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Revamp aims to make city's market 'magical'

Revamp aims to make city's market 'magical'

Yahoo30-05-2025
A central court could be added to a city's renowned marketplace as part of plans for a major revamp.
Smaller squares and a covered pathway through the middle are also options being put forward by Norwich City Council.
Carli Harper, the Labour councillor responsible for major projects, said the authority wanted to make it "one of the most magical places you can visit in Norwich or the region".
The council has now launched a survey asking for the public's views on its proposals and said it hoped to have final plans drawn up by this autumn.
Earlier this year, the cabinet of the Labour-run authority agreed to spend £740,000 to commission proposals for potential new designs.
Should changes go ahead, it would be the first major redevelopment of the market since 2006 – when ageing, wooden stalls were replaced with metal structures with roofs.
The council said a central court or smaller squares could be used for "special events" and pop-up stalls, whilst a covered pathway would provide "a clear entrance point".
Dominic Burke, co-owner of the Sir Toby's Beers stall, said some "exciting ideas" had been proposed.
He added that traders had been meeting with the council to discuss plans and it was important for the wider public to comment.
"The market belongs to everyone," he said.
Harper said the aim was to "maximise footfall" and make the site "a destination market in Europe" and that construction work could begin later this year.
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Traders 'at the heart' of city market revamp plans
One of Britain's oldest markets set for revamp
Norwich City Council
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Israel says it's begun daily pauses in fighting in parts of Gaza to let aid in
Israel says it's begun daily pauses in fighting in parts of Gaza to let aid in

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time3 hours ago

  • CBS News

Israel says it's begun daily pauses in fighting in parts of Gaza to let aid in

The Israeli military began a limited pause in fighting in three populated areas of Gaza for 10 hours a day as part of a series of steps that it says would give the United Nations and other aid agencies secure land routes to tackle a deepening hunger crisis. The Israel Defense Forces said it would begin a "tactical pause" in Gaza City, Deir al-Balah and Muwasi, three areas of the territory with large populations, to "increase the scale of humanitarian aid" entering the Gaza Strip. It said the pause would begin every day at 10 a.m. local time, effective Sunday, and continue until further notice. "Whichever path we choose, we will have to continue to allow the entry of minimal humanitarian supplies," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement. Israel said Monday that more than 120 truckloads of food aid were distributed by the U.N. and aid agencies in the Gaza Strip, French news agency AFP reported. The military early Sunday carried out aid airdrops into Gaza, which included packages of aid with flour, sugar and canned food, "as part of the ongoing efforts to allow and facilitate the entry of aid into the Gaza Strip," the IDF posted on Telegram. Food experts have warned for months of the risk of famine in Gaza, where Israel has restricted aid because it says Hamas siphons off goods to help bolster its rule, without providing evidence for that claim. Images emerging from Gaza in recent days of emaciated children have fanned global criticism of Israel, including from close allies, who have called for an end to the war and the humanitarian catastrophe it has spawned. "What's happening in Gaza right now is appalling. Gaza is now in the brink of a full catastrophe, and we've been working out, over the months, to try and relief (sic) the sufferings of the Palestinian people," French Foreign Minister Jean‑Noël Barrot said Sunday on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan." The United Nations' food agency welcomed the steps to ease aid restrictions, but said a broader ceasefire was needed to ensure goods reached everyone in need in Gaza. "Welcome announcement of humanitarian pauses in Gaza to allow our aid through," U.N. aid chief Tom Fletcher said on X. "In contact with our teams on the ground who will do all we can to reach as many starving people as we can in this window." The Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza said on Sunday that hospitals recorded six new deaths due to malnutrition in the past 24 hours, including two children. The organization said at least 133 people, including 87 children, have died from malnutrition in the Gaza Strip. Israel said the new measures were taking place while it continues its offensive against Hamas in other areas. Ahead of the pause, Palestinian health officials in Gaza said at least 27 Palestinians were killed in separate attacks. 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However, the WFP reiterated that a ceasefire is "the only way for humanitarian assistance to reach the entire civilian population in Gaza with critical food supplies in a consistent, predictable, orderly and safe manner." Israel's decision to order a localized pause in fighting came days after ceasefire efforts between Israel and Hamas appeared to be in doubt. On Friday, Israel and the U.S. recalled their negotiating teams, blaming Hamas, and Israel said it was considering "alternative options" to ceasefire talks with the militant group. Israel says it is prepared to end the war if Hamas surrenders, disarms and goes into exile, something the group has refused to agree to. Senior Hamas official Mahmoud Merdawi said that Israel's change of tack on the humanitarian crisis amounted to an acknowledgement that there were starving Palestinians in Gaza and that the move was meant to improve its international standing and not save lives. 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Voices: There won't be a wealth tax – but Rachel Reeves can't afford to rule it out just yet
Voices: There won't be a wealth tax – but Rachel Reeves can't afford to rule it out just yet

Yahoo

time6 hours ago

  • Yahoo

Voices: There won't be a wealth tax – but Rachel Reeves can't afford to rule it out just yet

Normally, when politicians decline to rule something out, a sceptical media and public believe they are about to do it. But there should be one exception to this rule. Keir Starmer, Rachel Reeves and other ministers are refusing to rule out introducing a wealth tax in this autumn's Budget, when the chancellor is likely to raise taxes by at least £20bn to stick within her fiscal rules. I'm told Starmer and Reeves will not bring in a new wealth tax, such as the 2 per cent levy on assets of more than £10m advocated by a growing number of Labour MPs and Neil Kinnock, the party's former leader, to raise £10bn. A wealth tax is an easy slogan and fits on to a banner. It would do nicely for the Starmer allies hoping to nudge him in a more progressive direction as he seeks a long overdue 'story' for his government. But Reeves and Starmer are not convinced. The chancellor thinks wealth taxes don't work. Twelve developed nations had them in 1990s but only three remain; only one, in Switzerland, brings in lots of money. Reeves burnt her own fingers by targeting non-doms – a process begun by Jeremy Hunt, the outgoing Tory chancellor. I'm told Reeves privately dismissed fears the rich would respond by leaving the UK, saying: "They always say that, but it never happens." It is happening, and she is now considering changing her plan to make worldwide assets, including those in foreign trusts, liable to inheritance tax. One government insider told me: 'People can choose where to pay their taxes. It's very easy to move countries and they are doing it.' A new wealth tax would be complex, take years to introduce and probably not be worth the candle. Dan Neidle, founder of Tax Policy Associates, said its study found such a tax would 'lower long-run growth and employment, thanks to a decline in foreign and domestic investment. It would make UK businesses more fragile and less competitive, and create strong incentives for capital reallocation and migration.' Why not just say no to a wealth tax now? Reeves offered one explanation to her Tory predecessor Norman Lamont at a Lords committee hearing this week. He told her he found it 'a bit strange' the government has not ruled out the move. Reeves replied that if she ruled out one tax rise, the media would move on to the next option, and assume that one was going to happen if she failed to rule it out. A fair point – but not her only reason. Reeves and Starmer need to build bridges with the parliamentary Labour Party after it filleted their welfare legislation, so rejecting a wealth tax now would inflame tensions. I suspect that when the Budget comes, Reeves and her allies will whisper to Labour MPs they are introducing a form of wealth tax through other measures, while avoiding headlines about implementing a specific one. Another reason not to rule out a wealth tax is to help message discipline. Labour certainly needs more of that: ministers unwittingly fuelled speculation about tax rises in media interviews by giving different definitions of "working people'. Far easier to say taxes are a matter for the Budget and we don't comment in advance. Some senior Labour figures think Reeves's reticence is because she is considering proposals that are close to being a wealth tax – for example, increasing property-based taxes. I think she should bring in higher council tax bands for the most expensive properties. It's ludicrous that this tax is based on 1991 property values, and that in England, people in homes valued at more than £320,000 pay the same amount in their local authority. Reform could be sold as a genuine levelling up measure the Tories flunked as it would cut bills in the north and Midlands while raising them in the south. Alternatively, Reeves could increase capital gains tax for the second Budget running, perhaps by bringing it into line with income tax rates, which are higher. Some in government favour a rise in income tax with the money earmarked for defence, as I have suggested. Another option is to raise the top rate of income tax from 45 per cent to 50 per cent. But both ideas would leave Labour open to the charge of breaching its manifesto pledge not to increase income tax, national insurance or VAT. Reeves could argue that circumstances had changed in a more dangerous world. But breaking its promise might be a step too far for an already deeply unpopular PM and party. I don't think there will be a wealth tax. However, the rich shouldn't celebrate. The Budget will increase existing taxes on the wealthy, in line with the government's mantra of protecting "working people", while ensuring 'those with the broadest shoulders carry the greatest burden'. Health warning: creating losers is not pain-free for them or the government, as Reeves discovered when she brought in the 'family farms tax'. But reforming some taxes under a better banner – 'fair tax' – is her best shot.

Voices: We can't afford to let London's ‘golden postcodes' go to the wall
Voices: We can't afford to let London's ‘golden postcodes' go to the wall

Yahoo

timea day ago

  • Yahoo

Voices: We can't afford to let London's ‘golden postcodes' go to the wall

The top end of London's property market usually eases into the year, but 2025 has got off to an unusually subdued start. The capital recorded just 34 sales of more than $10m during the first quarter of this year – about a third fewer than the same period in 2024, according to Knight Frank's latest Global Super-Prime Intelligence report. The slowdown stands in stark contrast to a global market that is gaining momentum. Worldwide, 527 super-prime properties changed hands in the first quarter, a six per cent year-on-year increase. By now, we all know what's behind the discrepancy. Labour's heavy-handed taxation of high earners has come at a time when there are more attractive alternatives than ever before. The Dubai lifestyle, light-touch tax in Italy, and the rising stock of true luxury homes in Paris and Madrid are all prompting high-net-worth individuals to hedge their bets on London. Meanwhile, US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told the Financial Times that more than 70,000 people have applied for Donald Trump's new 'gold card' visa, which grants long-term residency to foreign investors willing to spend and stay in the US. It turns out that the small group of very wealthy individuals living in Britain are flightier than the Treasury expected, and the taxpayer will now have to foot the bill. The government has already lost more than £400m in stamp duty on sales above £5m – overwhelmingly in London's 'golden postcodes' such as SW1 and W1, including prime locations like Mayfair, Chelsea, St John's Wood and South Kensington – since the first non-dom reforms were announced by the previous government, according to analysis by Knight Frank UK research head Tom Bill. The real cost is likely to be much, much higher. Even the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) is coming around to that idea. A combination of reforms to the non-dom regime, first introduced under Jeremy Hunt in March 2024 and then expanded by Labour in October, were expected to raise £13.1bn from 10,000 individuals by 2027/28. Capital gains tax reforms were supposed to deliver another £2.5bn by the end of the decade. However, the behavioural assumptions underpinning those numbers haven't held. 'Higher earners' behavioural responses to tax changes are more uncertain and potentially higher than assumed,' the OBR conceded on July 8. 'A growing reliance on this small and mobile group of taxpayers therefore represents a fiscal risk.' The OBR isn't the first to issue that warning – yet, it's not clear whether the penny has dropped for those in Downing Street. Despite rumblings that Chancellor Rachel Reeves was considering reversing parts of her non-dom crackdown to stem departures of high net worth individuals, nothing has materialised so far. Former Labour leader Neil Kinnock also recently called for a two per cent wealth tax on assets above £10m, which may not have been endorsed, but it wasn't ruled out either. Even this kind of speculation is damaging – confidence is fragile, and the message from policymakers matters. Successive governments have treated high-net worth individuals as a dependable source of revenue, but trust has now been eroded. It will take years of predictable, measured policymaking to rebuild it. The silver lining is that many of the highest earners appear to be holding onto their London homes while they weigh up their options. Bill's analysis showed that the number of new sales instructions in the first six months of the year in prime central London (PCL) was 32 per cent higher than the five-year average (excluding 2020). Above £5m, there was an equivalent increase of 14 per cent and above £2m, there was a rise of 22 per cent. In other words, property listings in the first half of 2025 were skewed towards the lower price brackets. Crucially, lenders are playing their part – banks are working on very tight margins and taking a proactive approach to help borrowers reach decisions that work for them. London remains one of the world's most desirable cities, but desirability isn't destiny. The government can't afford to keep learning the same lesson: that you cannot bank on a mobile, globally-minded minority to fund massive imbalances in taxing and spending. What happens next will depend not just on rates and rules, but on tone. The sooner the government steadies the narrative, the faster London can reassert its position as Europe's foremost hub for private wealth. Simon Gammon is a managing partner at Knight Frank Finance

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