kickstarts to local house building revolution

Grant Shapps kickstarts local house building revolution

Housing Minister Grant Shapps today kicked off a local house building revolution where communities who go for growth by building new homes reap the benefits and at the same time deliver a much needed economic boost to their local area.

The Minister announced the first cash bonuses totalling almost £200m for communities building new homes and confirmed final details of how local house building will be transformed through powerful incentives that will encourage local communities to back rather than oppose development - as they get to choose how these building bonuses are spent.

The Government has set aside almost £1bn to kickstart this scheme and ensure those areas that go for growth now benefit now. In the longer term incentives will be funded from Formula Grant and Government expects £1.5bn to be paid to communities annually once the scheme is in full swing.

Through the New Homes Bonus the Government will match the council tax raised from new homes for the first six years. The bonus available for an affordable home will be up to 36 per cent more than for a similar market home, equivalent to an extra £350 per house premium every year. Empty properties brought back into use will also receive the cash bonus for six years.

This works out at payments of over £9,000 paid on average to each Band D home or almost £11,000 for an equivalent affordable home. So if an area increased the number of homes by 1,000 units this could earn a community £10m to spend as they see fit - significant funding at a time when public finances are tight.

These incentives are part of Government's wider programme to put power in the hands of local communities to drive economic growth and create jobs.

Grant Shapps said:

"Telling communities what homes they need and where they should be built has had catastrophic consequences. House building levels have nosedived hitting the construction industry hard and in many areas caused local tension by dividing communities.

"We need to get the country building again - but not through a Whitehall knows best arrogance. To kick start a house building revolution development needs to be backed by local communities rather than opposed by them. That's why we are introducing powerful new incentives giving communities a reason to say yes to new homes. Rather than feeling the strain of new homes through extra pressure on local services local residents will feel the direct benefit as they get to choose how the money is spent."

Communities Minister Andrew Stunell said:

"These incentives are part of the Coalition Government's wider drive to put power in the hands of local communities to boost economic growth and create jobs. It is a real opportunity for communities to not only build new homes and provide a much needed shot in the arm to the local economy but also to address other local priorities at a time when public finances are tight. I know many Councils have already seen this potential and are forging ahead with bold plans. But I urge all councils to now work with residents to agree how the bonus can benefit them."

With house building at its lowest peacetime level since 1924 the country needs new homes now and the economy needs the boost to jobs and prosperity this brings. That's why those areas currently building homes will be benefit now and Ministers announced the first cash payments being made under the scheme. 326 local authorities will receive a share of almost £200m for increasing the housing stock by almost 150,000 in the first year of this scheme.

Communities themselves will decide how to spend this extra funding - whether council tax discounts for local residents, boosting frontline services like rubbish collection or providing local facilities like swimming pools and leisure centres.

This will mean that for the first time, rather than having development forced on them from Whitehall through centrally imposed targets, there is a reason for communities to support growth as they will be able to see the benefits of development in their area for themselves.

Ministers see the New Homes Bonus as a real opportunity for communities to not only build much needed homes and give their area a welcome economic boost but also through the bonus payment to address other local priorities. Ministers have called on all councils to consult residents on how they can work together to agree how the Bonus could be used to meet their local needs.

President Hosni Mubarak Resigns as leader

Egypt crisis: President Hosni Mubarak resigns as leader

Protesters in Cairo's Tahrir Square responded with cheers and car horns

Continue reading the main story

Egypt Unrest

• Egypt unrestLive
• Mubarak: End of the great survivor
• Q&A: Egypt protests
• Protest timeline

Hosni Mubarak has decided to step down as president of Egypt.

In an announcement on state TV, Vice-President Omar Suleiman said Mr Mubarak had handed power to the military.

It came as thousands massed in Cairo and other Egyptian cities for an 18th day of protest to demand Mr Mubarak's resignation.

Protesters responded by cheering, waving flags, embracing and sounding car horns. "The people have brought down the regime," they chanted.

Mr Suleiman said Mr Mubarak had handed power to the high command of the armed forces.

"In the name of God the merciful, the compassionate, citizens, during these very difficult circumstances Egypt is going through, President Hosni Mubarak has decided to step down from the office of president of the republic and has charged the high council of the armed forces to administer the affairs of the country," he said.

"May God help everybody."

Mr Mubarak has already left Cairo and is in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh where he has a residence, officials say.

In Cairo, thousands of people are gathered outside the presidential palace, in Tahrir Square and at state TV.

They came out in anger following an address by Mr Mubarak on Thursday. He had been expected to announce his resgination but instead stopped short of stepping down, transferring most powers to Mr Suleiman.

Tesco For Little Lever Good or Bad

The big question in Little Lever at the moment is YES or NO to a Tesco Superstore on the site of the former Pennine Pets formally Bradley Mill where our Little Lever Arch came from.

Will it be beneficial to Little Lever or will it be the final nail in the coffin of a village community which is already struggling?

It is not going to be an easy one to answer and the community seems to be divided does it move forward and take the risk or stay as we are hope for the best.

The land was granted Planning permission in 2007 when I was the Chairman of the Council's Planning Committee which has now lapsed under the 4 year rule, however the Housing Developer has applied for an extension of time on the planning consent. The Council to date has not given a decision despite going beyond the deadline date set by Council Policy.

No matter what we think, (the community) what gets built, Houses or Superstore it will be determinned by a series of events.

• Planning Permission
• The right financial agreement on the table
• Mark Seddon the owner of the current site signing any such deal

A Public Meeting has been arranged for Wednesday 16th February 2011 @ 7-30pm in Hardy Hall on Church Street, Little Lever at which the owner of the site along with the Agents for Tesco and Opposition groups along with Supporters have been invited to discuss this very interesting issue.

Over the next few days I will be uploading information from the various sides of the argument in order that people can have some understanding on this issue. I will try to be neutral giving balanced comments. Anyone who wishes to make a point can do so by emailing me sean.hornby@live.co.uk

Updated information following the meeting at Hardy Hall on Wednesday 16th February 2011

Sean Hornby opened the meeting by thanking people for attending. He started off by stating some facts on how we know about the proposed development. A few listed as:

• Talks are taking place and have been for some time and are in a pretty advanced stage with the council and others.

• A telephone call that Sean Hornby has had from one of the major developers who is hoping to purchase the site from the owner subject to planning permission.

• Letters from an agent in Merseyside seeking to purchase curtain properties on Ainsworth Road!

This went onto if this was a good or a bad thing for Little Lever:

• Will it create Jobs for Little Lever People or will it be people from other areas?

• Will it destroy the already failing village centre?

• Will a development of a large supermarket be the final nail in the coffin for the struggling centre of the village or will it be its saviour?

Sean mentioned the plus and minuses some important that was mentioned were:

• That this could create more jobs.

• Increased traffic problems.

• There could be improvements to the junction of Lever Street and Ainsworth Road which are much needed but don’t be fooled, simple traffic lights on this junction if a major supermarket comes will not be the answer.

• A roundabout could be installed but this is likely to cost £1/4 million to do.

• It would greatly improve the site which currently is a eye sore and a disgrace.

Paul Richardson who runs the village tea rooms with his wife Kath was next to speak regarding information about speculation of what size we could be looking at if this plan goes ahead, also he obtained some figures from Bolton Council about the level of traffic that passes through Little Lever and mentioned that at peak time 17.00 till 18.00 approx 444 vehicles enter to and from the vicinity of the junction. It was also brought to our attention of the level of traffic Kwik Saves brought at Longcauseway at the same time which was 668. Then figures from a traffic survey carried out by Wainhomes in 2008 to see the impact of the junction in rush hour traffic was in total AM 1366 and PM 1710 vehicles.

Kristy Atkinson a member of the community then spoke whilst Tracey Mortimer did a powerpoint presentation of what they felt the effect of a supermarket would do to our village and the community and raised some interesting points from concerned members of the public that she had spoken to.

The meeting then went to debate where some interesting views and ideas were raised on what we can do next if we want to object to a proposal of a supermarket to go ahead. Noted below are people’s views and fear’s and ideas:

A member of the community brought to our attention that it wasn’t just 15 and 17 Ainsworth Road that had been approached but all the houses on that side of the street, with a letter which this community member kindly produced and let us read, clearly stating that a agent representing a supermarket is thinking of making them an offer for their property. I must stress that at this stage this is not a compulsory purchase yet! And councillor Mary Woodward Promised to Neil Robinson another concerned member who clearly was upset about this proposal and stated that this is not just a house it was his home, if it gets to that stage she would personally make sure that his house would not be subject to compulsory purchase!

Councillor Mary Woodward who is on the planning committee along with Councillor Tony Connell confirmed that once an agent has approached and gone through the planning permission stage a formal meeting will be arranged to let the whole of Little Lever aware of plans. A member of the community said along with many that agreed that it is when it is at this stage it is too late. Sean Hornby went on to say we need to act now and make our objections known before it gets to this stage and used the greenbelt land for the proposed traveller’s site as an example, in which many people in the room totally agreed.

A spokesman for Wainehomes mentioned Planning permission was granted in 2007 for Wainhomes to build 88 homes on this site plus give money to Bolton Council for affordable housing. If housing was built on the land this would bring 88 families into the village which is extra trade. Wainhomes mentioned last night that they still would like to go ahead with these plans but are aware that a supermarket has approached Mark Seddon with a substantial offer and more than their proposed offer.

Rees Gibbon the landlord of the Jolly Carter spoke. He has lived in this village for over 30 years and he mentioned about how important the village and the community spirit was to him. He went on to say that more people should make more of an effort to use the village and increase the trade of the businesses within it. In his opinion a supermarket will finish off the village and clearly objected a NO! To the proposal.

The Owner of Premier spoke; He said he has seen the consequences the impact of the Tesco has had in Cheetham hill it is now a ghost town and has not created any extra jobs as they advertised internally. One member of the public disagreed with this.

Councillor Mary Woodward spoke and said that the meeting (16/02/11) clearly showed that the community of Little Lever was not interested about what happens on the Pennine Pet site due to the amount of people that turned up. Steve Hoyle replied that Tracey Mortimer and Kristy Atkinson had organised the meeting and the advertising from this came out of our pockets we reached just a portion of the community to raise awareness in the best way we could by putting flyers around many shops, Libraries, community centres, churches etc. A community member stated that she spent some time walking through the village one day this week and spoke to people she knows and were still unaware of what was happening as some people don’t look in shop windows and if they had known about it a bit earlier they would of come along.

What we do next... well we have had some good suggestions brought to us and we are now in the process of getting together to see what the best course of action to take next. One being that the Little Lever action group want to get involved and will support us with spreading the awareness of this proposal and any other suggestions made in the near future.

A big thank you goes out to Wainhomes, Sean Hornby, Paul Richardson, Kristy Atkinson and Tracey Mortimer who gave up their time freely to contribute to the meeting, also a big thank you to Steve Hoyle for letting us use Hardy Hall

Help for Heroes Update

Henighans Kindly donated today £50 towards the fund for the Help the Heroes.

A Big thank you to Henighans for their kind donation

Help for Heroes

Well done to everyone involved in the fund raiser yesterday at Hardy Hall despite the low attendance just over £1,000 was raised.

The event is one of many events that take place at Hardy Hall throughout the year which raise large amounts of money for various well deserving charities.

The people that need to be thanked though are Maureen from Pocket Savers, Barbara from the Cake Shop, Sam & Vicky from the Flower Shop, Michelle from The Nail Shop, Steve Coster for doing the lighting and sound, Kathy & Paul from the Tea Rooms and Councillor Mary Woodward for her contribution to the evening.

The biggest show of appreciation though must go to Steve Hoyle and his team for hosting the event and comparing the evening.

It is a pity Events like this need to take place in order that our troops are looked after changes are needed to ensure our troops are properly looked after and cared for. They put their lives on the line for us, the least they deserve is to have the resources needed on their return from active duty.

“Thank goodness for the generosity of the British Public.”

Come and support our troops who are doing a fantastic job for our Country.

Tonight

Hardy Hall

7pm Start

Fund Raising Event

Entertainment, Racenight, Stand up Bingo, Play Your Cards Right, Raffles and much much more.

Free Entry

or more information contact Hardy Hall or myself on 07969 687981

Greenbelt land meeting

Just a reminder its the meeting to discuss the plan of action about the Greenbelt land on the Canal Basin off Church Street/Hall Lane Little Lever.

Hardy Hall Wednesday 26th May 2010 @ 7-30pm prompt

Bolton News coverage of the walk