Latest news with #communityspaces
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Politics
- Daily Mail
It's marrow wars! Jeremy Corbyn battles Angela Rayner over Labour's sell-off of England's allotments
has hit out at Angela Rayner for allowing cash-strapped local councils to sell off allotments. The former Labour leader accused the Deputy Prime Minister of putting 'the nail in the coffin' for the 'precious' community spaces. Mr Corbyn, the MP for Islington North who has launched a new left-wing party to rival Labour, is a keen gardener and uses an allotment near his north London home. He has gone to war with Ms Rayner after it was revealed the Deputy PM had agreed for eight allotment sites across England to be sold since last year's general election. The veteran politician lashed out at Ms Rayner, who is also the Housing, Communities and Local Government Secretary, for approving the slew of allotment sales. So-called 'statutory' allotment sites owned by local councils are protected from development or sale under the Allotment Act 1925, except with ministerial sign-off. In an article for The Telegraph, Mr Corbyn - who has previously descibed marrows as his favourite vegetable - wrote: 'News that Angela Rayner may approve allotment sales will fill many with deep dismay. 'Allotments have always been under threat from developers. Now, that threat seems to have Government backing, which makes the future of these precious spaces even more perilous.' Mr Corbyn said the popularity of allotments had 'grown out of opposition to enclosures and the privatisation of common land' in previous centuries. He also noted how there are 'at least 100,000 people' on waiting lists for allotments across the country. 'Once lost, they never return,' he added. 'Their loss makes us all poorer, as we become more and more detached from how food is grown and how nature interacts with us. 'Allotments provide a vital space for community cohesion, biodiversity and social solidarity. 'These parcels of land, that cannot be individually fenced, provide growing space for many people. 'Many people have no access to their own garden, and an allotment gives them the opportunity to grow vegetables and fruit and observe nature. 'Allotments are particularly important for people who experience stress and mental health problems.' Mr Corbyn acknowledged that 'social housing is desperately needed' as Ms Rayner attempts to fulfil Labour's pledge to build 1.5million new homes within five years. But he warned: 'We need not sacrifice these vital green spaces to build it. 'Is this Government going to put the nail in the coffin of the joy of digging ground for potatoes on a cold, wet February Sunday afternoon? The battle for the grass roots is on!' Mr Corbyn's attack on the Government comes after his recent launch of a new party, temporarily known as 'Your Party', with fellow ex-Labour MP Zarah Sultana. Ms Rayner was recently revealed to have approved the sale of allotments in Somerset, Oxfordshire, Hertfordshire, Nottinghamshire, West Sussex, Derbyshire, and Kent. In Storrington, West Sussex, there are plans to build 78 new houses on a former allotment site. A spokesman for the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government said that councils should only sell off allotments 'where it is clearly necessary and offers value for money'. He added: 'We know how important allotments are for communities, and that is why strict criteria is in place to protect them, as well as school playing fields.'
CTV News
6 days ago
- General
- CTV News
In Our Nature: Galt Horticultural Society Gardens
Gardens are truly a passion project for the Galt Horticultural Society. Here's how they're brightening up and encouraging pollinators in community spaces.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Gardens looking wonderful as they are entered into national gardening competition
Volunteers in Radcliffe have been working hard to get nine gardens and community spaces ready to be entered into a national gardening competition. Judges from North West in Bloom, a regional organisation that administers the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) Britain in Bloom competition in Lancashire, Cheshire, Greater Manchester and Merseyside, visited Radcliffe on Tuesday. The public spaces are maintained by a dedicated group of volunteers. (Image: supplied) Get the latest news delivered straight to your inbox by signing up to the Bury Times morning newsletter as well as our breaking news alerts. Gill Smith, trustee at not-for-profit Growing Together, said: 'They are all different, but we try to get round to each one once a month. 'We've been busy cutting lawns, tidying up, weeding and planting to make sure looking they all look their best. 'There are some amazing projects in the area and volunteers like being out in the fresh air and out with people. 'It's empowering to help out, make new friends, and can be great for mental health. "We're always on the lookout for new volunteers too if anyone would like join in." READ NEXT: Neighbours working together to help brighten 'lovely' estate READ NEXT: Family barber shop celebrating 40 years in business invites people to join party The North West is one of 18 regions and nations that makes up Britain in Bloom and it is the first time that the nine spaces listed below have been entered into the competition. Barge Garden Canalside Mural St Johns Safe Haven Garden Church Street West Garden Milton Meadow Cosley Alley Tiny Cosley Alley Incredible Edible Outwood Country Park Holly Noble, chair of Friends of Outwood Country Park, added: 'It's been a good opportunity for everyone to band together and showcase the best of Radcliffe. 'It's given us a focal point to work towards too this year.' The winners will be announced in a ceremony hosted at the Toughsheet Community Stadium in Bolton later in the year.
The Independent
28-07-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Closure of community spaces fuelled ‘tinderbox' for far right to spark Southport riots, says report
The loss of community spaces created 'tinderbox conditions' for violence ahead of last year's far-right riots, a new report has found. A paper published by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) found that the loss of shared community spaces – from youth clubs and leisure centres to high-street pubs and piers – is leaving communities more vulnerable to far-right influence. It said the closure of these spaces is forcing people into isolation, prompting them to spend more time online and pushing them towards the far right. The report warned of a 'pincer movement of abandonment and gentrification' that has gradually led to the loss of community spaces – such as the Southport pier, which closed in 2022 – and an increase in isolation in many areas. Referring to previous research, the report said that 50 pubs permanently close in the UK each month, while an estimated 600 youth clubs shut down between 2012 and 2016. It noted that London lost almost 10 local authority-run community spaces a year between 2018 and 2023. The violence in Southport, which spread through parts of England and Northern Ireland after the 17-year-old Axel Rudakubana attacked a dance class in the town, murdering three young girls, should serve as a 'wake-up call', according to the author of the report, Dr Sacha Hilhorst. Dr Hilhorst said: 'The Southport riots were a wake-up call – a stark reminder of what can happen when communities lose the places that once brought people together. In the absence of shared spaces, misinformation and hate can fill the void, creating tinderbox conditions for violence. 'Rebuilding local infrastructure isn't just about nostalgia – it's a vital bulwark against division and the dangerous pull of the far right. 'But communities are not apathetic. They are crying out for places to gather, to organise, and to belong. We need a new generation of institutions to help them do just that.' The report said that the far right had 'capitalised on Southport's disrepair to sow disorder', and noted that a 'fight for investment in local amenities has garnered little attention' in the aftermath. It suggested the introduction of a '21st-century welfare fund' raised through a so-called Amazon tax, whereby warehouses and distribution centres are subject to higher levies or online sales taxes. It argued that online retailers who build 'giant structures' – a demonstration of their high value – often do not contribute 'sufficiently to the communities around them'. A tax on companies with revenues over £1m could help generate 'larger, more sustained resource for communities than current community regeneration efforts', it said. The report added: 'If there is a thread connecting the high-octane events of late July [2024] and the slow local politics of the pier, it is the loss of physical spaces where we might come together, and the radicalisation of some of the digital spaces that have replaced them. 'There is an appetite for community action, as the campaign for the pier shows, but a lack of investment and space. 'In the absence of structures which might foster wider solidarities, many retreat into the sphere of the home, or worse, into ethno-nationalist fantasies of muscular sovereignty.' The government has been contacted for comment.
Yahoo
26-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Plans to build hundreds of homes on former Sainsbury's site in Wolverhampton take step forward
A plan to transform a former supermarket into hundreds of new homes has finally taken another step forward. The planned transformation of the former Sainsbury's supermarket site in Wolverhampton city centre is expected to include 370 new homes, community spaces and green streets, centred around a re-purposed grade II-listed St George's Church. City of Wolverhampton Council's cabinet has agreed to enter into heads of terms with developer Capital&Centric to continue the work on the scheme. READ MORE: Shopkeeper praised for 'blocking neighbours from homes' with newly installed barrier READ MORE: Neighbours 'blocked from homes' after shopkeeper installs barrier This includes preparing designs ready for the submission of a full planning application early next year, as well as construction drawings for potential contractors. The council is expecting for planning approval by September next year ready for work to begin in November. The work is expected to take around two and a half years to complete with the site ready by spring 2029. The St George's store closed in 2014 when a new £60m supermarket opened in Raglan Street on the opposite side of the city centre and has remained empty since. Read more: New plans for late-night Wolverhampton venue after last licence revoked Read more: Desi mixed grill plans for empty listed pub Read more: More spaces to be added to Midlands leisure centre as gym-goers struggle to park Read more: 127-year-old Midlands pub to be demolished for new Lidl parking spaces The gateway site next the Bilston Street Island has been left to rot and has frequently been the scene of anti-social behaviour and a fire in 2021. The council bought the freehold for the St George's site in 2016 but it was deemed 'surplus to requirements' in a cabinet report in 2023 alongside a request for potential bids from developers. Read more: 'Seal of approval' for new homes on former Wolverhampton pub site Read more: £1m work planned to increase places at Wolverhampton primary school Read more: Aldi coming to city as council sells former care home in £1.5m deal Read more: Decision made on re-opening historic Midlands pub seven years after closing Read more: Wolverhampton Council to write off nearly £2m in debts Sainsbury's lease on the site expired in March this year which returned the ownership and responsibility of the site back, and the management of the car park's lease, to City of Wolverhampton Council. Since last year, developer Capital&Centric has been working with City of Wolverhampton Council on designs to turn the five-acre former Sainsbury's site into a new neighbourhood. It will feature shops, workspaces and commercial space, adding a new quarter to Wolverhampton's city centre, with links to the £61m City Learning Quarter set to open this autumn. An agreement is also set to be signed that would see Capital&Centric buy and build on the site once planning permission is approved, following the backing of the council's cabinet. The cabinet report, which was discussed at meeting on July 23 said: 'St George's is a vital gateway scheme for the city, set to deliver a new neighbourhood and add to the next phase of placemaking of the area following the City Learning Quarter project. 'It is earmarked to deliver up to 370 new homes, community public spaces and high-quality commercial spaces.' The multi-million-pound City Learning Quarter includes a new college campus on the site of the former Faces nightclub.
