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BBC News
6 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
Eccleshall Parish Council to use fighting fund to block builders
Community leaders have agreed to allocate £10,000 to fight plans for large housing developments in a Staffordshire in Eccleshall fear the town could almost double in size over the coming years, with hundreds of new homes earmarked across 10 local councillor described it as an "unprecedented wave of housebuilding" in the town and an online petition against the plans has now received more than 2,700 argue their plans are modest and proportionate to the size of the town, but Eccleshall Parish Council has agreed to appoint a consultant with the £10,000 budget to scrutinise the plans. The authority said it would put forward representations on the major applications. "To me it's an essential thing to do," said councillor Chris Wilkins."We haven't got a hope of dealing with this the way we do it at the moment. They have an answer for everything."We need to go through everything in fine detail so we can put in an objection. A planning consultant is fundamental to our objections."Councillor Ros Langford added she felt it was "money well spent".Representatives from Muller Property Group and planning consultant Walsingham Planning gave a presentation on their plans for three sites across the are proposing 55 homes on land to the south of Shaws Lane, 48 properties on land to the south of Langton Park and west of Newport Road and 65 houses on land to the north of The Burgage. 'A lot of interest' Mark Krassowski, director of Walsingham Planning, said the borough's overall government housing requirement had increased from 358 per year over five years, to 749 per annum, meaning more ready-to-build on sites need to be of the greater number of new properties now required, Mr Krassowski said Stafford borough's current position shows the number of sites available that are ready to be built on will only cover 3.65 years, not the full five years."Eccleshall is a sustainable settlement – it is a key service community within Stafford Borough and it has attracted a lot of developer interest," he said."We believe the sites we have got are modest in size and proportionate to the size of the settlement."They are obvious locations for rounding off of a settlement and they are developable over a short period of time."However, Langford questioned how the overall level of proposed development could be considered sustainable because of a lack infrastructure."We haven't got the resources or infrastructure to deal with what we have already got now. I don't know how you can say it is sustainable," she said. This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, which covers councils and other public service organisations. Follow BBC Stoke & Staffordshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
Yahoo
30-06-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Residents erupt after incident at controversial roundabout: 'A mess'
Merely days after a major city council removed a now-infamous diamond-shaped roundabout, which left local drivers confused and made national headlines, a crash has been reported at the spot. Fifteenth Avenue in Austral, in Sydney's southwest, is set to become a key arterial route to the new Western Sydney Airport. It has recently seen a flurry of roadworks, with three new roundabouts installed in quick succession — among them, a new one on Twenty Eighth Avenue. Utterly baffled motorists were mystified over how to use it, with many opting to ignore it and drive straight over. Footage captured by Yahoo on Friday showed several motorists driving right through the diamond-shaped roundabout, including a large truck and several SUVs. A local councillor branded the design "embarrassing" and over the weekend, it was eventually painted over. Council said it would install a regular, circular-shaped roundabout in its place, but on Monday, in the absence of any roundabout at all, an accident occurred at the site. Footage of the crash appeared on social media, and a NSW Police spokeswoman confirmed to Yahoo News that a collision between a car and a truck took place just before 1pm. While paramedics attended the scene, no injuries were recorded. Though online, locals lashed out at what they described as a preventable ordeal. "People over the weekend were still driving like the roundabout was still there, it's confused people and it's a bloody mess," a woman said. "Their fixing up still shows the shape, so people don't know what to do. They should have fixed the entire intersection." "It was bound to happen," another wrote. "Whoever approved this roundabout should take responsibility for this," a third said. Aerial vision suggests there was ample space for a standard circular roundabout, with the diamond design seemingly chosen due to the angled layout of Twenty Eighth Avenue. Yahoo News has sought an explanation from Liverpool City Council on the new roundabout. "There is no roundabout, it's gone," a council spokesperson told Yahoo News on Saturday. "We listened to our residents. It was a design that didn't work. "There were lots of complaints about it, so the simplest thing to do was to get rid of it." Local MP Nathan Hagarty was also on the scene on Saturday to mark the occasion. "Cars are still stopping, they're not sure what to do," he said in a video posted to constituents on social media. "But as far as I'm concerned, this is not the end of this disgraceful saga. I have had a look at the original designs, and what I can say is that the designs I saw do not match what was delivered, so I think some serious questions need to be asked to Liverpool Council and the contractors... how much money has been wasted?" he said. Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@ You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube.
BBC News
24-06-2025
- BBC News
Residents evacuated as 'unidentified liquid' found
Update: Date: 09:43 BST Title: What we know so far Content: Update: Date: 09:34 BST Title: Welcome to our live coverage Content: Welcome to our live page as about 160 homes are being evacuated after a "bottle of unidentified liquid" was found in a house in Eastbourne. An Explosive Ordnance Disposal team attended Hyde Road in Eastbourne after the liquid was discovered at a property at about 17:30 BST on Monday. A local councillor said the substance was "potentially dangerous", but Sussex Police said there was no "immediate risk to residents". Stay with us for updates
BBC News
28-05-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Confidential paperwork found fly-tipped in Birmingham
Customers of a rubbish collection firm have expressed their shock after learning their waste ended up outside derelict and sensitive paperwork, including tax documents, was left strewn across the ground in Druids Heath, BBC tracked down several of those named, who said they had hired Budget Removals and Clearances to dispose of the rubbish Tipton-based firm has not responded to the BBC's request for comment, while its website has been taken down. Birmingham City Council said it would investigate any instances of fly-tipping. One local councillor said the site has been a regular target for fly-tipping, but that the bin strike in the city might have made it even comes as the government rolls out plans to crack down on fly-tipping and rogue waste collection woman, who wished to remain anonymous, said she handed over more than £100 to have rubbish removed."Obviously they're just pocketing the money and dumping it," she said."It's shocked and upset me - I've never had this happen to me before." Keith Stansbie, of KS Decorating Services, said he paid the firm £150 to take rubbish away when he was working at a house in Kings Norton."I feel duped," he said."As far I was concerned everything was above board and going to the right places."Figures show there were 1.15 million incidents of fly-tipping nationally in 2023-24, 6% more than in the previous financial government recently announced plans to tighten up rules around waste collection. These include changes to the waste carrier, broker and dealer registration system - which Budget Removals and Clearances is listed on - to make it easier to identify rogue operators in the waste anyone can get on the register by paying £154, although they have to disclose any environmental number of registrations has been increasing, with more than 65,000 registrations in both 2023 and 2024, compared with fewer than 50,000 in 2022 and 20,704 in 2021. Rubbish found opposite the tower block in March included an HM Revenue and Customs letter to Kevin Sutcliffe when he used to live in Kings Norton. The letter showed his tax code and National Insurance to this by the BBC, Mr Sutcliffe, who now lives in Worcester, said: "That is bad. I'm not happy about that at all."There are scammers out there who can use your National Insurance number for all sorts of purposes. "It's my identity. I can't believe it." Councillor Julien Pritchard said fly-tipping had been taking place outside the flats in Druids Heath for some time, but added that the bin strike might have intensified it."People are coming in vans dumping rubbish on the community and it's just not fair," the Green party councillor said."The council needs to get a grip of this."Birmingham City Council said it was aware of rogue rubbish collectors charging residents to clear waste and then disposing of it by fly-tipping."We are committed to investigating these incidents and prosecuting fly-tippers whenever possible," it said. "We have plenty of lawful options for people to responsibly dispose of waste or unwanted items, such as Household Recycling Centres and our popular free-to-use Mobile Waste Centres."Majid Mahmood, the council's cabinet member for environment and transport, urged people affected by the bin strike to be cautious if they resort to paying someone to take their rubbish away - and make sure they are properly licensed."We would advise any resident to be wary of anyone offering to take their waste away for a small amount of money," he said."The current charge to dispose of waste lawfully is around £130 per tonne. If the price is 'too good to be true', then it will almost certainly be unlawfully disposed of." Follow BBC Birmingham on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
Yahoo
25-05-2025
- Yahoo
Shocking moment driver mows down cyclist during Islington street brawl
A violent incident caught on camera in north London shows the shocking moment a cyclist is run over by a car in broad daylight following a heated confrontation involving weapons. Footage filmed in Islington shows two men squaring up to each other — one brandishing what appears to be a baseball bat, the other wearing a mask and reportedly wielding a knife. The man with the bat is knocked to the ground before the clip cuts to the masked man attempting to cycle away. Moments later, he is struck by the same man, now behind the wheel of a car. Today in Islington — London & UK Street News (@CrimeLdn) May 24, 2025 Police have since confirmed they were called at 11.37am on Saturday to reports of a group of people fighting on Holloway Road. Officers attended the scene and arrested a 38-year-old man in connection with the incident. There were no reports of any injuries, the Met said. Enquiries into the circumstances are ongoing. A local councillor in Islington said: 'This kind of street violence is deeply concerning. We encourage the public to assist the police and ensure our streets remain safe.' This latest example of violence comes after another video showed a group of men with machetes throwing traffic cones and metal poles at each other in a vicious altercation outside a night club in Mayfair, North London. Four people were arrested and two sustained injures in the incident. These fights illustrate what some are calling a disturbing trend of aggressive and violent acts perpetrated across the capital, many involving dangerous and illegal weapons.
