Lincolnshire council names 76 sites as it plans to sell assets
The county council has published a list of the properties included in the review.Councillor Liam Kelly, executive member for growth at the Reform-led authority, told a meeting of the growth committee on Tuesday that he wanted to "maximise revenue for council taxpayers", as well as social value.The authority would look into selling sites to community groups and trusts "where appropriate".However, Kelly added: "I know examples in the past where a property was sold and didn't get the best value."It was then rented back to the council and the owner recovered costs within two years from the taxpayer. That will not be repeated again."
'Wrong hands'
The meeting also heard concerns about a lack of scrutiny, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service. An amendment by opposition councillors, stating any potential sales would be brought back to the committee for debate, was passed.Councillor Tom Dyer (Conservative) said: "This isn't more red tape, it's about democratic accountability."He told the meeting potential buyers needed to be "carefully vetted" to ensure "buildings don't fall into the wrong hands"."We've had previous interest from county lines gangs [drug networks] in the past."We don't want the Home Office to buy them for temporary asylum-seeker accommodation, or end up with land covered with solar panels either."A total of 81 properties were sold under the previous Conservative administration over the last four years, raising a total of £19m.
Listen to highlights from Lincolnshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here.
Download the BBC News app from the App Store for iPhone and iPad or Google Play for Android devices
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
25 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Millions of motorists will have to wait until next year to receive motor finance compensation after Supreme Court case, competition watchdog reveals
Millions of motorists overcharged for car finance will have to wait until next year for settlements – with consultation on a proposed compensation scheme worth up to £18bn not due to launch until October. The Financial Conduct Agency announced the development this afternoon after a Supreme Court ruling on Friday – but said it would 'take time to establish a (compensation) scheme'. The FCA estimates 'most individuals will probably receive less than £950 in compensation' per claim, with the total value of the scheme between £9bn and £18bn. Some individuals who bought several cars via hire purchase could receive multiple payouts. Officials said they hope 'to start getting people any money they are owed next year'. In the meantime, the watchdog urged people to wait rather than taking action via a claims management company or law firm as it could 'cost you a significant chunk of any money you get'. It said it has already taken action against publishers of 225 adverts 'about potentially exaggerated amounts of compensation'. The FCA's stance was today backed by Money Saving Expert guru, who told his followers on X (formerly known as Twitter) to avoid claims firms or solicitors and that 'the most important thing is to DO nothing'. The FCA said 'many motor finance firms were not complying with rules or the law by not providing customers with relevant information about commission paid by lenders to the car dealers who sold the loans'. It defended its action in the wake of the court ruling, saying it 'moved quickly' on 'steps to set up a proposed compensation scheme because it wants to provide clarity and certainty to consumers, firms and investors as quickly as possible'. But FCA officials stressed that 'want to ensure the integrity of the motor finance market so it works well for consumers now and in the future' and that the compensation scheme would need to 'balance principles including fairness, timeliness, and certainty'. Nikhil Rathi, chief executive of the FCA, said: 'It will take time to establish a scheme but we hope to start getting people any money they are owed next year. 'Our aim is a compensation scheme that's fair and easy to participate in, so there's no need to use a claims management company or law firm.' He added: 'It is clear that some firms have broken the law and our rules. It's fair for their customers to be compensated. 'We also want to ensure that the market, relied on by millions each year, can continue to work well and consumers can get a fair deal.' The FCA is working on rules to govern the finance schemes, used by 2.2m people each year, to ensure lenders 'consistently, efficiently and fairly decide whether someone is owed compensation and how much'. The FCA said motorists who have already complained don't need to do anything but urged others to submit a complaint, if they think they have paid too much for motor finance. It added it would be 'working intensively and engaging widely over the coming weeks on the detail of how a scheme would work'. The Supreme Court's ruling found that hidden commissions from lenders to dealers on car loans were not in themselves unlawful, excluding several million motorists from making claims. The court said car dealers did not need to operate with a 'single-minded' duty to 'act only in their customers' best interests' when arranging finance – and rejected a claim finance companies had bribed car dealers. But it found the payment of particularly large commissions, without customers' knowledge, were unfair and affected customers in those cases should be compensated. The five judges said a case where the commission was 55pc of the total charge for credit was 'unfair' and that a failure to disclose the 'exact nature of the commission, and the concealment of the commercial tie between the dealer and the lender' was wrong. Analysts for investment bank Jefferies heralded the judgement as a 'huge win' for car financing firms as it means the companies can avoid a much larger compensation bill which some market experts forecasted could be as large as that for PPI (payment protection insurance). The scandal led to payouts totalling £50bn. To make a report about potential mis-selling of car finance, visit
The Sun
25 minutes ago
- The Sun
Major health retailer with 700 stores to shut another branch as closing down sale launched
A MAJOR health retailer with more than 700 branches is shutting another store in days as a closing down sale is launched. Holland and Barrett is pulling down the shutters on the shop in the Middleton Grange Shopping Centre, Hartlepool. 1 The branch will open for the last time on Wednesday, August 6, reports the Hartlepool Mail. Stock has also reportedly been reduced by up to 75% off, with shoppers able to get some major bargains. A spokesperson for Holland & Barrett told the Hartlepool Mail: 'As part of Holland & Barrett's £70m investment in the transformation of its stores, technology and new product development, we are continually reviewing our locations to provide our customers the very best health and wellness products and advice. "This includes opening new stores, consolidating some smaller stores into one larger store, and in some instances, closing stores where there is no longer strong customer demand." It comes after closing down signs were spotted at another Holland and Barrett branch in Inverness, Scotland, in June. No exact closure date for the branch was revealed, with shoppers signposted to the health retailer's website. A store in Henley also relocated earlier this year. However, it is far from all bad news for Holland and Barrett as it recently toasted positive financial results. It ended the financial year up to September 30, 2024, with 10% year-on-year sales growth and gross profit totalling £524.2million. This was the second year running of double-digit growth as it looks to open more stores globally. Britain's retail apocalypse: why your favourite stores KEEP closing down It plans to open 36 new stores across its estate as well as freshen up 320 existing branches. The retailer also has plans to launch more concessions across the UK and Ireland, Netherlands and Belgium. Its own-label range will also be expanded by 400 products, taking the total to 1,000. Alex Gourlay, executive chair of Holland and Barrett, said: "Our retail performance continues to outperform the UK and Netherlands high streets and compares strongly against other European countries. "We are energised by the momentum we've built and excited for the opportunities ahead. "I could not be happier with the ongoing performance of the business or prouder of our colleagues who have been at the heart of delivering this strong growth." HIGH STREET STRUGGLES The high street has majorly struggled in recent years due to a combination of factors. Shoppers are buying much more of their products online, while retailers have faced higher rental, wage and energy costs. The Centre for Retail Research says the sector has been going through a "permacrisis" since the 2008 financial crash. Figures from the Centre show 34 retail companies operating multiple stores stopped trading in 2024, leading to the closure of 7,537 shops. Businesses have cautioned more closures are to be expected this year as well due to the hike to employer NICs and staff wages. The rate of employer NICs was hiked from 13.8% to 15% and the threshold at which they are paid lowered from £9,100 to £5,000 in April. The national minimum wage was also increased by up to £12.21 a hour. Some big names have already announced mass store closures in 2025, including Poundland, Hobbycraft and The Original Factory Shop. RETAIL PAIN IN 2025 The British Retail Consortium predicted that the Treasury's hike to employer NICs will cost the retail sector £2.3billion. Research by the British Chambers of Commerce showed that more than half of companies planned to raise prices by early April. A survey of more than 4,800 firms also found that 55% expect prices to increase in the next three months, up from 39% in a similar poll conducted in the latter half of 2024. Three-quarters of companies cited the cost of employing people as their primary financial pressure. The Centre for Retail Research (CRR) has also warned that around 17,350 retail sites are expected to shut down this year. It comes on the back of a tough 2024 when 13,000 shops closed their doors for good, already a 28% increase on the previous year. Professor Joshua Bamfield, director of the CRR said: "The results for 2024 show that although the outcomes for store closures overall were not as poor as in either 2020 or 2022, they are still disconcerting, with worse set to come in 2025." Professor Bamfield has also warned of a bleak outlook for 2025, predicting that as many as 202,000 jobs could be lost in the sector. "By increasing both the costs of running stores and the costs on each consumer's household it is highly likely that we will see retail job losses eclipse the height of the pandemic in 2020." The Sun asked Holland and Barrett to comment.
Daily Mail
25 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Peaceful pink-wearing mothers' migrants protest turns to violence: Masked men hijack demonstration, trying to rush gates at asylum seekers hotel before police crack down
A peaceful protest by mothers wearing pink turned to violence this afternoon as masked thugs hijacked the demonstration outside a migrant hotel. The group of women and children gathered outside the four-star Britannia International hotel in Canary Wharf, London, today where they sat and chanted 'stop the boats'. The group held up England flags and wore pink clothing to raise awareness of how women and young people are being 'let down' by the migrant crisis. But the peaceful protest quickly turned to chaos as a group of up to 30 balaclava-clad men - all with their faces covered - swarmed the crowd. The thugs caused a huge bang as they set off smoke bombs and chanted ' Keir Starmer is a w*****'. After trying to charge the fence surrounding the hotel, the group of far-right activists ran back in the direction they came from - but were caught by police and several arrests were made. Protester Kim, 60, a resident of the area, said she was demonstrating as she worries for the safety of her family. 'I live in this area, I have kids and grandkids and it needs to be safe for them to live. We don't know them [asylum seekers], we don't know what they've done. My son can't get a house; he has been on the council list since he was 17.' Speaking about the disruption from masked protesters, Kim said: 'It is disgraceful. It completely upset the atmosphere. I don't want to see that and I don't want my kids to see. 'If that was one of my children I would embarrassed. It ruined the atmosphere. This was meant to be a peaceful protest for women and children.' A 17-year-old protester, who goes by the nickname of 'Young Bob', said he is concerned migrants will struggle to 'integrate' if they are housed in hotels in Canary Wharf. Young Bob, who was part of the peaceful mothers' protest, said: 'The counter demonstrators libel us as Nazis. 'But financial districts like these are not ideal for refugees who in the long term need integration. 'During the weekday there are not a lot of people around. 'How will they assimilate into Britishness in this environment? 'Business people who had bookings in the hotel are being turned away which will impact businesses round here.' He added: 'The biggest diversity we can have is the diversity of opinion. 'The protesters who disagree with us should relax in the expletives because it demonstrates a childishness.' On Saturday, people believed to be asylum seekers appeared to move into the four-star hotel in London under the cover of darkness. A coach full of suspected migrants was seen arriving at the Britannia International Hotel at around 1.40am on Saturday morning. Tower Hamlets Council confirmed the Government intends to use the hotel - which has around 500 rooms - for asylum seekers in a move that has angered anti-migrant protesters and guests whose bookings have been cancelled. Footage of the passengers getting off the coach showed they were all men, with the vast majority dressed in matching grey tracksuit tops and bottoms. They were helped by masked security guards, some of whom appeared to be wearing body cameras. Last week, workers were seen hauling beds and mattresses into the hotel in preparation for the arrival of 'hundreds' of asylum seekers. A barricade of metal fencing was placed around the hotel by the Metropolitan Police after anti-migrant demonstrators protested the plan for immigrants to be housed there. The Daily Mail has contacted the Met Police for comment.
