Fenix review: ‘A large, brash cabaret of a thing — good for them'
We're in an odd bit of Manchester just south of the Irwell, near the science museum. Every time I visit this city, it's as if another neighbourhood has sprung up overnight. This one seems halfway sprung, with a still-in-progress air. In a few months the building opposite will be home to Manchester's branch of Soho House, and any number of other glamorous things. Right now, it's a vision of hi-vis jackets.
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BBC News
28 minutes ago
- BBC News
ADHD fundraiser Bare Wills' plea after losing £2k in admin error
An islander who took on a three-week fundraising challenge for ADHD Jersey is asking people to re-send their donations, after an administrative error refunded all the Crawford, who calls himself 'Bare Wills', slept outside for 21 days in May for the charity, raising more than £2, was recovering on holiday when he received news that his supporters had been refunded their donation amount because he had forgotten to link his bank details to the fundraising Jersey was intending to use the money to fund its teenage wellbeing programme, but have so far only been able to retrieve £650, due to people re-sending their donations. Mr Crawford said the error made is typical of how ADHD can present itself."It's just the diversity of my ADHD, I've got two Facebooks, two Instagrams, two emails – I just don't know how I missed it," he said."We have had some funds given back but I feel like people haven't seen it come back into their accounts, so don't know about what has happened." 'We are down to bare bones' Rachel Boss, chief executive of ADHD Jersey, said retrieving the money back is vital for the charity."This could have happened to any one of us," she said of the mistake. "We've got nearly £700 back so far. If we do get the rest of it back that would be absolutely phenomenal."We are self-funded at the moment, so it's people like Will doing fundraisers like this who are keeping things going - and we are down to bare bones at the moment."Any funding that we get goes directly back to the people with ADHD Jersey. We're launching a teenage wellbeing programme and we need to continue running our STEPS programme."Mr Crawford has created a new fundraising page for the donations.
Sky News
36 minutes ago
- Sky News
New electric car grants of up to £3,750 aims to drive sales
The taxpayer is to help drive the switch to non-polluting vehicles through a new grant of up to £3,750, but some of the cheapest electric cars are to be excluded. The Department for Transport (DfT) said a £650m fund was being made available for the Electric Car Grant, which is due to get into gear from Wednesday. Users of the scheme - the first of its kind since the last Conservative government scrapped grants for new electric vehicles three years ago - will be able to secure discounts based on the "sustainability" of the car. It will apply only to vehicles with a list price of £37,000 or below - with only the greenest models eligible for the highest grant. Buyers of so-called 'Band two' vehicles can receive up to £1,500. The qualification criteria includes a recognition of a vehicle's carbon footprint from manufacture to showroom so UK-produced EVs, costing less than £37,000, would be expected to qualify for the top grant. It is understood that Chinese-produced EVs - often the cheapest in the market - would not. DfT said 33 new electric car models were currently available for less than £30,000. The government has been encouraged to act as sales of new electric vehicles are struggling to keep pace with what is needed to meet emissions targets. Challenges include the high prices for electric cars when compared to conventionally-powered models. At the same time, consumer and business budgets have been squeezed since the 2022 cost of living crisis - and households and businesses are continuing to feel the pinch to this day. 3:29 Another key concern is the state of the public charging network. Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said: "This EV grant will not only allow people to keep more of their hard-earned money - it'll help our automotive sector seize one of the biggest opportunities of the 21st century. "And with over 82,000 public chargepoints now available across the UK, we've built the infrastructure families need to make the switch with confidence." The Government has pledged to ban the sale of new fully petrol or diesel cars and vans from 2030 but has allowed non-plug in hybrid sales to continue until 2025. It is hoped that the grants will enable the industry to meet and even exceed the current zero emission vehicle mandate. Under the rules, at least 28% of new cars sold by each manufacturer in the UK this year must be zero emission. The figure stood at 21.6% during the first half of the year. The car industry has long complained that it has had to foot a multi-billion pound bill to woo buyers for electric cars through "unsustainable" discounting. Mike Hawes, chief executive of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, said the grants sent a "clear signal to consumers that now is the time to switch". He went on: "Rapid deployment and availability of this grant over the next few years will help provide the momentum that is essential to take the EV market from just one in four today, to four in five by the end of the decade." But the Conservatives questioned whether taxpayers should be footing the bill. Shadow transport secretary Gareth Bacon said: "Last week, the Office for Budget Responsibility made clear the transition to EVs comes at a cost, and this scheme only adds to it.
BBC News
38 minutes ago
- BBC News
Auditors raise concerns over unfinished Hilton hotel loan
Auditors have raised concerns over a £15m loan taken out eight years ago to build a city centre Hilton hotel that remains City Council borrowed the money in 2017 for the construction of the 160-bedroom hotel in Fletton an audit plan, accountancy firm EY said there was a "significant" risk the value of the hotel would be less than the amount of the City Council has been approached for a response. In 2017 the authority borrowed £15m from the government so it could lend money to a developer to build the hotel, which has grown to about £17m including stalled in 2020, which the authority blamed on a slowdown in the buildings industry following Brexit and the coronavirus company responsible for building the Hilton went into administration in 2023, prompting plans by the council to sell it to another striking a deal last year, the sale unexpectedly fell through before contracts were council recently decided to buy the hotel in order to write off its loan to the developer and then restart construction plan is for the council to oversee the completion of the hotel, before it can pay back its loan to the government, either by selling the hotel or using the income generated from guests. 'Vigilant oversight' In its audit plan for the year ending 31 March, EY highlighted concerns over "governance arrangements in relation to the Hilton hotel loan".It said there was a risk the sale of the hotel would not be sufficient to cover the cost of the loan."We recommend the council to maintain vigilant oversight of the financial implications arising from the Hilton hotel loan," it said in the ambition is for the new hotel, which is currently about 80% complete, to form part of a wider redevelopment of the Fletton Quays would be run as a franchise using the Hilton brand.A spokesperson for Hilton has previously said: "Hilton Garden Inn Peterborough remains an important project for us and we look forward to working closely with key stakeholders to complete the development at the earliest opportunity."EY's report will be considered by the council's audit committee at a meeting on 21 July.A report produced ahead of the meeting said: "Ensuring our base foundations are robust forms a crucial part of the council's journey to financial sustainability." Follow Peterborough news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
