Plans for new cycle lane 'strongly rejected' by residents
The people living around Wilmington Square have opposed the proposals after a site visit with council contractors.
Meads councillor Robert Smart arranged the meeting between residents and engineers from Balfour Beatty after early-stage plans for a new cycle route came to light.
The plans included a three-metre-wide cycle lane along the southern edge of the green, relocation of lamp posts, conversion of one road to one-way, and removal of six parking spaces.
READ MORE: I tried Brighton's best takeaway - but did it live up to the hype?
A three-metre-wide strip of grass, part of the original Victorian square, would be replaced with tarmac.
However, many residents were unaware of the scheme until the meeting.
Colin Ball, a resident in the area, said: "It's a complete waste of money and time."
Councillor Smart added: "Spending thousands of pounds to build a short cycle lane across a quiet square - one that's already used safely by both cyclists and drivers - is a complete waste of public money.
"Residents were shocked to learn of these plans and are quite rightly asking why, at a time when so many local services are under pressure, this is being treated as a priority.
"It's a badly thought-through scheme with no local support."
The Friends of Wilmington Square group, led by Cathy Woolgar, is questioning how previous consultations failed to inform them about the proposed scheme.
Councillor Smart is now calling for the plan to be paused and for a proper consultation with residents before any irreversible damage is done to the historic public space.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Yahoo
Who can afford the electric revolution? The £700m question
The UK government recently unveiled a £700 million package aimed at jumpstarting the electric vehicle (EV) transition. At the heart of the plan is a £640 million subsidy scheme to help drivers cover the upfront cost of a new electric vehicle, and an additional £63 million to expand EV charging infrastructure. Switch Auto Insurance and Save Today! Affordable Auto Insurance, Customized for You Great Rates and Award-Winning Service The Insurance Savings You Expect The message from Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander is clear: electric vehicles must become more accessible to the average motorist. 'There are a lot of people out there who think that EVs are just for the very wealthiest,' she admitted to The Telegraph. And on the surface, she's not wrong. The average price of a new electric car in Britain is just shy of £50,000, more than double the cost of a typical petrol model. But the message beneath the headline is more ambiguous. Is this plan enough to truly democratise the EV market? Or is it just another patchwork attempt to meet the looming 2030 petrol and diesel car ban, without fully reckoning with the underlying economics of the transition? Too steep for the mass market Let's be blunt: for the vast majority of households in Britain, a £50,000 vehicle is simply not in the realm of possibility. Even with a government grant, rumoured to prioritise UK-made EVs like the upcoming Nissan Leaf from Sunderland, the affordability gap remains vast. The previous Conservative government scrapped EV subsidies in 2022, claiming the market had matured. Since then, demand from private buyers has plummeted, with new consumer EV enquiries dropping 65% year-on-year. It's not just the sticker price. EVs face high depreciation rates due to battery degradation, and many consumers remain wary of both their long-term reliability and resale value. Buying an EV is still perceived by many as a financial risk, not a forward-looking investment. This is the crux of the problem: net zero targets depend on mass adoption, but mass adoption depends on affordability. And the market has failed to close that gap on its own. A patch for a broken model? To be fair, the government's new package includes more than just subsidies. Councils will receive £25 million for cross-pavement gullies, allowing people in terraced houses to charge their EVs at home using cheaper electricity rates. A further £63 million will expand public charging infrastructure and improve signage, a necessary step to address so-called 'range anxiety.' Yet infrastructure is not the primary barrier, it's economics. According to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), EVs accounted for about 20% of new car sales in the first half of 2025. But that growth is increasingly driven by fleet and leasing schemes, not individual consumers. Motability One potentially transformative idea comes from Julian Rose of Asset Finance Policy, who argues that the government could build on the existing Motability scheme to create a fairer and more effective solution to the EV affordability crisis. Rose proposes a revised scheme focused on used EVs and hybrids, with eligibility expanded to include not just those with medical conditions, but also households on low incomes. Key to the idea is removing VAT from lease payments, as with the current Motability model, and offering a modest upfront grant — perhaps £1,000 — to reduce monthly payments. Rose also suggests capped interest rates and using the proven administrative frameworks of Clean Air Zone vehicle replacement schemes to prevent abuse. This approach, he argues, would not only 'help struggling families obtain vital mobility at an affordable monthly cost,' but would also 'strengthen the used car EV market,' reducing depreciation risk and encouraging new EV purchases. With used EV prices currently low, Rose sees this as a 'one-off opportunity' to both support families and build resilience into the second-hand EV market—complementing, not competing with, the government's newly announced subsidy programme. Leasing Meanwhile, private leasing continues to offer a critical bridge. UK-based and continental initiatives like Belgium's LIZY have made second-hand EV leasing more accessible, offering fixed monthly costs that are often lower than car loans. These platforms are proving essential for younger, urban drivers and SMEs who need flexibility and lower upfront investment. Such business models show that affordability isn't just about the purchase price, it's about the total cost of use. Leasing could help normalise EVs in the public mind and serve as a bridge to wider ownership, but these solutions are only scalable if backed by supportive policies and a competitive second-hand EV market. Risk of a two-tier transition What the government is offering now is a partial step forward, welcome, but insufficient. A £640 million grant scheme may provide short-term stimulus, especially for British-made models, but it won't fix the structural problems of price, depreciation, and market segmentation. There's a very real risk we're heading toward a two-tier EV transition: one where company fleets and wealthy households lead the charge, while ordinary drivers are left behind. That undermines both climate goals and social equity. If this revolution is truly meant for everyone, then it can't be designed around those who can already afford to participate. The electric future must be one the average person can actually buy into — literally. So yes, £700 million is a big number. But unless it translates into genuine affordability for the mass market, it won't be nearly enough. "Who can afford the electric revolution? The £700m question" was originally created and published by Motor Finance Online, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Yahoo
UK fears new summer of unrest, year after Southport riots
Concern is mounting that recent violent anti-immigrant protests could herald a new summer of unrest, a year after the UK was rocked by its worst riots in decades. Police have arrested 16 people since protests flared last week outside a hotel housing asylum seekers in the town of Epping, northeast of London. In one demonstration, eight police officers were injured. The unrest was "not just a troubling one-off", said the chairwoman of the Police Federation, Tiff Lynch. "It was a signal flare. A reminder of how little it takes for tensions to erupt and how ill-prepared we remain to deal with it," she wrote in the Daily Telegraph. Protestors shouted "save our children" and "send them home", while banners called for the expulsion of "foreign criminals". Cabinet minister Jonathan Reynolds on Thursday urged people not to speculate or exaggerate the situation, saying "the government, all the key agencies, the police, they prepare for all situations. "I understand the frustrations people have," he told Sky News. The government was trying to fix the problem and that the number of hotels occupied by asylum seekers had dropped from 400 to 200, he added. The issue of thousands of irregular migrants arriving in small boats across the Channel, coupled with the UK's worsening economy, has triggered rising anger among some Britons. Such sentiments have been amplified by inflammatory messaging on social networks, fuelled by far-right activists. Almost exactly a year ago on July 29, 2024, three young girls were stabbed to death in a frenzied attack in northwestern Southport. The shocking killings stoked days of riots across the country after false reports that the killer -- a UK-born teenager whose family came to the country from Rwanda after the 1994 genocide -- was a migrant. Nearly 24,000 migrants have made the perilous journey across the Channel so far in 2025, the highest-ever tally at this point in a year. The issue has become politically perilous, putting pressure on Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer's centre-left government, as the anti-immigrant, far-right Reform UK party rises in the polls. - 'More unrest likely' - The Epping protests were stirred after a 38-year-old asylum seeker, who only arrived in Britain in late June, was arrested and charged with three counts of sexual assault. Images from the protests have gone viral on social networks, mirroring what happened last July. But Epping residents have maintained that the protests are being fuelled by people from outside the community. "These violent scenes ... are not Epping, and they are not what we stand for," the Conservative MP for Epping, Neil Hudson, told parliament Monday. While calm was restored to Epping, a middle-class suburban town with a population of 12,000, tensions remain palpable. "This is the first time something like this has happened," one local who lives close to the Bell Hotel told AFP, asking not to be named. "The issue is not the hotel, but extremists applying a political ideology," he added. Late on Thursday, the hotel, cordoned off behind barriers, was again the centre of a protest involving dozens of people, with police making one arrest. With another protest expected on Sunday, the local council voted through a motion to demand the government no longer house asylum seekers at the hotel. The UK is "likely to see more racist riots take place this summer", said Aurelien Mondon, politics professor and expert on far-right and reactionary discourse at Bath University. Anti-immigrant protests have already erupted elsewhere, with demonstrations in the southeastern town of Diss in Norfolk outside a similar hotel on Monday. Last month, clashes flared for several days in the town of Ballymena in Northern Ireland after two teenagers with Romanian roots were arrested for the alleged attempted rape of a young girl. - 'Civil disobedience' - "It is well documented that many of the protests we are witnessing are not the result of grassroots, local movements," Mondon said. "Social media plays a role and facilitates coordination amongst extreme-right groups," but it is "also crucial not to exaggerate" its power, he added. High-profile far-right activist Tommy Robinson, who was blamed for stoking the Southport unrest, announced he would be in Epping on Sunday, before later seeming to scrap the plan. The firebrand anti-Islam campaigner has just been freed from jail after spreading fake news about a Syrian immigrant, but faces trial on a separate issue in 2026. "I don't think anybody in London even understands just how close we are to civil disobedience on a vast scale," said Reform leader Nigel Farage. "Most of the people outside that hotel in Epping weren't far right or far left," he said, they "were just genuinely concerned families". mct-ebl/jkb/jj/lb
Yahoo
11 hours ago
- Yahoo
Trump to land in Scotland on Friday for start of five-day private trip
Donald Trump will land in Scotland later on Friday as he begins his five-day private trip to the country. The US president is expected to arrive at Prestwick Airport in the evening, before heading over to his Turnberry golf course in South Ayrshire. He is then expected to head over to his Menie golf course in Aberdeenshire before opening up a new course dedicated to his Scottish mother, who grew up on the Isle of Lewis. He will leave the country at some point on Tuesday. His presence will result in a significant operation from Police Scotland and thousands of officers, who are expected to deal with mass protests around his golf courses and major Scottish cities. Mr Trump will be greeted by Scottish Secretary Ian Murray when he lands, with the minister pledging to give the American leader a 'warm welcome'. He will meet with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer during his stay when the pair will discuss the UK-US trade deal. The US president will also meet with First Minister John Swinney. The SNP leader previously said he would have the opportunity to raise various issues with Mr Trump, including tariffs, Gaza and Ukraine. Speaking ahead of his arrival, Mr Swinney said the global attention the visit will receive provides Scotland with an opportunity to respectfully demonstrate the principles of freedom and justice for all, while also promoting Scotland's tourism sector and economic investment potential. He said: 'Scotland shares a strong friendship with the United States that goes back centuries. 'That partnership remains steadfast through economic, cultural and ancestral links – including of course, with the President himself. 'As we welcome the President of the United States, Scotland will be showcased on the world stage. 'This provides Scotland with a platform to make its voice heard on the issues that matter, including war and peace, justice and democracy. 'It also includes the millions of Americans – many of them potential future tourists or investors in Scotland – who will watch their elected President as he visits our country. 'As First Minister it is my responsibility to advance our interests, raise global and humanitarian issues of significant importance, including the unimaginable suffering we are witnessing in Gaza, and ensure Scotland's voice is heard at the highest levels of government across the world. 'That is exactly what I will do when I meet with President Trump during his time in Scotland.' The SNP leader said Scotland is a 'proud democratic nation' that 'stands firm on the principles of equality and freedom for all, and a society that stands up for a fair and just world'. Ahead of protests expected around Scotland, he said people had a right to 'peaceful demonstration', adding that 'everyone has the democratic right to protect and express their views in a peaceful, and democratic manner'. 'That is right and proper,' he added. 'I am confident the vast majority of people protesting will do Scotland proud and demonstrate as they should – peacefully and lawfully. 'I am also confident that Scotland's police service can handle the challenge of keeping all our communities safe and, as they must, in maintaining the appropriate security any US President requires. 'This weekend is a landmark moment in our relationship with the United States, and I am certain it will be remembered for Scotland showing the world the very best of itself.'
