Newbury Town Council supports study into Universal Basic Income
Support for ‘game changer‘ scheme for people struggling below poverty line
Jonathan Ashby
NEWBURY Town Council has approved a motion supporting a study into Universal Basic Income (UBI).
In a full council meeting on Monday, February 1, councillor Steve Masters (Green, Speenhamland) put forward a motion requesting that the town council “supports, in principle, a UBI and calls on our MP Laura Farris and the Government to provide funds to establish a study scheme in Newbury”.
The motion will not see any council funds spent – instead it expresses the council’s support for the initiative, encourages members and local stakeholders to explore how a UBI trial could be established in Newbury and calls on the Government for funding for trials to test how the initiative could support people across the country.
Bid to pause London Road Industrial Estate project in Newbury is rejected
Phased approach to redevelopment will go ahead as planned
John Herring
CALLS to pause the regeneration of the London Road Industrial Estate (LRIE) have been defeated.
Planning consultant Avison Young says up to 280 homes, 3,473 sq m of office space and 5,400 sq m of space for other businesses could be built there.
The Liberal Democrats called in the Conservative-run council’s decision, raising concerns about its ability to manage the project, its conflict of interests and the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the local economy.
They called for the project to be paused until an environmental assessment of the entire site had been carried out, the fall-out of the pandemic was more fully understood and the appropriate project management structure and expertise were in place.