Latest news with #BaronessTwycross
BBC News
5 days ago
- BBC News
Seaside stories sought for map to celebrate coastal gems
People are being asked for special memories and images of their favourite coastal landmarks to add to an interactive map celebrating the country's seaside England's map already features coastal gems such as the Art Deco Midland Hotel in Morecambe, Lancashire, and Blackpool Pleasure Beach's Big Dipper Fort Perch Rock, built between 1825 and 1829 as a coastal defence battery to protect the Port of Liverpool in Wallasey, Wirral, is also England is inviting contributions including photographs, drawings, text or audio for its Missing Pieces project, which helps tell the story of coastal places that hold a special place in people's hearts. The map celebrates nearly 300 years of seaside history, from the Grade II-listed Big Dipper rollercoaster to the Grade I-listed Blackpool Tower buildings as well as the Winter Gardens in Morecambe which first opened in 1897 and the nearby Midland Hotel. It also includes the Grade II*-listed Fort Perch Rock, which is now home to a maritime and aviation museum, and Grade II-listed Seacombe Ferry Terminal in Wirral. People are encouraged to submit photographs, drawings, written information or audio recordings about their cherished coastal Minister Baroness Twycross urged everyone to contribute to the project "to preserve the history of our coastal towns and breathe new life into their future".Duncan Wilson, chief executive of Historic England, said the full richness of the country's seaside heritage "cannot be captured without the first-hand accounts, images and memories of those who've experienced them". Listen to the best of BBC Radio Lancashire on Sounds and follow BBC Lancashire on Facebook, X and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.
The Sun
16-07-2025
- The Sun
Britain's most iconic seaside landmarks mapped from historic theme park rollercoasters to Art Deco lidos
BRITAIN'S most iconic seaside landmarks have been revealed. Historic England has compiled an interactive map celebrating 300 years of British coastal culture. 9 9 9 They include Blackpool Pleasure Beach's Big Dipper, the Art Deco Jubilee Swimming Pool in Penzance, Cornwall, Southend-on-Sea's Pleasure Pier in Essex, and Bamburgh Castle in Northumberland. The public are being urged to submit photos, drawings, written information or audio recordings about the landmarks that hold special significance or memories to them. The Missing Pieces project includes piers, pavilions, arcades, bandstands, lidos, railway stations and lighthouses. Heritage Minister, Baroness Twycross, said: "Our seaside communities play a huge role in telling our national story. "I encourage everyone to contribute to the Missing Pieces Project to preserve the history of our coastal towns and breathe new life into their future." 9 9 Duncan Wilson, chief executive, Historic England, said: 'Our seaside places hold a special place in our national story, yet the full richness of their heritage cannot be captured without the first-hand accounts, images and memories of those who've experienced them. 'I encourage people to contribute to the Missing Pieces Project, so we can all help ensure these treasured coastal landmarks are celebrated." The sites on the interactive map also include the De La Warr pavilion at Bexhill-on-Sea, East Sussex, and Peasholm Park in Scarborough, North Yorkshire. 9 9 9 9
The Independent
07-07-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Media faces existential threat from ‘thieving' AI, ministers warned
Artificial intelligence poses an 'existential threat' to the free press by stealing content and so putting at risk quality news and thousands of reporter jobs, the Government has been warned at Westminster. Urgent reform was demanded in Parliament, as ministers were also tackled over Whitehall striking an agreement with a Canadian tech giant that faces legal action by media firms over accusations of large-scale copyright infringement. The call for swift action follows a bitter stand-off in the House of Lords over attempts to prevent the creative industries, including news outlets, being ripped off by machine-learning developers. The controversy centred on fears of AI companies using copyrighted work without permission, with the Government accused of 'supporting thieves'. Responding to a question on the issue in the upper chamber, media minister Baroness Twycross said: 'Trustworthy journalism plays a vital role in our democracy. 'Rapid recent developments in generative AI pose both significant risks and opportunities for news media. 'We are engaging with press stakeholders on this.' She added: 'The Government will support our news media to capitalise on the huge potential benefits of the technology while mitigating its risk.' But deputy chairman of the Telegraph Group, and Conservative peer, Lord Black of Brentwood said: 'AI poses an existential threat to independent media because of the way it scrapes their high quality content without either attribution or payment to those who create it, which is an act of theft, directly threatening the provision of quality news and the jobs of thousands of reporters. 'Is the minister aware that research by market leader, Cloudflare, shows that, for example, for every 73,000 pages of content scraped by Anthropic's AI crawlers from news providers, there's just one single referral back to publishers' websites? 'Does she realise that without this vital traffic, publishers can't sell advertising or subscriptions, and their businesses become unsustainable? 'The free press can't wait years for copyright reform… we were promised immediate action on this issue when the Data Act went through. When will we get some of it?' Responding, Lady Twycross said: 'We want to get this right and for AI to work for everyone. 'All of our work is around protecting rights that already exist for creatives and press and ensuring AI creates new revenue streams for them. 'We are carefully reviewing all the responses to our consultation to ensure any proposals taken forward properly support both AI and creative sectors, including the media.' Filmmaker Baroness Kidron, who has been a leading critic of the Labour administration on the issue, said: 'During the passage of the Data (Use and Access) Bill, the Government asked repeatedly that Parliament trust that they had the interest of UK copyright holders front and centre. 'So can the minister explain why the UK Government has now signed a memorandum of understanding with Canadian AI firm Cohere, when Cohere is facing legal action from 13 news media copyright holders, including The Guardian, Forbes and The Atlantic? 'Does she not agree with me that the Government might better earn Parliament's trust if, instead of rewarding AI companies which infringe copyright with opportunities, that it limited those opportunities and indeed future Government contracts to companies that lawfully license inputs?' Lady Twycross said: 'As I said, we do want to and need to make sure we get this right for everyone. I'm happy to have a conversation with her about the issue she raises.'
Yahoo
07-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Media faces existential threat from ‘thieving' AI, ministers warned
Artificial intelligence poses an 'existential threat' to the free press by stealing content and so putting at risk quality news and thousands of reporter jobs, the Government has been warned at Westminster. Urgent reform was demanded in Parliament, as ministers were also tackled over Whitehall striking an agreement with a Canadian tech giant that faces legal action by media firms over accusations of large-scale copyright infringement. The call for swift action follows a bitter stand-off in the House of Lords over attempts to prevent the creative industries, including news outlets, being ripped off by machine-learning developers. The controversy centred on fears of AI companies using copyrighted work without permission, with the Government accused of 'supporting thieves'. Responding to a question on the issue in the upper chamber, media minister Baroness Twycross said: 'Trustworthy journalism plays a vital role in our democracy. 'Rapid recent developments in generative AI pose both significant risks and opportunities for news media. 'We are engaging with press stakeholders on this.' She added: 'The Government will support our news media to capitalise on the huge potential benefits of the technology while mitigating its risk.' But deputy chairman of the Telegraph Group, and Conservative peer, Lord Black of Brentwood said: 'AI poses an existential threat to independent media because of the way it scrapes their high quality content without either attribution or payment to those who create it, which is an act of theft, directly threatening the provision of quality news and the jobs of thousands of reporters. 'Is the minister aware that research by market leader, Cloudflare, shows that, for example, for every 73,000 pages of content scraped by Anthropic's AI crawlers from news providers, there's just one single referral back to publishers' websites? 'Does she realise that without this vital traffic, publishers can't sell advertising or subscriptions, and their businesses become unsustainable? 'The free press can't wait years for copyright reform… we were promised immediate action on this issue when the Data Act went through. When will we get some of it?' Responding, Lady Twycross said: 'We want to get this right and for AI to work for everyone. 'All of our work is around protecting rights that already exist for creatives and press and ensuring AI creates new revenue streams for them. 'We are carefully reviewing all the responses to our consultation to ensure any proposals taken forward properly support both AI and creative sectors, including the media.' Filmmaker Baroness Kidron, who has been a leading critic of the Labour administration on the issue, said: 'During the passage of the Data (Use and Access) Bill, the Government asked repeatedly that Parliament trust that they had the interest of UK copyright holders front and centre. 'So can the minister explain why the UK Government has now signed a memorandum of understanding with Canadian AI firm Cohere, when Cohere is facing legal action from 13 news media copyright holders, including The Guardian, Forbes and The Atlantic? 'Does she not agree with me that the Government might better earn Parliament's trust if, instead of rewarding AI companies which infringe copyright with opportunities, that it limited those opportunities and indeed future Government contracts to companies that lawfully license inputs?' Lady Twycross said: 'As I said, we do want to and need to make sure we get this right for everyone. I'm happy to have a conversation with her about the issue she raises.'
BBC News
26-06-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Former ironmonger's store in Littleport is granted listed status
A former ironmonger's store dubbed a "time capsule of commercial history" has been granted Grade II listed status. The old J. H. Adams shop - now the Adams Heritage Centre - in Littleport, Cambridgeshire, served customers for more than a century, specialising in footwear for the local Fen shop is described as a "remarkable surviving example of a Victorian commercial building" and has been listed by the government's Department for Culture, Media and Sport, on the advice of Historic England."By listing this remarkable building, we're ensuring future generations can continue to learn about and be inspired by this wonderful heritage site," said Heritage Minister Baroness Twycross. Historic England was now urging people to add any photos, information and memories of the old shop to its Missing Pieces Project, so as much could be known about its past as possible. The former ironmonger's at 17 Main Street was built in 1893, initially for local ironmongers H. and J. Cutlack, before being bought by John Henry Adams in 1901. It continued trading as J. H. Adams and Sons until 2010, when it became a heritage features original folding wrought-iron gates from 1892, a recessed entrance with tiled floor, etched and painted glass with original business lettering - and mid-19th Century full-height wooden shelving, relocated from Lincolne's chemist in Ely. The one-time shop also boasts a steel-framed structure - technologically advanced for its well as recognising the building's architectural elements, the listing notes its social significance. Adams specialised in fitting and maintaining Hagan Norwegian ice skates – lightweight metal-bladed speed skates popular with fen skaters. Historic England said the shop was a hub for this distinctive local sport, importing skates from Oslo and developing a UK distribution also said it formed a cluster of historically important and listed buildings in Main Street. Duncan Wilson, chief executive of Historic England, said: "It is extremely rare to find commercial buildings from the late 19th Century that retain such a high proportion of their original features."From the ornate shopfront to the historic shelving units, Adams Heritage Centre provides us with a vivid glimpse into shopping experiences of the past." Peter Audus, who owns Adams Heritage Centre, said preserving the building for the future had been a "long-term aim", while the Trustees of Adams Heritage Centre said the listing was national recognition of the market town's traditions and heritage. Follow Cambridgeshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
