Hundreds more streets are set for lower speed limits, but some have questioned whether it is the right approach.

It’s not long before a car zips past on Hollyhedge Road in Wythenshawe. Supposedly a 30mph area, the road cuts right across the estate from east to west but many locals say there’s a major speeding problem.

It has got to the point where some people ‘struggle to cross the road’ at certain times of day because of how fast the cars go, and the amount of traffic congestion.

But everything could soon change under plans by Manchester council to slash speed limits to 20mph on hundreds of roads around Wythenshawe, including Hollyhedge.

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The move was announced in August to bring Wythenshawe’s roads in line with other parts of the city, and reduce collisions.

Speed limits in many parts of Manchester have fallen in recent years under the same aim, with nearly 70 per cent of the network now at 20mph according to council figures.

Previous changes saw bosses at the town hall announce in 2025 that speed limits on Manchester’s residential and city centre streets would be cut from 30mph to 20mph after a surge in injuries and deaths.

Speed limits were also cut down on some of the city’s faster roads too, such as the A34 Kingsway which dropped from 40 to 30 last year.

All of this has led some residents to say Manchester is becoming a ‘20mph city’ which could become ‘too slow’ to get around by car.

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Others welcomed slower speeds on the city’s roads, saying anything that could stop people being injured or dying is worth a go.

‘It will make things safer for everyone’

Speaking on Hollyhedge Road in Wythenshawe, Carl Sutton was out with his mum Pauline and said speeds in the area have to come down.

“I think it’s a good idea, there are a lot of accidents around here,” he told the Local Democracy Reporting Service. Carl explained that his mum’s brother was hurt last year when a car came off the pavement and went into him on Hollyhedge Road.

For their family, it brought to life the risks of living near a road where cars often get away with going over existing speed limits.

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Pauline added: “I support the lower speed limits, it will make things safer for everyone.”

A total of nearly 500 roads in Wythenshawe are part of the plans to get new 20mph speed limits. Bosses at the council say it could bring massive benefits, with fewer crashes and less pressure on the NHS in the long run.

They’re also hoping it could encourage more people to walk and cycle, and get more people out of the house speaking to each other in local areas.

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The data on speed limits in Manchester paints a clear picture – council-shared figures showed that 30mph residential streets have ten times more collisions than 20mph local streets, with a similar situation for high streets.

Most pedestrian casualties (77 per cent) on residential streets in Manchester also happen on 30mph roads, the council figures revealed, despite 30 zones only making up 26pc of the total residential road network.

Some in Wythenshawe were not convinced that changing speed limits is the right approach, though.

Thomas Razniewski, 49, said: “If you drive safely, then I think everything on the roads should be fine. There are more cars on the road now so it can be dangerous, but for me, we should be focusing on education for kids, and drivers should stick to the existing speed limits.

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“It’s not good to have a 20mph city, and as long as drivers aren’t doing anything dangerous then it should be fine as it is. Maybe it’s to push people to walk more or use public transport.”

As Manchester’s population continues to grow, the future of transport is becoming a bigger issue in the city.

Some parts of Manchester already suffer ‘gridlock’ at rush hour, and public transport users have complained that traffic congestion is slowing down buses in some areas.

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‘It’s important to reduce speed limits’

Harry Gray, from active travel group Walk Ride GM, said Manchester has to follow the lead of other large cities by reducing car use.

He said: “I think it is important to reduce speed limits, especially in urban settings. A lot of these roads that are being reduced to 20mph are roads that won’t ever have dedicated cycling infrastructure on them, they’ll be designated as quiet roads where cyclists and pedestrians and drivers need to share the space.

“You can only really share spaces when the speeds are dropped to 20mph, especially if you’ve got children cycling or walking to school.

“These environments need to be safer really so kids can have that autonomy. If Manchester is to grow into a big city like other European cities or London, then we’re gonna have to reduce our car use, because there isn’t enough space for people to drive cars in every part of the city.

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“It’s one of those natural progressions that we’ve seen in cities across the world and Manchester’s just a part of that story.”

Councillor Mandie Shilton Godwin is Manchester’s lead on transport issues and said: “The council’s position on road safety is that one injury or death on the road is too many.

“No matter how a person chooses to travel we want to ensure that when they use the road network in Manchester their journey is a safe one.

“There are many ways that road safety can be improved and the transition to 20mph limits is one that has a track record of helping to reduce collisions and serious injury.

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“Currently around 68pc of the road network in Manchester already has a 20mph speed limit, covering around 74pc of residential streets. However this coverage is not evenly distributed, with lower coverage in northern wards as well as in Wythenshawe when compared to central, eastern and southern wards of Manchester.

“People’s safety should not be a postcode lottery which is why we are working to improve safety across the city.”

The father of a civil service employee who took her own life the day after a meeting with her managers has said the lack of support given to her by the Treasury “beggars belief”.

Chloe Moffat, 26, a personal assistant to a Treasury director, died on 20 May last year, after she was told of allegations she had shared sensitive confidential information about colleagues, which she denied.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, David Moffat said he did not feel the Treasury had taken responsibility for its part in her death.

He added that her loss was “devastating”, and had “torn such a big hole in our lives”.

The Treasury said “it will learn the lessons from this tragedy”.

On 19 May 2025, Chloe went to what she thought was a routine one-to-one with her line manager, but a more senior manager was also present.

“Chloe’s first comment was, ‘Oh, this must be serious, there’s two of you here’”, David told Today’s Emma Barnett. “So that’s the first time that she was aware of anything [that] might be a to do.”

“And then they worked through and put several allegations to her that she’d shared confidential information.”

During the meeting, David said she had asked on several occasions if she would lose her job, and if she could have a friend there – both of which were refused.

A coroner found at an inquest earlier in August that the Treasury did not apply written disciplinary policy, which would have made clear that if the allegations against Chloe were proven, the likely penalty was a written warning, not dismissal.

“Even though she asked, they said they could not determine the outcome,” David said.

Straight after the meeting, Chloe was locked out of her emails. “That was all part of the shock and awe of it all for Chloe,” David said.

The coroner found that the meeting between Chloe and her managers “materially contributed” to her death.

Grandad and retired policeman Tommy Robertson is urging others to get checked after being diagnosed with stage 4 prostate cancer.

A grandad is urging men not to leave it to chance and get checked after frequent nighttime trips to the bathroom turned out to be stage four prostate cancer. Tommy Robertson received the life-changing diagnosis almost four years ago but he remains as positive as ever and is living life to the full.

Last year the retired policeman, 63, and wife Ali, 61, were cheered on by their grandson Arthur as they raised £3,000 for charity by taking part in Chris Hoy‘s Tour de 4 cycling challenge. Tommy, who professes that he hates cycling but hates cancer more, is now hoping to raise more money for the Beatson by again completing the challenge on a static bike.

Speaking to the Record, Tommy from Bishopton said it was conversation during a pre-football lunch with friends which prompted him to go and get checked. He said: “I go to the football with my mates and we were out for lunch.

“One of my friends turned round and said: ‘Look guys, let me tell you, I’ve got cancer’. It wasn’t prostate cancer but I thought: ‘I’m 60, I’m going to go and get the examination for prostate cancer’.

“There were no symptoms whatsoever. I went along to my GP and told him what I was looking for.

“He took the PSA blood sample and told me he’d be in contact in a couple of weeks. About two days later, he called and asked me to come in.

“I went in the next day and he said that the PSA test was something really quite astronomical. I was told pretty quickly that I had advanced prostate cancer.”

It wasn’t until later Tommy found out his frequent trips to the bathroom during the night could be a sign of prostate cancer. Last year, Tommy and Ali signed up for Chris Hoy‘s Tour de 4 charity bike ride and the couple were “humbled” to be invited to the launch of the 2026 event where they were able to meet one of their heroes.

After meeting the six-time Olympic champion, he has signed up for the event again this year where he will take part in the static cycle challenge due to some of the medication he is on. He said: “I do firmly believe that there isn’t enough awareness of the condition.

“Our donations are going to be for the Beatson because of the amazing service that I had and continue to get from them. Prostate cancer is very prevalent in men of my age but then you look at someone like Chris Hoy who was 47 when he was diagnosed so my message is to get it checked and look after yourself.

“You might get up a couple of times through the night. I’d had a couple of beers so I was up and down or you take a drink of water before you go to bed and I put it down to that.

“We laughed that day just before we went to the football that we couldn’t imagine our fathers’ in their day, before going to the football, talking about men’s health.”

Tommy also wants to help break down some stigmas around prostate cancer as friends of his have told him they “don’t want a doctor going near their backside” or they “would rather not know” if they had cancer. He said: “I am quite passionate about it.

“I want to try and dispel that attitude of men thinking that if it’s going to happen, it’s going to happen. It doesn’t have to happen.”

Despite his diagnosis, Tommy remains the same man he was before that lunchtime conversation four years ago. He added: “I’ve got an amazing life. I’ve got a lovely grandson, I am retired, we go lots of holidays and I’ve got two dogs.

“We have a very, very positive life and a positive outlook on life. I have always had that and that is never going to change.”

To view Tommy’s fundraiser for the 2026 Tour de 4, which takes place on Sunday, September 6, visit https://www.gofundme.com/f/still-hating-cancer-more-than-we-hate-cycling

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MURDOCK, Neb. (AP) — In rural eastern Nebraska, a technology revolution could rise from fields of corn and soybean in the form of new data centers to power the artificial intelligence boom.

But just like around many parts of the country, opposition has been building in ways that defy typical partisan boundaries. Conservative farmers and the state Sierra Club chapter recently found common cause against labor leaders as they filled the firehouse in Murdock — population around 275 — to share concerns about data center development moving too quickly.

The scene exemplified an unlikely coalition that worries about dwindling farmland, declining water supplies and rising electricity bills — not to mention how massive corporations could reshape small town America into nodes in a national network of computing warehouses.

The debate around data center projects is one of the rare modern issues to cut across party lines, demographics and geography — from Republican-dominated Nebraska, Texas and Wyoming to swing-state Pennsylvania to Democratic-leaning New Mexico.

Supporters of data centers, including Republican President Donald Trump and some union leaders who usually back Democrats, praise a potential jobs and economic bonanza, while helping the U.S. thwart China in the geopolitical race for technological supremacy.

But hostility toward developments coming at breakneck speed has surged ahead of November’s midterm elections, and forced national, state and local elected officials to adapt to a shifting political landscape.

Judy Stroy, a fifth-generation Nebraska farmer whose late husband grew corn and soybeans and whose son still does, worried that with “the amount of ground that’s getting gobbled up every year, our food source is in trouble.”

“That should scare everyone,” she said.

Some areas have paused data center expansion

Stroy’s fields are just outside Murdock, a village named for a railroad official at the company that first laid tracks here in the 1890s. There’s a school, a post office, a bar and a Corn Grower’s State Bank branch, plus the Midwest Farmer’s Coop where growers sell their produce and buy supplies like feed and fertilizer.

Such paydays can be extra enticing as farming has gotten more expensive amid rising diesel prices and soybean exports that have declined in the midst of Trump’s tariff fight with a major market for the crop, China.

“What if somebody offered me $40,000 an acre for my ground? It would be hard to turn down,” Stroy conceded.

Nebraska Sierra Club attorney Ken Winston noted that tech giants have made donations to municipal programs in Lincoln to help mitigate the impact of data centers.

“We need to be aware of the fact that they’re going to happen somewhere,” Winston said. “But communities need to be able to protect themselves and if they don’t want them, they should be able to say no.”

Major project sparks New Mexico divisions

There is no development moratorium in New Mexico that could stop Project Jupiter, a $165 billion data center complex planned near the Mexican border, but concerns over dwindling water supplies are mounting.

“It is not about blue vs. red, or whether we’re a purple state or county,” said Samantha Barncastle Salopek, a longtime water attorney, who is running as a Republican for a seat on the Doña Ana County Commission partly because of the project.

“This is about the local community coming together and saying, ‘Hold on, hold on.’ We didn’t get enough information, and now we’re very concerned because also we have to cut back our water use anyway,” she said.

Barncastle Salopek, whose family grows pecans, said she frequently fields worried calls from farmers, ranchers and local business owners across the political spectrum and in other states.

“When we have to fight over the last piece of the pie, those big companies are going to win,” she said of pressure on remaining water supplies. That’s because New Mexico has been hammered by persistent drought, and large swaths of the Rio Grande have dried up in the central part of the state.

The largest reservoir stands at 1.3% capacity, lows unseen since the early 1970s, even though New Mexico is on the hook to deliver more water to Texas under a recent settlement approved by the U.S. Supreme Court. Activists worry that New Mexico’s pecan, chile and other farms could disappear, taking schools, hospitals and supporting businesses and incomes with them.

Oracle, which announced Project Jupiter, has offered funding for youth programs and pledged to invest $50 million in water and wastewater systems in Doña Ana County.

It also plans to partner with an agriculture technology company to install sensors providing real-time data to farmers to help them use water more efficiently — estimating an eventual savings of 21 million gallons annually.

An Oracle spokesperson called the project a generational New Mexico investment, saying it would generate $4.7 billion in taxes and create more than 7,000 construction jobs and 1,500 long-term jobs while being designed to use little water over 15 years, given its closed-loop cooling and fuel-cell systems.

Still, the Center for Biological Diversity last week filed an emergency petition with the New Mexico Supreme Court, challenging the state’s approval of well drilling to supply millions of gallons of water for Project Jupiter’s construction.

The court on Sunday granted that request, halting authorization to use water from a new well until the legal fight is concluded.

During a recent protest in the state capital of Santa Fe, the demonstrators included Jesus Rodriguez, who traveled four-plus hours from his micro-farm in southern New Mexico.

“The fact is that now the money has taken over,” said Rodriguez, who described himself as disillusioned with American politics. “Now it shows that the Democrats, Republicans, or whatever other party is involved, they don’t care about the land. They care about money. And that’s because they want power.”

Some labor leaders see new job opportunities

Data centers have found an ally in organized labor, including Mike Gage, president and secretary-treasurer of the Nebraska State AFL-CIO. Gage said he personally was worried that some workers are seeing their jobs replaced by AI, but that the centers can also create construction jobs and longer-term positions for people running the finished product.

“This problem is also a very big opportunity for some small communities,” Gage said. He noted that a data center built decades ago in Council Bluffs, Iowa, near Omaha, still employs about 60 people today.

Heather McKenzie, who works in labor relations in Lincoln, said putting more data centers in Nebraska can slow an exodus of skilled young people leaving the state.

“I don’t think that enough people understand that this is going to create really good jobs,” she said. “I think a lot of people view it in a negative sense because it’s being sprung on them.”

Chris Backemeyer, a Democratic congressional candidate in the district that includes Murdock, is a former State Department employee. He said he heard about Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates offering to host data centers for the U.S., which might concentrate technology outside the country.

“That scares the bejesus out of me,” Backemeyer said.

Trump champions data centers, but some Republicans are wary

The president has warned about China’s technology gains and Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson said that a federal pause on data center construction might be a “dangerous prospect.”

Still, most registered voters oppose building a data center in their area, according to a July Fox News poll, including 60% of Republicans and 53% of MAGA voters.

Democratic New York Gov. Kathy Hochul ordered a one-year ban on large data centers. Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, a fellow Democrat, said his administration would no longer prioritize data center projects when it comes to issuing construction permits or granting developers lucrative tax exemptions if they don’t meet certain standards.

Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced a halt on approval of new data centers until audits determine their impact on the state’s electrical grid.

Abbott told ABC News that data centers hadn’t been working in collaboration with state or local officials and “basically dug their own grave for the problem that’s been caused for them, and that’s why they got the backlash they deserve.”

The Republican Party’s Senate campaign arm is worried enough about the issue potentially deciding races in Ohio, that it drafted a memo outlining how to respond. But politicians on both sides of the aisle have turned data centers into a punching bag.

Wyoming Secretary of State Chuck Gray, a Republican running for an open House seat, has pledged to halt their construction.

“If Silicon Valley wants to build their liberal empire, they can do it somewhere else,” he said in an ad.

That overlaps with an ad for the mayor of Scranton, Pennsylvania, Democrat Paige Cognetti, who said “we are not for sale” when it comes to data centers. Cognetti is trying to unseat first-term Republican Rep. Rob Bresnahan in a battleground district.

Trump is undeterred, saying that what data centers mean “for a community is jobs and lots of money and lower taxes.” The president has also conceded, however, that tech companies and developers maybe “can use a little public relations help.”

Seeking to soften fears about rising utility prices, Trump says his administration has urged data centers to build their own power plants.

Yet, during a recent meeting in the conservative East Texas town of Tyler, residents complained of being forced to live in a “gas cloud” so data centers can get enough electricity.

The complaint echoed a similar objection from Kardal Coleman, who leads the Democratic Party in big-city Dallas County. He wrote a recent email decrying data centers for “replacing our jobs, polluting our air, and exacerbating the climate crisis, not to mention the noise disturbing our neighborhoods.”

___

Montoya Bryan reported from Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Billy Ray Cyrus shared an emotional tribute to his close friend and collaborator Dolly Parton following her shock death on Tuesday. 

Cyrus, 65, previously toured and recorded with Parton and even named the late singer as the godmother to his daughter Miley. 

His official statement on Parton’s passing was released roughly two hours after he posted an ill-timed birthday tribute to himself shortly after her death was announced to the public. 

‘I have so many moments and memories with Dolly, it’s hard to know where to start. Like every little boy, I grew up loving Dolly Parton. She was a part of our lives, on our TVs, right in our living rooms,’ he wrote.

The 65-year-old then reflected on old tabloid rumors that he and Parton were having an affair while on tour together in the early ’90s. 

‘In 1992, I’ll never forget walking into her dressing room to apologize for all the tabloid stories which claimed I was having an affair with her. In true Dolly fashion, she just looked at me, winked and said, “Honey, this trash sells records!”‘ he recalled.

The legendary country singer’s death was confirmed Tuesday in an Instagram video posted by her nephew Bryan Seaver

Cyrus then revealed Parton’s final words to him, writing, ‘Dolly recently sent me a beautiful message, telling me she loved me with her whole heart. I will always love her in the same way ….. with my whole heart … and I always will.’

Just two hours before his eulogy to Parton, Cyrus posted a star-studded birthday tribute to himself. 

In the celebratory clip, his daughters Miley and her sister Noah, his girlfriend Elizabeth Hurley, and a number of other celebrities including Lil Nas X, Shania Twain, Diplo, and Dennis Quaid wish the Achy Breaky Heart hitmaker a happy 65th birthday.

Fans in the comments section were confused by the timing of the post, with many reasoning that Cyrus must not have received the sad news of Parton’s passing when the video was posted. 

‘I don’t think he knows,’ commented one fan, while another wrote, ‘It was probably a scheduled post.’

‘He knows. Trust me he knows. The guy is most likely in shock,’ wrote a third.

Another commented, ‘What a coincidence to die on the same day as Billy’s birthday.’

Cyrus and Parton first became friends in the early ’90s when he opened for the Jolene songstress shortly after the release of his breakout hit Achy Breaky Heart. 

Cyrus, 65, was a longtime friend of Parton’s and even named the late singer as the godmother to his daughter Miley

The pair toured together and were falsely rumored to have had an affair in 1992

The pair cashed-in on the rumors of their romance by releasing the 1993 duet ‘Romeo’, which reached No. 50 on the Hot 100

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The crooner welcomed daughter Miley in 1992 and named Parton as her godmother.

In 1993, Cyrus and Parton capitalized on the publicity surrounding their friendship by releasing a song together, Romeo, which reached No. 50 on the Billboard Hot 100.

The legendary country singer’s death was confirmed Tuesday in an Instagram video posted by her nephew Bryan Seaver, who also acted as her head of security.

She died Tuesday morning at age 80 after being admitted Friday to Nashville’s Vanderbilt University Medical Center with autoimmune and kidney problems, according to TMZ.

Parton’s loved ones began racing to Nashville upon hearing news of her hospitalization, but not all were able to reach her while she was alive.

‘This video announcement is something Dolly asked of me years ago before I fully absorbed it as a future reality,’ Seaver said.

Just two hours before his eulogy to Parton, Cyrus posted a star-studded birthday tribute to himself which featured his girlfriend Elizabeth Hurley

The tribute video also featured Miley, Shania Twain, and many other stars

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Lil Nas X, who recorded Old Town Road with Cyrus, also appeared in the video

He hailed his aunt for having ‘lived in the light’ and said she was now ‘in the arms of Jesus’ and the company of her late husband Carl Dean, as well as her parents and ‘countless others who have watched her and longed to meet her in the heavens.’

Parton, who is often referred to as the Queen of Country, enjoyed an illustrious music career that spanned an incredible six decades and was arguably best known for her hits Jolene and 9 to 5.

Her passing came after months of health woes that saw her pull out of a string of public appearances, fueling fan fears for her wellbeing. 

Family insiders indicated that a private service for close friends and relations will be held in Nashville within the next few days.  

In an interview published just four days before her death, Parton had declared she still had ‘so many things I want to achieve’ and vowed to continue ‘working as long as I can to see everything come to life,’ via People.

She explained that she had been grappling with ‘some health issues that I just didn’t pay attention to when I was watching over Carl.’

At least 15 babies have died after a fire broke out in the maternity ward of a major hospital in Pakistan’s capital Islamabad.

The fire began after an air conditioning unit exploded on Wednesday morning in the gynaecology ward of the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims), one of the country’s leading hospitals.

The nursery housed 16 newborns at the time of the incident, of whom only one was rescued, said hospital officials. The fire has now been extinguished and teams are carrying out cooling operations at the site, rescue officials told local broadcaster GeoTV.

Emergency response teams rushed to the hospital earlier to bring the fire under control, evacuate patients and secure the affected area.

The death toll was reported by GeoTV and other local media citing sources within the rescue team. There has been no formal statement from the hospital or other authorities on the number of casualties.

Pims hospital in Islamabad recently received global media attention after former prime minister Imran Khan was brought there from jail for a court-mandated medical assessment.

Pakistan has a poor fire safety record, compounded by a lack of regulatory enforcement. Wednesday’s incident comes three months after at least 43 people were injured by a massive fire at a Pakistan Customs warehouse in southwestern Balochistan province.

In January, a huge fire swept through shops and warehouses at the Gul Plaza in Karachi in which at least 72 people were killed. The fire broke out at a shopping plaza which houses 1,200 shops in a multi-storey complex on MA Jinnah Road in Karachi’s commercial Saddar area on 17 January, gutted the building and took nearly a week for the firefighters to bring it under control.

In November last year, at least 18 workers were killed, and 21 were injured after an explosion at a glue-making factory in Faisalabad city in the Punjab province of Pakistan. Police said they had arrested the factory’s manager and were searching for the owner, who fled shortly after the explosion.

In a statement to media outlets, her publicist Marcel Pariseau said: “After bravely facing a brief battle with cancer, Dolly departed her Earthly life today at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center surrounded by loved ones.”

The singer, 80, was best known for her genre-defining hits including 9 To 5, I Will Always Love You and Jolene.

The statement continued: “Our beloved Dolly Parton spent her life and career bringing joy, laughter, hope and integrity into everything she touched. Her unmatched generosity reached the lives of countless people whom she would never meet, yet she was always there to offer a helping hand.

“Whether it be the hundreds of millions of books donated through her invaluable Imagination Library or funding research that helped create a lifesaving vaccine used around the world, Dolly’s unconditional love for all people was the guiding force for her lasting impact.”

The type of cancer was not disclosed.

Parton’s death was announced late on Tuesday via an Instagram video by her nephew Bryan Seaver, who also served as the singer’s head of security.

He said it was “an honour that is mixed with absolute pride and great sadness”, to share the news of her death, adding: “But sadness lies with us, not with Dolly.

“Dolly has lived in the light and is in the arms of Jesus, surely met by Carl, her parents and countless others who have watched her and longed to meet her in the heavens.”

Parton’s husband Carl Dean died last year, aged 82.

Flags will be lowered throughout America in Parton’s honour, US President Donald Trump announced, posting on Truth Social “there has never been anyone like her”.

Tributes came from all over the entertainment industry following the news of her death, led by actress Jane Fonda.

Fonda, who starred in the film 9 To 5 with Parton and was a lifelong friend, wrote on Instagram: “I am devastated. I just learned that Dolly has moved on.

“I know that millions are mourning and I want to say this – more than anyone I have ever known, Dolly will always be with us because she was so present, so powerful, so generous and playful that she is woven into all our lives and hearts forever.

“We have our memories of her, her songs, Dollywood, ‘9to5’, the millions of books she got into the hands of children, all the iconic images that bring her to us.

“And they are all blessings. Let’s be grateful for all that she has left us to ease our sadness now.”

Singer Beyonce, who worked with Parton on her 2024 album Cowboy Carter, said she was the “north star” for the industry.

A statement on Beyonce’s website said: “Dolly, you were the barometer. The north star. Bold and brilliant. Talented and tenacious. You taught so many lessons on how to be uniquely oneself.

“I am grateful for your art, your heart, your generosity, your humor, your entrepreneurship.

“I’m honored that I had the privilege to work with you. I will treasure that forever. Thank you for your profound impact on the world. You are an angel who has made this world a happier place because of your joyful art. You are truly one of one. Rest peacefully.”

At 9.25pm on Tuesday local time, the Empire State building lit up to honour the singer, a statement on social media saying the move paid tribute to a “global cultural icon whose seven-decade career reached generations of fans”.

In May, the country star pulled out of a highly anticipated Las Vegas residency, which was due to begin in September.

She had already postponed her six-date run at The Colosseum Theatre at Caesars Palace from December 2025 to deal with “health challenges”.

At Parton’s request, a small, private funeral service will be held for immediate family, a statement from her family on social media said.

In lieu of flowers, her family asked for donations to be made to Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library at imaginationlibrary.com.

The musician wrote I Will Always Love You – one of the defining love songs of the 20th century – as a goodbye to her former creative partner Porter Wagoner, who hired her to be his sidekick on The Porter Wagoner Show and helped her land a record deal.

The song became a blockbuster hit when Whitney Houston recorded a cover for the 1992 film The Bodyguard.

Parton was born in a single-room cabin in Locust Ridge, Tennessee, in 1946, as the fourth of 12 children.

She began her musical journey at the age of six, singing in the local church where her grandfather was the pastor.

By the age of 13, she had reached the pinnacle of country music success – an appearance at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tennessee.

Over the course of her career, which spanned more than 60 years, Parton sold more than 100 million records worldwide, and wrote more than 3,000 songs, including hits Coat Of Many Colours and Joshua.

She was a savvy businesswoman with an empire that included a theme park, aptly named Dollywood, and a pioneering philanthropist.

Her Imagination Library, a book-gifting programme devoted to inspiring a love of reading in children, has given more than 300 million books to children in need.

A statement from Imagination Library said: “Our team, our local program partners, and every operational partner who helps make this program possible each month are heartbroken at the loss of our founder, Dolly Parton.

“The world grieves with us today. And yet we find ourselves just as certain about what comes next. For decades,Dolly & the team at The Dollywood Foundation — home of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library — worked to build something that would last for generations. So it will.”

She was also a supporter of several charities for black and LGBTQ+ communities, as well as the Barbara Davis Centre for Childhood Diabetes, Save the Music Foundation and the Boot Campaign.

In 2020, she donated one million dollars (£733,000) to coronavirus research at Vanderbilt University, which helped fund Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine.