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Store pull-out hits bus station project
The future of the £80 million redevelopment of Hinckley town centre is hanging in the balance after Sainsbury's announced it was pulling out of the project.
Rescue talks have been arranged after Justin King, the group chief executive, wrote to the council saying that because of delays and other problems the bus station scheme no longer made financial sense.
But the Liberal Democrat-controlled Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council, which is supporting the scheme, said: "The deal is not dead."
The project, known as The Crescent, included shops and a cinema, with Sainsbury's being its anchor.
Start dates for the project, which was hoped to create hundreds of jobs, have come and gone without work beginning.
Mr King wrote to council chief executive Steve Atkinson on April 29 saying the company was pulling out.
He was responding to a letter from Mr Atkinson on April 16 seeking clarification of the company's position. Mr King wrote: "I can confirm that we have today notified the developers, Tin Hat Regeneration Partnership LLP, that we will not be proceeding with our store within the proposed town centre regeneration scheme."
He said the conditions of the initial contract with Tin Hat had not been met.
He said: "A major part of the attraction of this project for us was the wider development, including the other shops and the cinema, with the physical improvement to the fabric of the town centre.
"However, we understand that a lack of demand from other shop tenants, the prohibitive cost of building the cinema and the incentive packages needed to entice other potential occupiers, coupled with the stringent conditions laid down by Tin Hats' external funders, means the developer can no longer build out the scheme as originally designed.
"This raises the prospect of our supermarket trading in isolation for an undefined period and, consequently, this significantly diminishes the trading and commercial back drop for us. We share your disappointment that the changes I have noted mean that Sainsbury's is no longer able to be part of this scheme."
Mr Atkinson said talks had been arranged and insisted the scheme was not dead.
He said: "We received notification of Sainsbury's intentions and responded immediately, requesting further discussions between the parties. The parties have agreed to take part in further discussions and these will be taking place as soon as possible.
"The council is doing its utmost to ensure that the development does take place. As it stands, the deal is not dead."
A Sainsbury's spokesman said: "Discussions regarding progress of the Hinckley town centre regeneration scheme are on-going between all parties. Updates will be provided to the community once discussions have progressed and the next steps are confirmed."
Peter Batty, Conservative group leader on the council, said: "I am very angry that the public has been kept in the dark over these major developments. It is clear the council knew there was a problem over the involvement of Sainsbury's well before the county council elections on May 2.
"The public deserves more openness. We do not want sweeteners, we cannot afford, to be offered to keep Sainsbury's on board."
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Air ambulance called to cricket match
A cricket player has broken three bones in his ankle while fielding.
The player, believed to be aged about 40, was playing for the Langtons Seconds against Grace Dieu Park at East Langton on Saturday.
Langtons secretary Mark Ward said: "The player was fielding and he twisted his leg and broke his ankle in three places.
"The air ambulance flew here and a road ambulance also came and he was taken to Kettering General Hospital by road ambulance."
New Dean welcomed at 'a time of great change'
The Very Reverend David Monteith has been installed as the new Dean of Leicester.
The Very Rev Monteith officially began his new post after a service at Leicester Cathedral on Saturday.
The new Dean, taking over from Vivienne Faull, who last year moved to be Dean of York, has been at the cathedral four years having previously been the canon chancellor with responsibility for pastoral and educational life.
In his sermon to the congregation, the Very Rev Monteith said: "Cathedrals are called to embrace the interface between the spiritual and the secular.
"This Cathedral is invited to create the kind of space which frees up others to explore this spirituality in countless languages, metaphors, images, experiences and church traditions."
During the service the Bishop of Leicester, the Rt Rev Tim Stevens welcomed the new Dean.
He said: "Few Deans have been installed at a time of such great change in their Cathedral. We have discerned in you the gifts and qualities this challenge require. May God bless you."
The service included music sung in Irish reflecting the Dean's native origins.
A piece written by Dr Chris Johns, director of music at the cathedral was premiered.
It uses a poem by Robert Herryck who is commemorated in the cathedral and whose family home was on the site of the Greyfriars Friary where Richard III was buried.
Deadline nears in Richard III row
The University of Leicester has until the end of the month to make its preliminary case in a legal battle over where Richard III will be laid to rest.
The university has said the monarch's remains should be interred at Leicester Cathedral, as part of the exhumation licence it obtained from the Ministry of Justice.
However, the agreement between the university and the ministry is being challenged by a group called Plantagenet Alliance. Members claim to be descendants of Richard, the last king of the House of York.
They are seeking a judicial review of the exhumation licence obtained by the archeologists and want the king's bones placed in York Minster.
They are arguing their human rights have been breached because there was not enough consultation on the licence before it was granted.
Lawyer Matthew Howarth, representing the Plantagenet Alliance, said the university and the Ministry of Justice had to submit defence papers to the claim by the end of May.
He said: "The ball is with them. They will have to make an initial decision about how they wish to respond.
"We have sent our papers to them – and to Leicester Cathedral."
Once all the documents have been submitted, a judge will consider them and decide whether to hear the case or dismiss it."
Yesterday, the university declined to comment but it has previously disputed that members of the alliance are descendants of the 15th century king. One leading member of staff called the case "tosh."
Despite this, the university may get drawn into a long and costly dispute if a judge views the alliance's case sympathetically.
Mr Howarth said: "When we began this action, the university was very forthright with its views.
"I think they should have waited to see what we were saying before describing it as tosh.
"We would not have brought this case if we did not think there was merit in it, nor would two senior QCs have decided to get involved."
Mr Howarth said it would probably be a month, from the submission of all the papers, before a judge looked at the matter.
Both Leicester Cathedral and York Minster have been named as "interested parties" in the proceedings.
The cathedral said it had been sent a box of documents with family trees supposed to show alliance members' descent from Richard. It has consulted the diocesan solicitor and is contemplating whether it needs further legal representation.
York Minster has already said it is happy for the king to be interred in Leicester.
Leicester Cathedral canon commissioner the Rev Pete Hobson has been put in charge of arranging Richard's interment, which must be done by August next year.
He said they really did not want to be involved in the case.
"We were named as an interested party in this by someone else," he said. "We are just getting on with the job of preparing for the interment.
"We are hoping the case will be dismissed because it is all a bit of a distraction."
Fears raised over 'addictive' machines and casino culture
Leicester's deputy mayor has raised concerns about "highly addictive" gaming machines in bookies.
Councillor Rory Palmer fears the "fixed odds betting terminals", which offer games like roulette and poker and are now common in bookmakers, are fuelling a rise in gambling.
He said research was needed to look in detail at the impact of gaming machines in Leicester and, if necessary, MPs should be lobbied to change the law to restrict them.
Coun Palmer said: "I want to be clear and say I am not against having a bet.
"However, the nature of betting shops is changing. They are not the bookies of a few years ago, where you would go in, study the form on the wall and then make an informed decision on how to place a bet.
"There are more fixed odds betting terminals and bookies are more like casinos.
"These things are highly addictive. They have been described as the crack cocaine of gambling.
"You see people at them hour after hour. They eat money."
According to figures from pressure group The Campaign for Fairer Gambling there were 220 such gaming machines in Leicester bookmakers in 2011-12 at which punters lost about £7.5 million.
Coun Palmer said there was a perception bookmakers were springing up in the city as other shops fall victim to the recession, increasing access to the machines.
The city council said there are 63 licensed betting shops in Leicester – nine more than were open five years ago.
Coun Palmer said: "They don't show a dramatic increase in the number of betting shops but we know there are more applications on the books."
Under current laws, betting shops are allowed up to four fixed odds betting terminals – with stakes ranging from £1 and prizes of up to £500.
Peter Craske, spokesman for the Association of British Bookmakers, said: "Gaming machines have definitely grown in popularity over the past 10 years, bringing in new customers and giving existing customers a new product to enjoy.
"This reflects the change in customer patterns, with customers wanting to bet on a lot more things than just horseracing or greyhounds – now people bet on football matches while they are taking place, or on who will win X-Factor or win the next General Election, and they also like to play on gaming machines.
"Like any retailer, we respond to our customers and give them the products they want.
"Leicester's betting shops employ more than 200 people, at a time when other major retailers are closing down, shedding jobs and leaving high street units empty."
Security guard Paul Grant, 32, from Rowlatts Hill, said he spent up two hours a week on gambling machines.
He said: "I lose more than I win. Everybody does. The machines wouldn't be there otherwise but I enjoy it.
"It's how I choose to spend my money and I don't think we need another politician saving us from ourselves."
Another regular player, who did not wish to be named, said: "I've lost £50 in a few minutes. It's different to betting over the counter where you have to look a person in the eye. It's just you and the screen and you can get so caught up in it."
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VIDEO: Cars seized on the school run
Two drivers had their cars seized yesterday morning during an unannounced road safety operation outside a city primary school.
Police and Leicester City Council road safety and parking officers targeted dozens of parents and carers dropping off children at Coleman Primary, in Gwendolen Road.
The aim of the operation, which ran between 8.30am and 9.30am and again between 2.15pm and 3.45pm – peak school times – was to clamp down on illegal parking on kerbs, yellow lines and zig-zag lines.
However, during the course of the morning, potentially more serious offences were flagged up.
During the morning session, officers seized a blue Vauxhall and a silver Skoda and spoke to the two male drivers.
One was believed to have no insurance and no valid UK driving licence, while the other's licence was believed to have expired.
The men have been told to produce the correct documents or face being fined or prosecuted. Mercury photographer Andy Baker caught the moment one of the drivers was spoken to by police on camera.
Officers issued eight penalty notices, including three to drivers who did not park correctly. The rest included offences of not wearing a seatbelt, overloading a vehicle and no insurance.
These drivers now face fines of up to £60 as well as possible prosecution, depending on the offence.
The move was welcomed by the majority of parents at the school.
Hira Modhvadia, who has a nine-year-old son at Coleman Primary and lives a three-minute walk away, said: "Although he's more than capable of walking to school himself, I won't let him because the traffic here is so dangerous.
"Some people park on the pavements and on the zig-zag lines – it's an accident waiting to happen so I walk him to school every day and pick him up.
"I wish the road safety officers could be out here every day."
Parent Billal Girach, who drives his son to school, said: "It's good to remind parents of their responsibilities and to make sure all children are kept safe.
"It's a difficult situation – the road is a busy one and there isn't a lot of parking available to parents who have no choice but to drive their children to school."
The operation was requested by head teacher Nigel Bruen.
He said: "It's not meant with any animosity, but we're on a road which gets very congested. It's a bus route and ambulance route to Leicester General Hospital and for that reason speed bumps aren't a viable option.
"That's why making sure that parents drive slowly and park responsibly is important."
Pc Rich Barber, from Spinney Hill Park police station, took part in the operation.
He said: "We want all parents to comply with the road traffic regulations and that means not parking on the zig-zag lines or yellow lines. They are there for a reason."
Council road safety officer Lyn Rowe said the operation had been successful and that drivers appeared to be getting the message. She said more operations outside city schools were planned.
Talks in deadlock over Leicester City striker Jermaine Beckford's possible transfer to Bolton
Talks between Leicester City and Bolton about a possible transfer for striker Jermaine Beckford are in deadlock over the possible fee.
Bolton are keen to recruit Beckford, who is surplus to requirements at City as he does not feature in boss Nigel Pearson's plans.
But the two clubs are some way apart in their valuations of the 29-year-old, who City signed from Everton two years ago for £2.5million.
While City know they will not recoup anywhere near their initial outlay for Beckford, they will not allow him to join the Trotters for next to nothing and there have been reports they have asked for £1m for the Jamaica international.
A resolution is unlikely to be reached within the next few weeks.
Meanwhile, City are reportedly among a group of clubs trying to sign defender Alex Baptiste.
Baptiste is out of contract this summer with Blackpool and there are a host of Championship clubs, and a couple of Premier League clubs, who have expressed an interest.
Derby manager Nigel Clough has publicly announced his interest, while Bolton are also known to be trying to woo the 27-year-old.
City are said to be interested, but yesterday Hull were also linked with Baptiste and the chance to return to the Premier League may prove to be the deal-clincher for the Tigers.
Oliver's Royal Appointment!
A seriously ill boy had a dream come true when he was invited to have tea with the Queen – the Dame Helen Mirren version.
Oliver Burton, 10, who is fighting cancer for the fourth time, travelled to London in a stretch limo before meeting the "Queen".
He sat in her "big" chair and fed her corgis biscuits while she served him tea, cola and sandwiches.
Then the lad from Birstall became Sir Ollie as the actress, who is appearing as the Queen at London's Gielgud Theatre, knighted him with her hand.
Mum and dad, Catherine and James, described the trip, which included their six-year-old son, Ethan, as "perfect".
Oliver, who has Down's Syndrome, was diagnosed with leukaemia in 2006, when he was three.
He has fought it three times but when he relapsed for a fourth time at the beginning of May doctors said there was little they could do.
His parents knew one of Oliver's biggest dreams was to meet the Queen.
When Buckingham Palace was unable to meet a request for a meeting made by the National Children's Tumour Leukaemia Cancer Trust, the charity hit on the idea of asking Dame Helen to step in.
Catherine said: "Dame Helen was brilliant. She stayed in character the whole time and spent a lot of time talking to Oliver and drawing him out of himself.
"She signed his British flag, which he waves all the time.
"Even now, if you ask him who he met recently, he smiles and waves the flag. He believes he met the real Queen and that's fine by us."
The family travelled to London in a stretch limo which had been organised by the charity.
Catherine said: "We were treated like royalty for a day. It has provided so many memories for friends and family. It gave us all such a lift."
Oliver's latest tests, last week, have come back clear.
Catherine said: "It is a complete roller-coaster. From being told to plan a funeral to this news – we have to take life one day at a time as Oliver could become very ill, very quickly.
"He doesn't know how poorly he is, he is such a happy chap.
"Meeting the Queen was top of his wish list. Other things include going to the park and feeding the ducks.
"We are so grateful to everyone who has donated to help pay for trips. The kindness and generosity from people has been humbling."
Andi Daw, family support worker from the National Children's Tumour Leukaemia Cancer trust, organised the London trip with fellow charity worker Karen Rogers, from Alfie's Cause.
Andi said: "I think Oliver's story struck a chord. He rang me from the limo and the highlight for him had been feeding the dogs biscuits and he told me how the Queen had spilt cola as she opened a bottle.
"She said 'silly Queen, making a mess'. He thought it was very funny. I was so pleased and excited for the family I was nearly crying."