Latest news with #LakeDistrict
The Independent
an hour ago
- Business
- The Independent
Gary Neville hits out at Rachel Reeves over national insurance hike
Gary Neville has hit out at Rachel Reeves for her national insurance hike, saying it has hampered employment and 'could have been held back'. The ex-Manchester United star said the chancellor has significantly increased the burden on businesses and that the national insurance increase was 'a challenge'. Mr Neville was a vocal backer of Labour at the last general election, at one point walking in the fells of the Lake District with Sir Keir Starmer for a video endorsing the party. But he has now joined business leaders and economists in attacking the chancellor's decisions since entering government. Critics say Ms Reeves and Sir Keir's doom and gloom in the wake of the election, as well as the chancellor's tax-hiking October Budget, held back the economy. Speaking to Sky's Business Live, Mr Neville, whose firms employ hundreds of staff, said: 'I honestly don't believe that, to be fair, companies and small businesses should be deterred from employing people. So, I think the national insurance rise was one that I feel probably could have been held back, particularly in terms of the way in which the economy was. 'It's been a tough economy now for a good few years and I did think that once there was a change of government, and once there was some stability, that we would get some settling. "But it's not settling locally in our country, but it is not settling actually, to be fair, in many places in the world either.' Mr Neville supported the chancellor's minimum wage increase, which has also piled pressure on some businesses. 'People, to be fair, should be paid more so I don't think that's something that you can be critical of,' he added. But he said: 'I do think that the national insurance rise, though, was a challenge.' The footballer's comments come months before the chancellor's second Budget, in which she is seeking to find billions of pounds of tax hikes and spending cuts to fill a hole left by Labour's chaotic winter fuel U-turn. Ms Reeves was left with a £5bn gap in her spending plans when Sir Keir abandoned his planned benefit cuts, and could need to find billions more due to the fallout from Donald Trump 's global trade war. The global body's latest World Economic Outlook said the economy would grow by 1.2 per cent this year, up from an earlier prediction of 1.1 per cent.
BBC News
a day ago
- BBC News
Swimmers told to avoid water at two Lake District bathing spots
Visitors are being advised not to swim at two Lake District beauty spots because of poor water Environment Agency (EA) said a high level of bacteria at Derwentwater, at Crow Park in Keswick and Coniston Water Boating Centre meant swimming was not was first designated as bathing water in 2024, but also received a poor water quality rating in the same year. The mayor of Keswick, Louise Dunn, said bacteria levels peaked during high rainfall, which meant it was not "all bad news" as levels were "fairly low" at other times. Dunn told the Local Democracy Reporting Service the EA was continuing to monitor the water, which would help landowners identify and investigate sources of pollution."In the mid to longer term the lake quality should improve and this will be really good for tourism," she said."Until now we have been swimming in the dark, so to speak. Swimmers can check the latest water quality readings on the Swimfo web site." A sample taken on 9 July at Derwentwater showed there were 1,200 colonies of Escherichia coli (E coli) per 100ml of water and 140 colonies of Intestinal Enterococci (IE) per 100ml of taken on 22 July from Coniston Water showed there were 410 colonies of E coli per 100ml of water and 240 colonies of IE per 100ml of presence of either bacteria indicates there is animal or human faecal matter in the water. 'Not leaving human poo' Dunn said the source of the pollution had not been confirmed but could have derived from human waste, animals or birds, sewage systems, septic tanks or agricultural said visitors to the area could help reduce pollution by "picking up after their dogs, not feeding the geese and ducks and disposing of campervan waste correctly"."And not leaving human poo on the lakeshore - yes, really that happens," she added. An EA spokesman said: "We are dedicated to ensuring that bathing water quality at Crow Park is improved."It is one of our newly designated bathing water sites. "Several factors could be impacting its water quality, and we are conducting investigations to understand what they are." Follow BBC Cumbria on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
BBC News
a day ago
- Health
- BBC News
Coniston GP surgery patient plans to build new practice
A village at risk of losing its GP surgery may have been thrown a lifeline after a patient put forward plans to build a new current GP serving Coniston in the Lake District is due to retire this week, but issues with the building mean a new premises needs to be businessman Phil Johnston, 72, has offered to build the facility on his land to help secure the service for fellow residents and has applied to the Lake District National Park Authority for said the plans were at the "outline application" stage, meaning a more detailed project had to be drawn up, and he welcomed ideas from the community. Mr Johnston, who has lived in Coniston for 43 years, said he came up with the idea after he saw his late friend, Bill Barr, provide a surgery for his village of Hawkshead some years ago."I suppose it's following that model a little bit, that has given me the idea to want to do this for Coniston village, just like the late Bill did for Hawkshead," he said. When the current practice announced it would hand back its contract as it was unable to recruit a new partner, villagers produced a promotional video to help seek a and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board (ICB) said the current surgery building did not meet the requirements for "modern healthcare settings" and options included finding a new provider or asking residents to register elsewhere.A notice on Coniston's surgery website said Morecambe Bay Primary Care would act as a caretaker and manage the practice for six months, while a permanent replacement was found. There are about 850 people living in the village, according to the latest count. Mr Johnston, who is managing director of a company providing holiday accommodation, has applied to the national park authority for permission to build the new surgery on his land at Lands Field off Yewdale also plans to build two apartments above the surgery for local occupancy to make the project "financially viable"."The current surgery is in the cellar of the current doctor's house, it's been there for some time - it works very well but it's not very accessible," he said."I thought that it was perhaps time that somebody like myself with some land thought about building something for the village which would last a very long time and be accessible and sustainable." Follow BBC Cumbria on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
BBC News
3 days ago
- Science
- BBC News
Ennerdale's hairy ant experiment to make forest more resistant
An experiment to make woodland more resilient has seen hairy wood ant nests relocated across England moved six colonies with thousands of ants from Cropton Forest in North Yorkshire to Ennerdale in Cumbria, in a bid to bring back lost wildlife species and support Gardner, from Forestry England said the project in the Lake District would help "rebuild complex forest communities" that can better deal with extreme weather, climate change and organisation said hairy wood ants' nests, which are mounded and can be up to 6.5ft (2m) high, are ideal habitats for over 100 species including beetles, hoverflies, mites, woodlice and other ants. "[Hairy wood ants] can reduce plant damage by keeping herbivorous pests away," a spokesman explained."However, other herbivores, with adapted ant-defences, can thrive." This is the second phase of the project, with nests already relocated earlier this year using a different method, and early signs suggest they had been "unaffected by the journey".Hayley Dauben, Forestry England's species reintroduction officer who is leading the project, said they would closely monitor how the colonies establish themselves and any differences between the two methods."The next crucial milestone will be in April 2026 as the ants emerge from their period of winter hibernation," she added. Forestry England has worked on the project with the University of September, the organisations will collaborate to support a PhD to help study the wider impacts of the project at Ennerdale. Follow BBC Cumbria on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Cumbria stories you might have missed this week
Escaped cows rescued from the sand, a campaign to save a critical care unit and residents left in shock over rent rises in a tourist hotspot - here are some of the stories from Cumbria you might have missed this week. Bluebird returns 70 years on The return of Donald Campbell's Bluebird to the spot where the adventurer set his first water speed world record 70 years ago is "humbling", his daughter says. Campbell clocked 202.32mph (325.6km/h) aboard the hydroplane at Ullswater, in the Lake District, in 1955 and the craft was on show near Glenridding Pier to mark the milestone. Gina Campbell said her father had shown resilience to set the record at a time when many experts believed a boat could not reach such a speed without breaking up. He died in 1967 when Bluebird somersaulted on Coniston Water as he attempted to push one of his subsequent records past 300mph (480km/h). Read the full story on the return here Calls to save hospital's critical care unit A petition urging the NHS to reconsider permanently removing the highest level of intensive care at a hospital hit 12,000 signatures. Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board (ICB) intends to close the level 3 unit at Furness General Hospital, in Barrow-in-Furness, due to staff shortages and demand. One of those who signed, Rosemary McGerty, 77, who lives in a retirement apartment complex nearby, said plans to send the sickest patients more than an hour's drive away were "very, very worrying". The ICB said those patients would be stabilised at the hospital before being transferred to Royal Lancaster Infirmary. More details here Cows stuck in sand rescued Four cows were rescued after they broke out of their enclosure and got trapped in quicksand. Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service said it had received reports of the animals being stuck up to their necks near Newton Arlosh. It said the cows had broken through a gate overnight and entered a river, but thankfully it was "an udderly good ending for all". Read more about their rescue here 'Shock' rent rises A tenant living in a tourist hotspot said he was left in shock when his landlord told him his rent would rise by 40%. Tim Greaves lives in a one bedroom flat on Compston Road in Ambleside. He said he received an email from his lettings agent notifying him of a £225 monthly rise. He claimed others living in the flat-block had also been hit with rises and were concerned about their options, saying: "There's nowhere to move, not a shoebox - nothing." Read all about it here Mosque abuse leads to extra patrols Police patrols are being stepped up following a rise in online abuse directed against the construction of a new mosque. The South Lakes Islamic Centre in Dalton-in-Furness is being spearheaded by a group of Muslim doctors at Barrow's Furness General Hospital. Last month, UKIP leader Nick Tenconi filmed himself visiting the site and shouting "traitor" at several of the site's construction workers. Mr Tenconi said he had "deliberately stood up" for the people of Dalton and criticised the local authority for allowing the "Islamic caliphate" into Britain. For all the details on this story click here Follow BBC Cumbria on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
