales area. At the start of this year, the Blue Oval brand announced it would close 50 dealerships across the country to complete this goal. Only three of these 50 dealers terminated have been able to retain their Ford Authorised Service. It had cut down to 'just over 200 dealers' nationwide, according to CarDealer, fulfilling its five-year target. Ford of Great Britain said: "We have been actively restructuring the dealer network over the past several years to better align with the evolving needs of our business and deliver enhanced service." This comes as part of a wider trend of franchised car dealerships closing across Britain. Companies including Group 1, Lithia, Marshalls and Vertu have all been scaling back their sites. TC Harrison dealer group, responsible for the St Neots site closing on Friday, has been a family outfit for 94 years. Founded in 1931 by Thomas 'Cuth' Harrison, the company came 16th in the Car Dealer Top 100 list of most profitable dealers in Britain, produced by the publication CarDealer. The Group had a hefty earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization sum figure of £34,23 million. 2
BBC News
10-05-2025
- Business
- BBC News
St Neots market square reopens after multi-million pound revamp
Businesses say they are already seeing signs recovery after the reopening of a town's Market Square. A multi-million-pound revamp of the square in St Neots, Cambridgeshire, began in January last year as part of a wider £15m Aslan, from the Market Cafe, said the disruption caused businesses to "suffer a lot," but he was positive they could "rise from that". The square is open but contractors will return over the summer for some final finishing touches, Huntingdonshire District Council said. The project removed all car parking on the square itself, which is fully pedestrianised, with some new disabled bays on the roads around and plants have also been added to the square."It looks much more vibrant, more versatile, more spacious. It looks like a town centre after a long time... so it is quite a relief," Mr Aslan said."I do believe it looks much better and is something that the town needed but I can't say if it was worth the wait because it took four months more than it should have. "We have been seeing people come from other towns and I'm already seeing signs [of recovery]."The project for Cambridgeshire's largest market town includes bringing the long-empty Old Falcon Inn back into use as homes, revamping the market square and renovating the Priory Centre. It has been funded by bodies including the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority, Huntingdonshire District Council, Cambridgeshire County Council and National Highways. Liz Owen, who runs Access in St Neots, was unhappy that disabled parking at the square was not obviously said: "People are up in arms including me because [the council] basically have very small signage and there's no painted lettering on the ground. "What we can see is people parking without a blue badge; if you are disabled and want to park you haven't really got much chance." Mike Gildersleeves, corporate director of place at the district council, revealed contractors would line-mark the disabled bays during the summer."These [few final finishing touches] have been carefully scheduled to avoid disruption to key events and market days, ensuring the square remains vibrant and open to all throughout the season," he said."We encourage everyone to make the most of the new square and the opportunities it offers." The Mayor of St Neots, Richard Slade, said the space was previously a cobbled car park and residents told him it was difficult to cross without tripping added new businesses had opened on the square but he was aware of a bakery and a cafe that had closed."Now there may be other reasons why they closed, but having all the works done has impacted that," he said. "There is always going to have to be a time where you do these works - you have to look to the future." Follow Cambridgeshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
