Woodingdean residents to stage a public protest against Brighton & Hove City Council.
This follows an error by city planners which resulted in permission being granted by default for the erection of a 12.5 metre telephone mast and two equipment cabinets on Warren Road in front of the area’s historic cottages.
The Council refused permission for the telecommunications company’s application to erect a mast and cabinet but failed to issue the decision notice outlining the refusal in the required statutory time of 56 days. Therefore, under the regulations, planning permission is granted by default.
Cllr Dee Simpson
Woodingdean Ward Councillors, Dee Simson and Steve Bell, who will both be at the demonstration, said:“We urge as many residents as possible to come along to the protest and show the Council the strength of feeling there is locally about this whole situation. It is now incumbent upon the Council, having made the blunder, to put right their error by whatever means possible. The residents certainly won’t take this lying down.”
The demonstration will take place on Tuesday, October 4 at 3.30pm on the grass verge outside the cottages where the mast is due to be placed.
Hold a Christmas Day activity to help end loneliness this year and make sure no older person is alone this Christmas unless they want to be.
National charityFriends of the Elderly is asking people in East Sussex to hold Christmas Day activities in their community, so no older person will be alone unless they want to be.
As official partners of Community Christmas, the charity hopes that more people than ever before will get involved in 2016.
With more than a third of older people living in East Sussex affected by loneliness, and around half a million older people in the UK saying Christmas day is when they feel most lonely, Friends of the Elderly and Community Christmas are asking people to give the gift of time by organising an activity on Christmas Day.
Tony Smith, 61, doesn’t have any family and usually spends Christmas Day alone, watching TV. Last year, thanks to Community Christmas, he attended a Christmas lunch and also enjoyed an afternoon of entertainment and games.
Tony said:“It was the first time Christmas actually meant something to me; it was the best Christmas I’ve ever had.”
Last year, 11 activities in East Sussex were registered with Community Christmas, including Christmas Day lunches in Eastbourne, Brighton and Hastings. But more are needed this year to reach as many older people as possible.
Organising an activity is easy – it’s not just about the turkey dinner, you could get people together to watch a Christmas film, share a cup of tea and a mince pie in a local pub, or enjoy a Christmas Day walk.
Jo O’Boyle
Jo O’Boyle, Director of Engagement at Friends of the Elderly, said:“Friends of the Elderly is delighted to be working with Community Christmas again this year to support older people facing Christmas alone. We know that loneliness can have a devastating impact on older people’s lives and those we work with tell us that becoming isolated from a day community they were once part of can be especially difficult. That’s why we’re calling on individuals, organisations and businesses to put on activities on Christmas Day to bring together older people in their community who don’t want to be alone.”
If you’re organising an activity on Christmas Day, or know of one in your area, contact Community Christmas so it can be listed on the website making it easier for older people to know what’s happening in East Sussex.
Whatever you decide to do, you will help make sure more older people, who would otherwise be alone, have something to look forward to on Christmas Day.
Convicted criminals who illegally sold on access to Premier League football coverage have been ordered to pay back nearly £1m following successful orders made under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.
Following an investigation by officers in Surrey Police’s Economic Crime Unit, Simon Hopkins and Leon Passlow, were jailed in August 2015, following a joint investigation by Surrey Police and the Federation Against Copyright Theft (FACT).
They have been ordered to pay back £992,947.60 following a number of successful confiscations and forfeiture orders following a hearing at Guildford Crown Court on Friday (September 30, 2016). They have to pay back the money by January 3 2017 or they will each have to serve a further six years behind bars.
The pair were sentenced at Guildford Crown Court having earlier pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud between January 2008 and September 2012, in a prosecution by the Football Association Premier League (FAPL).
Specialist officers from the Force’s Economic Crime Unit and FACT worked together to uncover the scam which defrauded broadcaster BskyB who have the rights to the coverage of the Premier League competition which is run by the FAPL.
Hopkins and Passlow ran a company in Bagshot which obtained hundreds of domestic use only BskyB cards, using hundreds of fake names, and long addresses in an attempt for their scam to go unnoticed.
Those cards were then sold on to commercial premises, including pubs, betting shops and yachts.
Although the companies paid a large one-off premium for the cards, they made huge savings on their monthly fees in the long run. They were also under strict instructions not to contact BskyB directly or they would face having subscription cancelled.
The investigation started in May 2012 following complaints made to the FAPL from broadcasters and members of the public about the company – Digicam International Ltd (DIL) – who were also advertising their services on the internet.
DIL’s website and paperwork given to subscribers carried warning messages not to contact the broadcaster directly or it would “kill your subscription”.
The defendant’s homes were searched in September 2012 where payslips and paperwork was found that showed DIL had a turnover of almost £2m a year. The company based in High Street, Bagshot was also searched and had signs on the walls warning that legal action would be taken against anybody associated with the FAPL or FACT entering the property.
Detective Sergeant Chris Rambourof the Surrey Police Economic Crime Unit, said:“Confiscation orders are often the final piece of the jigsaw following a conviction and, where applicable, provide for victims to be compensated for their losses. Seeking a confiscation order following a conviction is a lengthy, complex process which can take many months but these figures show that the hard work, tenacity and determination of the team has most definitely paid off.
“Securing these confiscation orders follows a complex investigation that involved working closely with our partners to ensure that these criminals were put behind bars. I hope this demonstrates our determination and reassures the public that we will leave no stone unturned to put offenders before the courts.”
Kieron Sharp
Director General of the Federation Against Copyright Theft (FACT), Kieron Sharp, added:“Hopkins and Passlow made hundreds of thousands of pounds through their criminal enterprise, allowing them to live lavish lifestyles and believing they would never get caught.
“The court has confiscated £992,000 of their criminal funds and the pair are already serving lengthy sentences in prison. This should serve as a strong warning that ultimately intellectual property crime does not pay.”
A Premier League spokesman, said:“This case provides further evidence that companies and individuals which illegally supply Premier League football to pubs and commercial premises risk jail time for doing so.
“Injunctions and significant costs awards are regularly being made in the Premier League’s favour in the Courts, and several suppliers have been jailed for illegally making systems available to commercial premises.
“We would advise the owners and operators of hotels, pubs, betting shops and other premises interested in broadcast Premier League football to contact Sky Sports and BT Sport as they are the only broadcasters authorised to do so in this country.”
Hopkins, 47, of Park Road, Stoke Poges, Slough, Berkshire and Passlow 58, of Broomfield Drive, Ascot, Berkshire were both sentenced to three and a half years each in August 2015.
United Nations Human Rights Council appoint the first ever Independent Expert focused on sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) was appointed by the UN Human Rights Council!
Professor Vitit Muntarbhorn
Vitit Muntarbhorn, a law professor from Thailand and experienced human rights expert, will serve in this capacity for the next three years.
He will be tasked with raising awareness about the violence and discrimination LGBT people face globally.
The SOGI Independent Expert position was created by the passing of resolution on June 30 of this year. The resolution was openly attacked by governments who questioned the meaning of “sexual orientation” and “gender identity.”
Good sense prevailed, and the resolution passed with a vote of 23 in favour and 18 against with six abstentions.
Professor Muntarbhorn was chosen from 21 candidates who applied for the position, by a Consultative Group and the President of the UN Human Rights Council, before being appointed.
Greens say council plans to privatise learning disability accommodation could be unlawful.
Convenor of the Green Group: Cllr Phélim Mac Cafferty
A report into Learning Disability Accommodation in Brighton and Hove has called into question the legality of a Council decision to privatise the service.
The Association for Public Service Excellence (APSE) was commissioned by the Brighton and Hove Branch of public sector trade union UNISON to provide an analysis of the decision and subsequent procurement process.
The report from APSE raises significant concerns about the process which saw the Council fail to consult on a range of options for learning disability accommodation.
APSE have stated that the process may have breached the Council’s statutory duty by failing to consult on keeping the services in-house.
The decision to privatise services, taken in April this year, was opposed by Green councillors on the city council who said the decision risked lives and could damage quality of life of the city’s most vulnerable residents.
Greens are now urging the Council to call a halt to the privatisation process in order to give consideration to the APSE report and review all available options for provision of the service.
Green Councillor and Convenor of the Green Group, Phélim Mac Cafferty, said: “In November, Greens put forward an amendment specifically requesting that the Council consult on the option of providing learning disability accommodation in-house in a more efficient way, yet this was voted down by Labour and Conservative councillors. We now see this decision called into question precisely because this option was not given proper consideration.
“We continue to have major concerns over the privatisation of these services, and the ongoing failures of recently privatised services in patient transport have only heightened our fears. Privatisation is putting the lives of our most vulnerable residents at risk and must be stopped”.
“Once again, the failure of the Labour Council to properly consult on a range of options has undermined a service redesign process. Time and again, we see Labour asking leading consultation questions and shutting down debate, so it can claim its policies have public support. We know this is simply not the case.”
A Kickstarter campaign to fund the production of a new 90-minute documentary, Hating Peter Tatchell, achieved 100 backers yesterday reaching almost the halfway mark for its £10,000 goal.
The Kickstarter campaign needs to raise at least £10,000 of the films total £80,000 production budget and with just one week left to go, the project will only be funded if at least £10,000 is pledged by Wednesday, October 12 at noon.
Narrated by film actor and human rights campaignerSir Ian McKellen, Hating Peter Tatchell is the inspiring true story of world-renowned human rights activist Peter Tatchell, his 50 years of human rights activism and the resulting immense personal price he has paid.
Peter Tatchell, Director of the human rights organisation the Peter Tatchell Foundation, said: “This documentary is not just my story, it is also a snapshot of the struggle for human rights over the last half century. Your support in getting this film made is greatly appreciated.”
Filmmaker Chris Amos, Director of Hating Peter Tatchell, added:“Having known Peter for 15 years, I have come to appreciate Peter’s eccentricities, his meticulous organisational detail and bravery defending human rights and witnessed his passion working around the clock on campaigns. Despite his efforts, he has come under severe criticism. He is the person who for decades the media and critics loved to hate. Through this documentary you have the chance to meet the real man and hear the true story.”
Peter was at the forefront on gay marriage issues in the UK. His campaigning started back in 1992 when five same-sex couples applied for marriage licences. As we all know, this finally came to fruition in the UK in 2014 – 24 years later. Peter never gave up campaigning for this to happen.
To get involved with the Kickstarter campaign, click here:
For more information about the documentary, click here:
This follows an error by city planners which resulted in permission being granted by default for the erection of a 12.5 metre telephone mast and two equipment cabinets on Warren Road in front of the area’s historic cottages.
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