Latest news with #SouthNorfolk
BBC News
5 days ago
- Politics
- BBC News
South Norfolk Council urges government to stop asylum hotel plan
A council has written to the Home Office asking it to halt plans to replace asylum-seeking families in a hotel with single adult Norfolk Council said it opposed the move, which it learned of in a brief email from Whitehall last authority's Conservative leader Daniel Elmer said the hotel's residents - and the town, which had helped families integrate in the community - would be BBC has asked the Home Office for comment. As reported by BBC News in June, 32,000 asylum seekers are living in hotels across the said: "We feel the decision and intended timeframe poses significant risks and concerns to both community cohesion and the vulnerable single males who would be residing at the hotel."The community impact of this change cannot be overstated."In the letter to the Home Office, Elmer said the authority "remains fully committed to supporting asylum seekers". It added: "When the hotel was first opened for asylum accommodation, there was considerable unease among local residents."The current use of the hotel for families has helped to show that there was no basis for the concerns expressed. "Thanks to the hard work of the council and our partners the hotel currently exists comfortably as part of the community reflecting the current use."A sudden shift to a SAM [single adult males] hotel risks reigniting those tensions, especially in the absence of any community engagement or mitigation strategy from the Home Office."It said the council feared unrest similar to that already seen in other authority said the switch to single adult males instead of families would combine with homelessness issues and stretch local resources, including police services. Norfolk Constabulary said of the hotel in South Norfolk: "Due to the modest policing presence, owing to its size and locality, the potential increase in demand would be difficult to manage reflecting the distance from other police resources."We are engaging with the local council and continue to support our partners and the local community."The force said it was also aware of a planned protest at another location and continued to monitor the statement added: "Officers are engaging with organisers, as well as the local community and will provide a proportionate policing response whilst respecting the right to peaceful protest and maintaining the safety of the local community." Follow Norfolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
BBC News
14-07-2025
- Business
- BBC News
South Norfolk Council attempts to guide mega solar farm plans
A council has put together a new guide for developers of mega solar farms amid fears the area is being "disproportionately targeted".South Norfolk Council's document will inform its response to proposals in the hope of "minimising adverse effects" on the area has been earmarked for several large projects, including what could be the biggest solar farm in the council leader Daniel Elmer said the district had become a "nexus" of energy infrastructure applications due to its flat landscape and location along a grid connection to London. "We don't want to be unreasonable, but we do want to make sure every proposal that comes forward works for the residents of South Norfolk as well as everyone else," he on large projects will be made by the government due to their size, the Local Democracy Reporting Service the authority is seeking to guide energy-related proposals include National Grid's pylon network from Norwich to Tilbury, Essex, running through villages such as Flordon and Winfarthing, as well as four huge solar are the East Pye project, set to span 2,700 acres (1,090 ha) across villages including Hempnall, Great Moulton and Saxlingham; an unnamed 5,000-acre (2,020 ha) project in Gissing; an unnamed 2,500-acre (1,010 ha) project near Long Stratton, and the Tasway Energy Park earmarked for 3,600 acres (1,460 ha).But plans for a huge battery storage facility across farmland in Rushall, near Diss, have just been "paused" by developers after opposition. 'Fair share' South Norfolk Council's supplementary planning document will help identify areas most at risk of being impacted by renewable energy schemes and find other suitable Wateridge, Green councillor for Bunwell, said: "The village is starting to look completely encircled – the news about Tasway was the final straw for many residents."I wholeheartedly support renewable energy projects, but every county across the country should be hosting its fair share."There is no doubt that South Norfolk is being disproportionately targeted by energy companies." South Norfolk Labour MP Ben Goldsborough recently faced criticism for opposing the Tasway Energy Park, despite having endorsed the East Pye project, barely a mile said he believed his constituency needed to "play its role" in the transition to green energy."But when we keep getting as many applications as this, we have to say, enough is enough," he could become the biggest solar energy producer in the country if the schemes all go ahead. Follow Norfolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
BBC News
09-07-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Norfolk councils trial AI for routine public queries
Artificial intelligence (AI) bots have been drafted in to answer questions about tax and services at two local trial at South Norfolk Council and Broadland District Council was estimated to cost £149,000 for one would be used online and over the phone to provide automated responses to "routine inquiries" from some councillors warned the technology could be "more irritating" for people wanting to speak with a human. Speaking at a meeting of South Norfolk Council's cabinet, officers said the use of AI agents was "no longer optional".Instead, they said it was essential to make services more cost of running the technology would be shared between both authorities, using it to answer queries such as how to pay council it was not planned to be used for more personalised questions, such as finding out a caller's outstanding tax AI bot would be the first point of contact for every caller to the councillor Kim Carsok said: "I wonder if there is a risk that some customers will be more irritated by the virtual agent."I think we all have phoned up a company and had to speak to a computer and didn't enjoy the experience quite as much as if we were talking to a real person."Council officers hoped the AI agent would stop people having to trawl through websites for information. Follow Norfolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
BBC News
08-07-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Calls for 'written commitment' over Lotus's Norfolk factory
A council leader has called for "a written commitment" over the future of the Lotus car factory and warned the area could not "afford to lose" suggested the company's owners, China-based Geely, were considering shutting the company's site at Hethel in Norfolk, where 1,300 people work.A statement from Lotus said the company had "no plans to close the factory" and following a meeting with Geely, Business and Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said he "was reassured".Conservative county council leader Kay Mason Billig said reassurances were "good news" but she still feared jobs were under threat. She echoed the concerns of South Norfolk's Labour MP Ben Goldsborough, who called for "openness" after talking to Geely representatives last the meeting, the Department for Business and Trade said Reynolds had "set out the government's commitment to working with Lotus and the wider car sector to improve competitiveness and drive growth". Along with South Norfolk District Council and the Norfolk Business Board, Mason Billig signed a letter asking Reynolds "to do what you can to obtain a written commitment from Geely to protect Lotus in the UK"."Lotus is a large employer and it's one of the bedrocks of Norfolk," she told the BBC."Everybody looks at Lotus and thinks 'Norfolk'. We can't afford to lose a factory of that size in this county."The letter also questioned the government's recently announced Modern Industrial Chancellor Rachel Reeves has called it a "10-year plan to deliver the certainty and stability businesses need to invest in the high growth sectors that will drive our growth mission". But the letter warned it was "predominantly focused on city regions, the North and the Midlands".It said whilst Norfolk had strengths in areas including the clean energy, agricultural technology and financial services sectors it was "overlooked", with much of the funding for the east aimed at Cambridge. Nova Fairbank, chief executive of the Norfolk Chambers of Commerce, said: "Cambridge has been so successful that people don't tend to look away from Cambridge."We have many high growth sectors and as a business community we stand ready to support economic growth and jobs in this region," she said its position had not changed and insisted there "are no plans to close the factory" in Hethel.A spokesman for the government said its Industrial Strategy "has introduced ambitious plans to drive growth and investment in every region of the UK, including Norfolk".They added: "The strategy builds on Norfolk and the East of England's strengths and will be developed further by upcoming plans for the Life Sciences, Defence and Financial Services sectors which will support Norwich's thriving and historic insurance industry." Follow Norfolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
BBC News
30-06-2025
- Automotive
- BBC News
South Norfolk MP asks Lotus to give clarity to 1,300 workers
An MP has called for the owners of car company Lotus to "step up to the mark" and make the future of its factory clear to its 1,300 emerged on Friday that China-based Geely was considering closing the company's Hethel site, amid uncertainty created in the industry by US President Donald Trump's tariffs.A statement from Lotus Cars on Saturday insisted it had "no plans to close any factory", but added that it was "actively exploring strategic options to enhance efficiency and ensure global competitiveness".South Norfolk MP Ben Goldsborough was part of a meeting with Geely representatives on Monday and said he emphasised the need for "openness". Goldsborough told the BBC: "Geely [has] made the statement that the site will remain in operation."But there is a big difference between 'remain in operation' and at what capacity."So today's conversation was all about how we secure capacity and as many, if not all, of the 1,300 jobs there."The Labour MP, who was elected last summer, said he could not share full details due to the commercially sensitive nature of the discussions with the continued: "What I want them to do is to have the openness to say what their plans are going forward."It needs to be looking at the commercial aspect of it, the long-term sustainability of the site as well because, as I keep saying, the models that are produced there, the talent that the 1,300 workers have, is second to none."If you lose it, you lose it forever, and that's where Geely need to step up to the mark now."Secretary of State for Business and Trade Jonathan Reynolds met with Geely on Sunday and said he "was reassured" that the firm has "no plans to close their Hethel plant". Lotus was founded in the early 1950s by engineer Colin Chapman and moved to its Norfolk base at Hethel in the which also owns Volvo, took majority control in 2017 when purchasing a 49.9% stake in previous parent company has overseen the brand's continued transition towards electric and hybrid vehicles, with the Emira launched in 2021 as its last conventional petrol the company announced plans in April to cut 270 jobs in the UK, which followed the loss of 94 jobs last said: "We've seen the ups and downs of Lotus time and time again."Every time it sees challenge and adversity it finds new ways of reinventing itself and that's what we've got to do now. "We've got to give it that springboard to reinvent itself long-term." Follow Norfolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
