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Daily Mail
17-06-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Fury over bid to expand Britain's biggest asylum seeker camp: 'Threatened' villagers living next to ex-RAF base fear arrival of hundreds more 'intimidating' young men to quiet Essex countryside
Residents near Britain's biggest asylum seeker camp fear controversial plans to expand its capacity will put more strain on their quiet village. Wethersfield air base in Essex currently houses around 500 migrants but this is set to increase as part of Labour's pledge to end the use of hotels. Chancellor Rachel Reeves pledged last week that all asylum seekers would be moved out of hotel accommodation by the time of the next general election, due in 2029. Latest figures show £3.1 billion was spent on housing asylum seekers in hotels in 2023-24, out of a total asylum support bill of £4.7 billion. Using former military bases like Wethersfield - which has an overall capacity of 800 - is considered cheaper than paying for hotels. Yet local residents in Wethersfield village are up in arms about the prospect of the site being expanded. Celia Harris, 76, and her husband Robert, 77, live close enough to the camp to hear conversations from behind the fence from their garden. Celia, a retired cleaner, said: 'We did all the protests against it. We did not feel then and still do not feel that it's an appropriate place. 'They've got to stop them coming in the first place. We're not racist. But why is taxpayers' money being spent on them when our winter fuel allowance has been stopped?' Alan McKenzie, head of campaign group Stop Wethersfield Airbase Prison (SWAP), was infuriated by the news. 'If they are intending to increase the capacity in Wethersfield, it would be another folly on the part of the government - It's already been shown not to be value for money,' he told the BBC. 'If they're talking about increasing the accommodation further, then it's sheer people get unhappy up there, it's a very enclosed environment, it's a long way to the centre of Wethersfield village where there are no facilities.' Personal assistant Christine Blake, 72, was also angered by plans and said: 'I'm a single female, there are many single females in this village, and we all feel threatened and concerned.' Retired office administrator Melody Temperley and her husband Alan, both 77, live with their extended family in bungalows on a large plot of land near the camp. The couple said the camp had made it much harder to sell property. Melody said: 'We can never sell this property - they said it should be worth £900,000 but now we can't sell it.' Asked what she thought about the idea of using the camp to move asylum seekers out of hotels, she said: 'They're not going to settle in a camp after hotel life. 'I don't think they should be here at all. If they increased the number of people in the camp we would have a lot more men standing about doing nothing. 'People feel intimidated. They should process them much quicker and then they could be integrated. But then they're going to take all the social housing.' Charles, who is in his 70s, didn't want to give his name due to fears of being labelled racist. 'It's quite intimidating because I am living next door to many hundreds of men who are allowed out to roam wherever they like including after dark,' he said. 'It's left me feeling vulnerable. I have put a big steel gate up. It's the threat of young men and having them shouting. 'It would be better if they were prevented from coming in the first place. I feel like the politicians have let us down.' Wethersfield parish councillor Nick Godley lives with wife Mair in the village centre. Nick, 75, believes asylum seekers would be better off housed elsewhere, but insisted he has never had any problems with them. He said: 'There's no hypocrite like a politician. When they opened this asylum camp the Labour party was against it and now they're all in favour of it. 'Setting aside whatever people feel about the way these guys get in and whether they should be here or not, sticking them in an old camp in the middle of nowhere is not good for anyone. 'Nobody can sell their house. It is affecting people's way of life. 'However, the asylum seekers are not causing any harm. Whatever happens in the village that's unfortunate, the guys up there [asylum seekers] get the blame. Sometimes it's true, but mostly it's not. 'I never felt unsafe for one moment [near the camp]. They are incredibly polite.' Earlier this year, four former Wethersfield residents brought legal action against the Home Office for their stay there between July 2023 and February 2024. File photo John Sutcliffe, 77, and his wife Simone, 78, live next door to the camp with their dog Remy. John, a retired mechanic, said: 'All I know is they make a right noise. I walk down the main lane and there's a deep ditch with a plastic sheet in it and body wipes and someone has been using it as a toilet. Why? 'They've got to go somewhere and the only thing is to stop them coming.' Simone, who used to run her own curtain-making business, said: 'You cannot take them out of four-star hotels and put them in temporary accommodation like that. 'They are all going to be up in arms aren't they? Living in isolation like that is what brings trouble.' Any expansion to Wethersfield would against Sir Keir Starmer's election pledge to close it. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper herself insisted last year that the site could not be 'seen as either a sustainable solution for housing asylum seekers nor value for money for the taxpayer'. The mooted expansion of the former airbase and the separate site in Huddersfield - which consists of a 650-capacity former student accommodation block bought by the Home Office last year - was revealed by the BBC. In response to the reports, a Home Office spokesman said the government was seeking to develop 'a more sustainable and cost-effective asylum accommodation system'. 'Our use of any property or Home Office-owned site will be used in line with the permissions set by planning permissions,' they added. More than 30,000 asylum seekers, many of whom arrived illegally in small boats, are currently housed in about 200 hotels across Britain. Earlier this year, four former Wethersfield residents brought legal action against the Home Office for their stay there between July 2023 and February 2024. They claimed officials acted unlawfully by housing them at the site when it was 'not suitable' because of their characteristics which included being victims of torture and human trafficking or being disabled. The Home Office opposed the challenge, saying its allocation system was 'not incapable of being operated lawfully'. But High Court judge Mr Justice Mould backed the four men's claim and accepted the site had not been a 'suitable' place to house them. He said: 'In this case, the only conclusion I am able to reach on evidence is that the defendant did not attempt to assess the equalities impacts of the proposed policy change.'
Scottish Sun
10-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Scottish Sun
Man Utd stars to make Soccer Aid history as record number of Old Trafford legends sign up for huge celebrity match
MANCHESTER UNITED are making history once again, by having a record number of former stars playing in Soccer Aid. This year, Soccer Aid is being hosted at Old Trafford, where reigning champions England will take on the Soccer Aid World XI in the globe's biggest charity match. 7 Wayne Rooney is leading a record-breaking contingent of former Man Utd stars appearing at Soccer Aid this year Credit: Rex 7 He will be joined on team England's side by Gary Neville Credit: PA 7 Paul Scholes will also line up for the Three Lions in the charity match Credit: Reuters 7 Meanwhile, Peter Schmeichel will be barking orders from the touchline as manager of the World XI Credit: Getty But it will feel like a homecoming for many of the top stars on the billing following their careers, which saw them playing at the Red Devils' home for many years. As many as NINE former Man Utd players have signed up for the event across both teams, not to mention the fans of the club also gearing up to play. The ex-pros include many stars who have tried their hand at coaching and management, such as Wayne Rooney and Michael Carrick, and others who are now household names in punditry, like Gary Neville or Paul Scholes. That quartet will be lining up for team England, with Rooney also in the managerial dugout. READ MORE IN FOOTBALL MIC SWAP Carrick takes up new offer alongside Man Utd icon O'Shea just days after Boro axe Meanwhile, the World XI will have their own share of Man Utd greats in their ranks. Edwin van der Sar, Nemanja Vidic, John O'Shea, and Carlos Tevez will all be taking to the pitch, while legendary goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel will be barking orders from the sideline as the team manager. The ex-stars will also be joined by a sizeable contingent of celebrity Man Utd fans. Among them will be businessman Steven Bartlett, content creators AngryGinge and TBJZL, boxer Tyson Fury, musicians Nick Byrne and Dermot Kennedy, ex-rugby star Bryan Habana and actor Noah Beck. Join SUN CLUB for the Man Utd Files every Thursday plus in-depth coverage and exclusives from Old Trafford Despite this large contingent of Man Utd support, there will be a notable absence of super fan Usain Bolt. While appearing in Soccer Aid last year, the legendary Olympic sprinter ruptured his Achilles and was stretchered off the field. Sam Thompson reveals Soccer Aid appearance is hanging by a thread - and horrifying after-effects of 260 mile bike ride Soccer Aid 2024 broke records as it raised over £15million for Unicef, while it has raised more than £100m since it was founded by Robbie Williams in 2006. The match will be available to watch for free on ITV1, ITVX and STV on June 15, kicking off at 7.30pm BST. If you wish to buy tickets, starting from £10.50 for concessions and £21 for adults, find out how here. You can donate to Soccer Aid by clicking the link here. 7 Rooney will be joining Man Utd fan and boxer Tyson Fury as a coach Credit: PA 7 A number of Red Devils fans are playing in the event, including content creator AngryGinge Credit: PA 7 There will be a notable absence of Man Utd fan Usain Bolt after he ruptured his Achilles playing last year Credit: Getty England team and coaching staff Here is a look at the full team for England for Soccer Aid 2025... Team: Steven Bartlett (Entrepreneur) Alex Brooker (TV personality) Jermain Defoe (Former footballer) Toni Duggan (Former footballer) Angry Ginge (YouTuber) Tom Grennan (Musician) Bear Grylls (TV personality) Joe Hart (Former footballer) Steph Houghton (Former footballer) Aaron Lennon (Former footballer) Dame Denise Lewis (Olympic gold medallist) Paddy McGuinness (TV personality) Sir Mo Farah (Former Olympian) Gary Neville (Former footballer) Sam Quek (Former hockey player/TV personality) Wayne Rooney (Former footballer and manager) Paul Scholes (Former footballer) Jill Scott (Former footballer) Sam Thompson (King of the Jungle) Louis Tomlinson (Musician) Michael Carrick (Former footballer) Phil Jagielka (Former footballer) Roman Kemp (Radio host) Jack Wilshere (Former footballer) Bella Ramsey (Actor) Coaches: Wayne Rooney (Former footballer and manager) Tyson Fury (Boxer) Harry Redknapp (Former football manager) Vicky McClure (Actor) Goalkeeping coach: David James (Former footballer) World XI team and coaching staff Here is a look at the full team for the World XI for Soccer Aid 2025... Team: Tony Bellew (Former boxer) Leonardo Bonucci (Former footballer) Tobi Brown (YouTube star) Martin Compston (Actor) Richard Gadd (Actor) Bryan Habana (Former rugby star) Dermot Kennedy (Musician) Kaylyn Kyle (Former footballer) Gorka Marquez (Dancer) Nadia Nadim (Footballer) Livi Sheldon (Gladiators star) Edwin van der Sar (Former footballer) Nemanja Vidic (Former footballer) Harry Kewell (Former footballer) Big Zuu (YouTube star) Noah Beck (Actor) Carlos Tevez (Former footballer) Billy Wingrove (Football freestyler) Robbie Keane (Former footballer) John O'Shea (Former footballer) Maisie Adam (Comedian) David Trezeguet (Former footballer) Nicky Byrne (Singer) Kheira Hamraoui (Former footballer) Manager: Peter Schmeichel (Former footballer) MAN UTD TRANSFER NEWS LIVE: All the latest deals and rumours from Old Trafford
Powys County Times
31-05-2025
- Business
- Powys County Times
Powys County Council discusses Sustainable Powys plan
Communications must improve if Powys County Council is to succeed in its bid to get a sustainability bid off the ground. The authority wants to create 'Sustainable Powys' and has already had meetings with town and community councils. Apart from the framework of five core towns from where council services will be centred upon, little detail on the future shape of Powys has been made public so far. At a meeting of the Governance and Audit Committee last week, members received an internal audit report from SWAP (South West Audit Partnership) who had evaluated the 'delivery arrangements' for Sustainable Powys. SWAP assistant director Ian Halstead said one of the areas of improvement was around communication. He said that all parties need to have a 'realistic understanding and expectation' of Sustainable Powys and how it 'turns from concept through to delivery.' Cllr Pete Lewington said that the report did not tell him 'how effectively' the council had engaged with partners and explained what Sustainable Powys actually means. Cllr Lewington said: 'Effective engagement is really crucial, especially when you think about what your asking communities to do. 'This should be beyond just measuring the numbers of participants especially as conclusions and decisions are reached by extrapolating from a very small number of participants.' Cllr Graham Breeze said: 'I've attended two public engagement meetings with community councils over the last couple of months. 'The feedback there was that community councils have not grasped this yet and didn't understand it.' Director of Corporate Services Jane Thomas said the 'initial engagement' done with Powys councillors, the wider public and town and community councils had 'set some foundations.' She explained that Powys Council had just finished its 'second tranche' of town and community council meetings. Ms Thomas told the committee that she had met with Cllr Sian Cox, the portfolio holder for adult social care, and council leader Cllr Jake Berriman to 'consider the effectiveness of what we are currently doing.' Ms Thomas said: 'We don't believe they (engagement sessions) are being effective either, and we are reflecting on that and changing the way we are doing that." 'This is so we get that buy-in from communities to work with us, which we clearly don't have at this point in time. We know there is some work to do.'
Yahoo
30-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Game and Fish seeks input on 2025 wildlife conservation plan
May 30—BISMARCK — The North Dakota Game and Fish Department is taking public comment on the revision of its 2015 State Wildlife Action Plan (SWAP), a process it is required to undertake every 10 years as part of an effort to conserve wildlife and habitats across the state. According to Patrick Isakson, conservation supervisor for Game and Fish in Bismarck, the department developed its first SWAP document in 2005 to shed light on at-risk and potential at-risk species in North Dakota. While SWAP includes a "handful" of game species, including sharp-tailed grouse, canvasback, lesser scaup and northern pintail, "the vast majority are those nongame species that we don't hunt or fish in the state," Isakson said. That includes grassland birds, shorebirds, terrestrial and aquatic invertebrates, insects, freshwater mussels, mammals, reptiles and amphibians that may be under threat. The ultimate goal of the plan is to prevent species from being listed for federal protection under the Endangered Species Act. "The State Wildlife Action Plan is really a guiding document for our agency and our partners to identify the threats and conservation actions for at-risk species and their habitats," Isakson said. Bruce Kreft, chief of the Game and Fish Department's Conservation and Communications Division, said the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) provides states with money to address rare and declining species, but state agencies in turn must develop a plan to address the species listed in the document. Kreft talked about the required SWAP update on Tuesday, April 22, during the Game and Fish Department's spring Advisory Board meeting. Game and Fish is mandated to hold the meetings twice a year in each of the state's eight advisory board districts, and the meeting for District 7 was livestreamed from Game and Fish headquarters in Bismarck. The FWS recently announced it is distributing more than $55 million to state fish and wildlife agencies through its State Wildlife Grant Program. North Dakota is receiving $552,727 for 2025, according to the FWS. "The State Wildlife Grant Program supports conservation actions aimed at avoiding new federal listings of threatened and endangered species, recovering those species already listed and ensuring healthy populations of each state's top-priority fish and wildlife species for future generations," Paul Souza, acting director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, said in a statement. "We are pleased to be working with these partners to protect America's natural resources and wild places." That's where the State Wildlife Action Plan comes into play, Isakson of Game and Fish said. "One of the benefits of the state putting together a State Wildlife Action Plan is then, it's eligible for State Wildlife Grant money" from the FWS, Isakson said. "So, in order for us to spend that money on our species of greatest conservation need, we need to have the State Wildlife Action Plan in place to identify what we're going to do with it." That allocation has ranged from about $450,000 to $550,000 annually over the last decade or so, he said. "It's been a real stable funding source for our nongame species and one that really has done a lot of work in our state and furthered our information and knowledge," Isakson said. "We leverage (funding) with partner dollars, university dollars, NGO (nongovernmental organization) dollars and do research and habitat conservation with it." Examples, he says, include a freshwater mussel study being conducted with Valley City State University, reptile and amphibian surveys underway with a researcher at North Dakota State University and looking at grassland bird habitat and how it relates to some of the at-risk species in the SWAP document. "We've been fortunate over the last decade or so to add some expertise in both terrestrial insects and aquatic insects, so we really lean heavily into this plan on what effects those threats out there have on our invertebrate community," Isakson said. "So, there are a lot of new insects both aquatic and terrestrial, that are in our (updated) plan. "That's where a lot of the species that we see being potentially listed and petitioned for listing under the Endangered Species Act are going — to those invertebrates." As part of its first two State Wildlife Action Plans in 2005 and 2015, Game and Fish ranked "Species of Conservation Priority," Isakson says. Under the SWAP draft now up for public review, species are identified as "Species of Greatest Conservation Need" and "Species of Greatest Information Need," Isakson says. "We don't rank them out anymore," he said. "We just have species that we have an idea of what the threats and actions are that we need to conserve them. And then those Species of Greatest Information Need are those that we really need to do some more investigating on. We have an idea that maybe there's some threats out there or their populations may be declining, but we need to lean into some of the research to identify those." The 2025 SWAP draft includes 134 species of Greatest Conservation Need and 98 Species of Greatest Information Need in North Dakota, Isakson said. The first SWAP in 2005 identified about 100 species of concern, a number that increased to 115 species in the 2015 SWAP update, Kreft said during the April Advisory Board livestream. "So, we're seeing that increase in the number of species that are rare and declining either regionally — throughout different states — or within the states," Kreft said. The 152-page SWAP draft has eight elements, he said, including abundance, distribution, some of the threats and potential actions. While the list of at-risk species has grown, species occasionally come off the list, as well, Isakson said. The river otter and the American marten, both of which were listed in the 2015 plan, are two examples, he said; the bald eagle also was removed from the list. "Ultimately, we found out enough information to feel like they're not really at risk in our state," Isakson said. In revising the 2025 SWAP as required, Game and Fish last September hosted a "SWAP Summit," which included about 60 members from the public and various conservation partners. North Dakota's SWAP is a collaborative effort between Game and Fish staff, species experts, partner conservation groups, and state, federal and local agencies. "That's the second time we brought all of our partners and stakeholders together," Isakson said. "We gave them an update on some of our thoughts from our internal work and then broke them out into groups based on the habitats they were interested in — or that they had experience in — and really dove into what those threats are." Habitat loss is a concern, Isakson says; what benefits game species also benefits nongame species. "That is the beauty of our plan, being habitat-based and habitat conservation-based, is if you keep it 'green side up,' if you keep the grass out there and keep the trees out there, it benefits all species in the state," Isakson said. "Both hunted (species) and those nongame species that we talk about more readily in this plan. "Our plan focuses a lot on conserving native habitat — the native grass that's out there — and in some cases trying to rebuild some of that habitat." Getting people to recognize the importance of all wildlife — and not just species targeted by hunters and anglers — can be a challenge, Isakson concedes. "We always have work to do when it comes to talking about the importance of all wildlife in the state," he said. "The department is in charge of managing all wildlife in the state. A lot of people think about those game species and those species that they catch out there, but we've done work over the years to try and educate the public on the importance of all species and their habitats — and that is part of our plan here." Game and Fish will take comments on the 2025 SWAP draft through June 30. After that, the department will develop a final draft for the Fish and Wildlife Service to approve. "Once it's signed off on, we're good to go for another 10 years," Isakson said. * To comment: A draft of the 2025 State Wildlife Action Plan update is available on the Game and Fish website at Public comments are accepted through June 30.
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Winning the lottery: East Providence school site turned into income-restricted housing
EAST PROVIDENCE – What was once the Platt-Waters school complex in East Providence has been turned into eight new homes and three duplexes built by a nonprofit, sold via a lottery for well below market value. City and state leaders gathered at one of the three new duplexes on Hoppin Avenue on April 22, to celebrate the project, saying that adding the six new units will help alleviate, even a small amount, the state's housing crisis. The three new duplexes were sold for $239,000, well below the market rate and below what the eight other single-family homes sold for, around $550,000 to $600,000. The three duplexes cost SWAP, the contractors who built the duplexes, around $450,000 to $475,000, including the cost of the land. East Providence Mayor Roberto DaSilva said he grew up in a two-family house, on the second floor, in Washington Park in Providence. "Thanks to that, my family was able to achieve the American dream," DaSilva said. The three duplexes were sold via a lottery to people making up to 80% of the area median income, $62,950 for a single person, $71,950 for a couple. A family of four could have made up to $89,900. SWAP Executive Director Carla DeStefano is a huge proponent of duplexes because they add greater density and they give home buyers an income stream to offset the cost of their mortgage, although often times, family members move into the additional units. "We're essentially subsidizing almost one full unit," DeStefano said. In October of last year, DeStefano's group sold five duplexes for $309,000 in South Providence on Portland Street. The higher price point reflected the higher maximum income limit, 100% of the area median income, $78,680 for a single person or $112,400 for a family of four. The city's plan was to subdivide the former school site and sell eight 7,500-square-foot lots, which have all been turned into single-family houses, and three 10,000-square-foot lots for income-restricted housing, which were sold to SWAP. DeStefano had to ask the city for a zoning change to allow her to build duplexes, instead of single-family homes, on the three lots the city sold her organization for income-restricted housing. Those lots are big for a city. As an example, Providence allows buildings on lots up to 10,000 square feet to be totally exempt from parking requirements, which allows for dense apartment buildings. DeStefano said she teased DaSilva about East Providence's restrictive zoning requirements and that he takes to heart concerns over the need to increase density. Selling for $239,000 duplexes that cost $450,000 to $475,000 to build represented a significant subsidy to the homebuyer. Funding to subsidize the income-restricted houses was provided by: RI Housing's site acquisition grant RI Housing's homeowner investment fund RI Housing's pre-development grant Centerville Bank offered mortgages that did not require private mortgage insurance, or PMI. With the new single-family homes up on Hoppin and Burnside avenues, some decisions on landscaping, including fences, will be up to the new buyers. The other new homeowners on the eight smaller lots haven't put up fences yet, DeStefano said. "It's almost like a subdivision where everybody needs to decide," she said. When she was growing up, neighbors left their yards open and children treated them as one big field, although she suspects, with lots so large, some people might put up fences close to the house and leave much of their yards unfenced. While SWAP doesn't normally use vinyl siding on its properties because of its fragility in the dead of winter, the group did for these duplexes to make them fit in with all the other new builds. A few trees still need to be planted as part of the landscaping. SWAP has a drawer full of house designs that are usually pulled for any given project, which reduces costs because the nonprofit doesn't have to pay an architect every time they want to build a new house. In this instance, DaSilva did not want all of the houses to have extensive second floors, so SWAP reconfigured several past designs. One building, the most popular, was the "classic up-and-down" with three bedrooms on the first floor and a two-bedroom unit on the second floor. "We can put this house on, easily, 3,500 square feet in the city," DeStefano said. "These houses can literally go anywhere." "With all the hoopla about (accessory dwelling units), what we really need to focus on is the model that probably already exists in all 39 cities and towns in Rhode Island," DeStefano said. "It's these houses. They fit right into every community." Thanks to our subscribers, who help make this coverage possible. If you are not a subscriber, please consider supporting quality local journalism with a Providence Journal subscription. . Follow Wheeler Cowperthwaite on X, @WheelerReporter, or reach him by email at wcowperthwaite@ This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Three income-restricted duplexes sold by lottery in East Providence
