Latest news with #TomSpencer
Telegraph
12-03-2025
- General
- Telegraph
Historic bowls club faces closure over ‘2,000pc increase in parking costs'
A historic bowls club faces closure over council plans to increase parking costs by 2,000 per cent. Members of Eastbourne Parade Bowls Club currently receive a discount to use the council-run car park next door for £40 a year. But now the council wants to remove this discount, pushing parking costs up to £840 – a 2,100pc rise. The club, formed in 1897, has 70 members, with dozens saying they will no longer be able to play. Gill Waters, the club secretary, called the plans 'catastrophic' and warned the club may have to close. He added: 'For many members, their friends and social life is at the club and those who have been coming here for decades would no longer be able to afford to do so. 'I think the club could lose an untold number of members and, as we depend on annual membership fees to run the club, that would make running it impossible.' Tom Spencer, the oldest member at 94, has been a member for 16 years and a bowls player for more than 30 years. He said the rising costs would be 'disastrous'. 'Quite frankly, the bowls club is my life,' he said. 'Without it, I simply don't know what I'd do. All my friends are here and it would be impossible on my modest pension to afford the parking.' Mr Spencer added it would take two bus journeys to get to the club – and he wouldn't be able to carry his lawn bowls. 'It's very, very upsetting,' he said. Long-time player Jim Stewart said: 'The enormous rise would simply make it unfeasible for me to carry on playing.' Peter Hensman, the club captain, called the increased costs 'morally wrong', adding it was 'far too high'. He said: 'It would make bowls far too expensive for the majority of members and would lead to many being forced to quit the club. 'Without members, the club would have to close, bringing to an end a long, long tradition. It would be a huge shame.' The club has been bowling at their seafront home since 1904. The original clubhouse, with its thatched roof, was bombed and destroyed by the Luftwaffe in the Second World War. A spokesman for Eastbourne borough council said: 'For nearly 30 years, the council has subsidised parking in council-owned car parks and other parking areas, but with the funding for public services in Eastbourne under the greatest financial pressures in living memory, a new permit system is required.' Cllr Colin Swansborough, cabinet member for community spaces, said the council was having to 'make difficult decisions to ensure services can be maintained'.
The Independent
28-01-2025
- Business
- The Independent
More than three quarters of farms to be affected by Tractor Tax, new research shows
More than three-quarters of all farms in England and Scotland will be impacted by new inheritance tax rules which have sparked mass protests, according to new research. It comes after lines of tractors took to streets across Northern Ireland as part of a UK-wide protest by farmers against the announced cap on Agricultural Property Relief (APR). But for assets over £1 million, inheritance tax will apply with 50 per cent relief, at an effective rate of 20 per cent. The Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) have calculated that 42,204 out of 54,938 farms (76.8 per cent) across England and Scotland will be impacted by the new tax rules. More than half affected are involved in cereals or general crop production as their main enterprise, with the rest predominantly livestock producers or mixed farming operations. AHDB analyst Tom Spencer said: 'Our calculations show that cereals and general cropping farms are the most likely to be affected due to their scale and asset size. For livestock farms, it is those businesses with single-person ownership that are most at risk.' The levy board's economics and analysis director, David Eudall, added: 'Our priority is to help explain how this will impact many levy payers and support them on navigating a path through these challenges. 'The first stage has been to identify the farms at risk, so they can review their own circumstances and implement appropriate actions. 'It is critical for any affected farming enterprise to seek out expert tax and business planning advice. Succession planning was already important in agricultural farming businesses, now it is essential.' It came as the shadow environment secretary Victoria Atkins urged the government to record the number of farmers dying by suicide to 'understand the human cost' of their changes. She said that pensioners, family businesses and farmers are paying the price for Labour's 'economic illiteracy' as she urged the government to commit to 'a full and proper review of this dreadful policy'. A government spokesperson said: 'Our commitment to farmers remains steadfast. 'This Government will invest £5 billion into farming over the next two years, the largest budget for sustainable food production in our country's history. 'We are going further with reforms to boost profits for farmers by backing British produce and reforming planning rules on farms to support food production.'
