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BBC News
2 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
Brighton and Hove plans crackdown on rogue holiday let landlords
Rogue landlords who let their properties on websites such as Airbnb but dodge tax and business rates and breach regulations are to face a crackdown in Brighton and city council's cabinet agreed to lobby the government for the power to licence landlords and called on ministers to change planning rules, when it met on East Sussex authority wants a clearer idea of the extent of the sector in Brighton and Hove where thousands of properties are advertised on short-term holiday letting Bella Sankey said: "It is important we work together with the sector to build a better picture of the local situation (and) lobby government for more powers to help manage it." Labour councillor Amanda Evans, who chairs the council's place overview and scrutiny committee, led a group which contacted councils across the country to learn how they dealt with the effects of holiday lets, reports the Local Democracy Reporting group had found up to 6,000 homes advertised as holiday lets in Brighton and Hove on platforms such as Airbnb and but with just 400 registered as Evans said: "There are a lot of people who are breaking current law and maybe are not even aware."They're not registered as businesses. They're not paying business rates or business taxes or making business waste disposal arrangements."But they're not aware of that necessarily, and we don't know where they are to enforce legislation." She urged the council's cabinet to use the City Plan, a strategic planning policy document, to bring in agreed to gather evidence with a view to coming up with ways to do included planning conditions to prevent new homes or conversions from being used as holiday lets, as well as zones where lets were permitted or restricted or July a bill is due to be debated in the House of Commons which would license and regulate the sector.
BBC News
2 days ago
- Politics
- BBC News
Special Swindon meeting to be held over Higworth golf course plan
An "extraordinary meeting" has been arranged by a council after four councillors decided to use a rare protocol to ask for a re-think on plans for for a former golf land in Highworth, near Swindon, is now used for recreation by locals and has a lot of wildlife, but the Borough Council voted to ask officers to start creating plans for 700 homes on some of the 200 protestors turned up to that meeting as many residents want the council-owned area to officially become a nature planning application has gone in yet, but four Conservative councillors have formally asked for a call-in. They cited issues with how the decision was made, including that it was not clear that cabinet had all read the report on the matter, although Jim Robbins, the Labour leader of the council, said it had been discussed before the Nick Gardiner told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS): "I'm sure I speak for the majority in Highworth when I say we are not against the growth of the town."But without counting the possibility of 700 houses on beautiful green open space there are a number of development and more in discussion; that could lead to another 800-900 houses coming here, that's about a 25 per cent increase in the size of the town," he added. Mr Robbins has said that the council "understands the passion that some residents of Highworth feel for the Old Golf Course" and the resistance to the added: "We are quite happy for local councillors to use their right to call in the decision, but we are very surprised by the reasons that they have chosen."The decision will be discussed at an extraordinary meeting of Swindon Borough Council's Corporate Overview & Scrutiny Committee at 18:00 BST on 16 July.
Scoop
7 days ago
- Business
- Scoop
West Coast Regional Council Chief Executive Calls For More Staff As Goldmine Delays Bite
Article – Lois Williams – Local Democracy Reporter The West Coast Regional Council has conceded it needs to take on more staff, after a raft of complaints about the time it takes to process resource consents, including some from its own councillors. The council's former chair – and alluvial goldminer – Allan Birchfield released letters last week from a company distressed that its fledgling goldmine had been shut down, and its seven workers and capital put at risk, after waiting 17 months for a consent. Council resource management committee chair Brett Cummings – also a veteran goldminer – has set out his concerns in a letter to West Coast Regional Council (WCRC) chief executive Darryl Lew, with a long list of questions about how consents are being dealt with. Both councillors have criticised the council's practice of hiring North Island consultancy firms to process goldmine consents, alleging the planners involved are unfamiliar with the industry, ask for irrelevant information and delay the process by asking what Cummings has called 'stupid ' questions. In his case, the wait has been seven months for what should have been a straightforward consent on Ngai Tahu forestry land, which the iwi had approved, Cummings said. In reply to the councillor's questions, Lew said the council had received 56 resource consent applications this year, and half of them had been outsourced to consultants in Buller, Greymouth and New Plymouth. Of those 28, two had been approved, 11 were sent back to the applicants because they were 'incomplete' and the rest were still being processed, Lew said. 'Similar to the WOF process for a car, when deficient applications are returned, applicants are informed of areas that are required to be enhanced and they can then resubmit the applications for processing.' Of the remaining 28 being dealt with by council staff, 10 had been approved, one had been sent back for more information within the statutory time limit and 12 had been returned to sender as 'incomplete'. The rest were still being processed, Lew said. The council's use of consultants has increased, compared to the same period last year, the figures show. Between January and April 2024 , the council received 57 resource consent applications – one was publicly notified, 51 were processed in house and only six outsourced to a consultant. There was little difference in the fees charged to applicants – council staff were charged out at $185 an hour and consultants' hourly rates ranged from $140-192 – all plus GST. There had been only two council consents staff employed in January this year, joined by a trainee in February, and their availability had been reduced by sick leave, annual leave and training time, Lew said. Last year, there had been three officers on the job. 'To date, I haven't increased the consents team, however I do believe now is the time. More consents are requiring technical input and we are having more going to hearings, so this is impacting on resourcing, not to mention future demands like the fast track projects.' The council would prefer to use its own staff who had local knowledge, Lew said. But it would be impossible to do away entirely with consultants because the volume of consent applications and workload was unpredictable. Consents for alluvial goldmining were much more complex than they were in the early days of the RMA in the 1990s, the chief executive noted. They now had to be assessed against a lengthy list of national policy statements and environmental standards, including Freshwater Management, Indigenous Biodiversity, drinking water, air quality, greenhouse gases, and management of contaminants in soil to protect human health. 'We await the government changes to these national instruments and the replacement RMA to see if this becomes simpler … I agree it would be ideal to have consents and application forms as simple as possible. It is a challenge to have them reflect the law and remain simple.' In the meantime, the WCRC consents team was working on new application templates and more guidance for alluvial goldminers, and would bring a paper on this to Council on July or August, Lew said. The council had complicated the process by trying to impose static conditions intended for subdivisions and septic tanks on alluvial mines, Cummings said. 'An alluvial site evolves as you work your way through it, so you'll start off with your pumps and your pond, and even your access tracks in one place, and as you move along, you move them along as well, but they're demanding maps and trying to include these all things as fixed conditions on the consent. ' Until about a year ago, those details were set out for the council in a separate mine work-programme, which was updated, as the site progressed, Cummings said. 'The compliance staff would have that and refer to it, when they did their inspection visits. They didn't try to cram everything into the consent itself – that makes no sense, when you're dealing with a dynamic system. 'If you move your pond, you're technically in breach.' Hiring more consents staff could help the situation, as long as basic issues were addressed, Cummings said.
Scoop
7 days ago
- Politics
- Scoop
Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown Rejects Dog Task Force Amid Calls From Residents
Article – Mary Afemata – Local Democracy Reporter Wayne Brown says he acknowledges the rising concerns about roaming dogs, but insists the council is already addressing the issue. Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown has rejected requests to establish a mayoral taskforce on dogs, saying it would duplicate initiatives already in place. The decision comes despite increasing pressure from Manurewa residents, who feel that roaming dogs are making their neighbourhoods unsafe. Brown acknowledged the rising concerns about roaming dogs, especially in South Auckland. But he insisted that the council was addressing the issue through existing programmes. Brown supported the work of the Regulatory and Safety Committee, chaired by Councillor Josephine Bartley and supported Councillor Daniel Newman from Manurewa and the local board. The committee focuses on improving public safety and managing dangerous dogs. Brown and Bartley had also communicated with relevant government ministers, advocating for legislative changes to strengthen enforcement powers. The council's Long-Term Plan has allocated further funding to hire more animal control officers, improve enforcement, trial desexing programmes in high-risk areas, and seek reforms to the Dog Control Act. Brown said a data-led approach to targeting areas in need, including free desexing services in South and West Auckland, was key. He also recognised the Manurewa Local Board's efforts to fund more animal control staff and was looking for ways to expand the capacity of local shelters. Residents report ongoing issues Despite these efforts, Manurewa residents contended that the problem remained unresolved. At a public meeting hosted by MP Arena Williams, several residents shared alarming stories about dangerous, roaming dogs in their streets and parks. Brendan, a concerned resident, recounted, 'I was fixing up my boat, and from around the corner a huge dog suddenly advanced on me. Lucky, I was able to drive it back using a rope.' Victoria, a local dog owner, was frustrated, and said the issue had forced her to stop walking in her neighbourhood. 'I'm afraid to go to my local park. I bought a house here and want to make it my home, but I'm driving to other suburbs to walk my dog. It's holding me back from making friends and putting down roots.' Another resident Ryan said response times from the council had worsened. 'I've been calling the Council, but response times have gotten worse. I wonder if, after a certain time, traps could be used in problematic places.' Williams continued to advocate for a mayoral taskforce on dogs and is working closely with central government. 'Central government are holding local government back. They need to legislate for change, fund frontline council services, and back the communities carrying the burden of inaction,' she said. She thanked the SPCA, Brown, and Bartley for supporting a new initiative that offers free dog desexing, microchipping, and vaccinations in high-need areas like Manurewa. Frontline groups seek urgent support Jo Coulam, a volunteer with the Saving Hope Foundation, said they were overwhelmed and had seen little change since the council's pilot programme began. The system was not reaching the right whānau early enough and lacked meaningful follow-up, she said. Her team continued to use donations to fund desexing when they could. 'As far as the dog crisis goes, to us nothing has changed,' she said. 'We still see roaming dogs everywhere, and we're still getting calls every day about puppies being born. We've had over probably nearly 300 requests this month alone for us to take people's dogs. 'People are scared their dogs will be taken. They want help, but they're scared because their dog isn't registered or desexed.' A recent event at Rawirit Community House brought dog owners together, providing support, flea treatments, deworming, and information on council-funded desexing, Coulam said. 'We've met thousands of families desperate to have their dogs de-sexed to end the cycle of unwanted puppies,' she said. In one remarkable case, she shared that a dog was finally desexed after having 26 puppies in just seven months. On the pilot programme's efficacy, Coulam said, 'They need to get the people like the people that come to our food drops and our desexing talks, those are the ones you want to get because their dog, while they're not problems yet, they will become problems and they'll become the roamers. 'That's the scale of the problem if you don't act early.' Council outlines comprehensive plan Auckland Council's general manager of licensing and compliance Robert Irvine emphasised the seriousness with which the council treated the issue, especially in high-risk areas like Manurewa. 'Dogs can make wonderful additions to our whānau, but they come with commitments,' he said. 'Desexing is one of the core requirements of responsible dog ownership.' The council had invested about $5 million in additional funding for animal management, he said. This included hiring new staff, implementing public education campaigns, targeted desexing, proactive enforcement, and developing a new animal shelter. The council continued to collaborate with the SPCA and community groups, and advocates for reforms to the Dog Control Act. Desexing vouchers were not available for public application, he said. Instead, officers issued them during engagements or when releasing impounded dogs. He says there was no formal follow-up process for voucher use. 'The focus of this initiative is on support and prevention, not punishment,' he said. 'Our goal is to ensure residents feel safe and supported when accessing services. 'The onus is on the recipient to book and attend the appointment. We've not been made aware of any issues regarding a lack of follow-up.'
Edinburgh Reporter
20-06-2025
- General
- Edinburgh Reporter
Green innovations as biodiversity programme rolls out across West Lothian
Grass roofed bus shelters are being created in West Lothian as part of a five-year drive to create a more bio-diverse landscape. The scheme grasses over flat shelter roofs and adds a natural green island into otherwise urban landscapes, as well as encouraging flora and fauna The bus shelters have already been introduced to Winchburgh – with grassed roofs which hopefully by the end of the summer will provide a verdant canopy under which travellers can wait for public transport. Tom Conn, the Chair of the Environment and Sustainability PDSP called it 'an innovation of how we can co-exist with nature.' An ecology and biodiversity officer for the council told the meeting: 'The idea is hopefully a small area of green roof provides a habitat for pollinators using infrastructure that's already there.' The two test shelters will be monitored over the summer and depending on their success, living roof bus shelters could be rolled out across the county as old bus shelters are replaced. The council is also undertaking a £60,000 urban tree planting scheme which will see over 1500 trees planted. A report to the committee by Ecology and Biodiversity officer Hannah Crow outlined details of the urban tree scheme. 'Following a successful bid to Future Woodlands Scotland, WLC has been awarded over £60,000 for a major urban tree planting project aimed at creating long-term environmental and well-being benefits. 'Over 1,500 trees will be planted over the next three years in parks, residential areas, streets, and school grounds, bringing visible nature into people's daily lives.' She added: 'Focusing on areas with the greatest need the project will connect green networks, improve biodiversity, and increase tree canopy cover in neighbourhoods where it's currently lacking. 'Local residents, schools, and community groups will be invited to take part in planting events, workshops, and maintenance activities, including a dedicated biodiversity and education strand for pupils. Public sessions and annual walks will offer practical learning and highlight the value of trees.' By Stuart Sommerville, Local Democracy Reporter Like this: Like Related
