Parish and town councils say plan does ‘virtually nothing to alleviate the real problem of housing affordability for local people’

The Government’s “flawed” target to build almost 19,000 homes in the Cotswolds over the next two decades is opposed by more than a dozen towns and villages.

A joint letter signed by 15 parish and town councils in the Cotswold district opposing the housing target has been sent to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG).

Cotswold District Council is in the process of developing its new local plan which aims to meet the area’s new housing target. Their draft plan suggests 90 per cent of this new housing to be built in ten strategic sites outside the national landscape.

But the letters’ signatories believe the proposed housing plan is undeliverable due to incorrectly defined boundaries, flawed affordability metrics, and severe infrastructure constraints.

They believe the method used to calculate the Cotswold district’s housing requirement is “flawed” and will be “extremely damaging” to the local environment while “doing virtually nothing to alleviate the real problem of housing affordability for local people”.

“We are particularly concerned about the attempt to re-allocate the housing requirement attributable to the roughly 50 per cent of the population living within the 80 per cent of the Cotswold National Landscape area,” the letter reads.

They say new housing development is also constrained by flood risk, water/sewage infrastructure capacity and inadequate roads.

“We also suggest what needs to be done to enable the actual housing affordability issue here to be addressed in a sustainable way,” the letter continues.

The councils are calling on the Government to take onboard their concerns and delay the creation of a new local plan until local government reorganisation takes place in the county.

Councillor Eileen Viviani, who chairs the planning and infrastructure committee at Moreton Town Council said it was an “unutual step” for the parish and town councils to have taken to make their case.

But she explained they are “united in seeking ways to make their communities’ economic and housing needs heard, understood and met”.

Gloucestershire County Council will be merged with the six district authorities to create a new Gloucestershire Council in 2028.

And the town and parish councils, who signed the letter, want the minister to agree that the application of the ‘standard formula’ for housing requirements is inappropriate for Cotswold District in the meantime.

MHCLG has been approached for comment.

The proposed local plan will be considered by district councillors over a series of meetings this month. Subject to approval, another six-week public consultation will run from August 24 to October 5.

The council will then consider the representations received and may recommend additional modifications for the inspector to consider.

The joint letter has been signed by the town councils of Chipping Campden, Fairford, Moreton-in-Marsh, Lechlade and Stow-on-the-Wold.

And parish councils to signed it are Ampney Crucis, Bourton-on-the-Water, Down Ampney, Driffield and Harnhil, Kemble and Ewen, Kempsford, Mickleton, Preston, Quenington, Siddington.

The Manchester-based consumer goods business said revenues totalled £541m for the year to the end of May

Carex and Imperial Leather manufacturer PZ Cussons has reported a rise in sales and profits following cost-cutting measures and increased investment in marketing initiatives.

The Manchester-headquartered consumer goods company said turnover reached £541 million for the year ending May, up 5.8% on a like-for-like basis versus the prior year.

Revenue growth was fuelled primarily by pricing strategies, while sales volumes also climbed marginally.

In the UK, washing and bathing brands Carex, Imperial Leather, Original Source and Sanctuary Spa were propelling growth, especially after a strong Christmas gifting season.

It emphasised brand-building collaborations such as featuring The Gruffalo and Zog animated characters on Carex handwash, and Original Source bodywash sponsoring a London Hyrox event and teaming up with celebrity ambassador Spencer Matthews.

This helped counterbalance a drop in sales for smaller brands such as haircare range Charles Worthington and self-tanning label St Tropez.

PZ Cussons has said its marketing expenditure rose by £3.5 million during the year, representing its highest spend in recent years.

It has also tested live-streaming shopping in markets like Indonesia, while St Tropez was recently introduced on TikTok Shop in the UK.

Meanwhile, the firm said it had streamlined its portfolio over the past year to bolster its balance sheet and concentrate more sharply on its top-performing categories of personal, home and baby care. This encompassed divesting its stake in a Nigerian joint venture, offloading a number of assets across Africa and Asia, shutting its US offices, and closing the Childs Farm office in the UK following its integration into the wider business.

“We have also simplified or streamlined a number of business processes through the use of AI tools and data analytics,” the company said.

The cost-cutting measures helped drive PZ Cussons’s pre-tax profit up to £50 million, representing a 22% year-on-year increase.

Chief executive Jonathan Myers said: “We delivered a strong trading performance in FY26 (the 2026 financial year), with revenue growth across each of our four lead markets and each of our top 10 brands.

“At the same time, we completed our strategic review and established a refreshed strategy with a clearer financial framework and capital allocation policy.”

He described it as a “more focused and resilient business”, adding: “While there is plenty more to do, and we are mindful of macro-economic uncertainties, we are well placed to continue delivering sustainable growth.”

Synchronous condenser has been built by RWE at its existing Pembroke power station site

The first in a new wave of clean grid technology is to start spinning in Pembroke this week, as the National Energy System Operator (NESO) helps keep Britain’s electricity system stable as it moves towards a renewables-led energy system.

The synchronous condenser, built by RWE at its existing Pembroke power station site, is a large rotating machine that provides clean inertia.

Inertia is a key characteristic of the electricity system that helps resist sudden changes in frequency following unexpected disturbances. It acts as a natural shock absorber, helping to maintain a stable and secure flow of electricity to homes and businesses.

Historically these services were provided by large spinning generators at coal, gas and nuclear power stations.

The project in Pembroke is the first of a new wave of 16 synchronous condensers under NESO’s Stability Pathfinder programme, delivering new ways to keep the electricity system reliable as more wind and solar power comes online.

The stability technologies will help cut emissions, strengthen energy security, and save consumers up to £9bn in system costs over the years ahead.

Director of Engineering at NESO, Matt Magill, said: “Projects like Pembroke will help reduce emissions, strengthen energy security, and save consumers up to £9bn as Britain moves towards a clean power system.

“Through our world-leading Stability Pathfinder programme, NESO has pioneered new markets for technologies such as synchronous condensers and Britain’s first grid-forming batteries. Together, they are helping replace services traditionally provided by fossil fuel power stations, while maintaining one of the world’s most secure and reliable electricity systems.”

This is the fourth synchronous condenser to go live in Wales and the first to be built by RWE at its Pembroke Net Zero Centre. The location brings together battery storage, carbon capture, and green hydrogen projects on the site of its gas-fired power station.

Chief Executive Officer of RWE Generation SE, Nikolaus Valerius, said: “The successful commissioning of our new synchronous condenser at Pembroke is an important milestone for the project and for the wider electricity system.

“As more renewable generation connects to the grid, technologies like this will play an increasingly important role in maintaining a secure and reliable electricity network, supporting the Government’s ambition to deliver a clean power system while strengthening resilience.”

The programme currently provides 17.2 GVAs (gigavolt-ampere seconds) of inertia to Britain’s electricity network. The next phase will add a further 26.9 GVAs, more than doubling the amount of clean stability available on the system.

Billionaire investor Bill Ackman warned that New York City’s rent freeze, tax policies and limits on development could worsen the city’s affordability crisis by discouraging construction and investment.

In a wide-ranging interview with Fortune published Wednesday, the Pershing Square Capital Management founder argued that government policy is driving up housing and energy costs in New York.

“The answer isn’t socialism – socialism is a disaster,” Ackman said. “Watch what happens to New York City if [Mayor Zohran] Mamdani succeeds in implementing these plans.”

Ackman said New York’s housing shortage stems in part from rules that make it difficult and costly for developers to build.

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Pershing Square Capital Management CEO Bill Ackman is pictured in New York on April 29, 2026. Ackman argued that government policy is driving up housing and energy costs in New York. (John Lamparski/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“It’s so high because left-wing mayors have made it very difficult for developers to build here, and Mamdani, by freezing rents, is just going to make the problem worse,” he said.

New York City’s Rent Guidelines Board voted in June to freeze rents on one- and two-year leases for rent-stabilized apartments.

Ackman argued that rent controls can shift more costs onto tenants in market-rate units. He also claimed roughly 60,000 apartments have been pulled from the market because landlords cannot recover renovation costs under current regulations.

“If you make it hard to build where people want to live, and you don’t let landlords recover renovation costs, they’ll pull units off the market,” Ackman said.

He pointed to Austin, Texas, as an example of a city where increased construction helped bring rents down.

Ackman also blamed New York’s energy policies for adding to residents’ cost of living.

“Why are energy costs so high in New York State? Because we’ve shut down nuclear power, it takes 15 years to get a pipeline approved, and we’ve banned fracking – so we’re importing natural gas from Pennsylvania,” he said. “That’s just bad policy, and we can fix a lot of it with better policy.”

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New York City’s Rent Guidelines Board voted in June to freeze rents on one- and two-year leases for rent-stabilized apartments. (Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images)

Ackman then turned to taxes, arguing that New York should encourage wealthy residents and businesses to invest in the city rather than risk driving them elsewhere.

“You want people like Ken Griffin locating Citadel here – spending $250 million on an apartment, because that purchase makes a building economically viable, which creates construction jobs and brings in wealthy residents who pay taxes,” Ackman said. 

He added, “You don’t want to discourage people like Elon Musk from locating their businesses here.”

Ackman has previously been critical of New York City’s new pied-à-terre surcharge, which applies to certain high-value properties that are not used as an owner’s primary residence.

He also criticized California’s Proposition 40, which could impose a one-time tax equal to 5% of the net worth of billionaires who were California residents on Jan. 1, 2026. 

“Look at what’s happening in California right now with the wealth tax – they say it’s ‘one time,’ but it’s never one time,” he said.

Ackman also said many Americans have not benefited directly from the wealth generated by the stock market.

STEVE HILTON WARNS CALIFORNIA ECONOMY WILL ‘ABSOLUTELY COLLAPSE’ UNDER ‘INSANE’ BILLIONAIRE TAX

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani speaks during a news conference on June 4, 2026. Ackman has previously been critical of New York City’s new pied-à-terre surcharge. (Adam Gray/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“One of our biggest challenges as a country is that almost half the country isn’t participating in the growth in value created by capitalism – the stock market,” he said.  

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He argued that workers without retirement accounts or stock investments may be less likely to believe that the economic system is working for them.

“Part of that is people feeling left behind – wages can’t compound as quickly as stocks, so everyone needs to participate in the market to believe in capitalism,” he said. 

Mamdani could not immediately be reached by FOX Business for comment.

FOX Business’ Michael Dorgan and Alex Nitzberg contributed to this report.

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