Tech

A controversial plan to bring an electricity cable from an offshore wind farm onshore at a Devon beauty spot has been recommended for approval by council officers.

White Cross offshore windfarm has applied to put seven floating turbines about 30 miles (52km) off the north Devon coast and wants to bring the power cable to shore at Saunton Sands.

More than 1,800 people have objected to the plans, which will be discussed by North Devon Council's planning committee at a meeting being held at Barnstaple Rugby Club at 10:00 BST on Wednesday.

White Cross said the project would create jobs in north Devon and provide thousands of homes with renewable energy.

The cable would make landfall at the north end of the beach at Saunton Sands, go through the car park, through Braunton Burrows and Braunton Marsh, across the Taw Estuary and then along the Tarka Trail to connect to a proposed new substation at Yelland.

Natural England initially said it had "fundamental concerns" about the application.

The planning report now says "a substantial number of the issues… have been resolved" but Natural England "still has concerns about some issues".

North Devon Council planning officers have recommended the scheme for approval with conditions attached regarding issues such as noise, drainage, working hours and the reinstatement of areas such as Saunton Sands car park.

Plans adapted

Helen Cooper, from the Save Our Sands group which has campaigned against the electricity cable plans, said: "We are disappointed but not surprised about the planning officers' recommendation to approve the application, particularly as it comes with 39 conditions attached."

Ms Cooper also raised concerns about there being enough space for all interested members of the public to attend the meeting given the high level of interest.

White Cross said: "White Cross will spark the development of a specialised local supply chain and create jobs within north Devon whilst providing 135,000 homes with renewable energy.

"We are grateful to everyone who has engaged with the project during the various stages of consultation. In response to feedback, we have adapted our plans to minimise environmental and social impacts."

Vintage bicycles will be on display as part of an annual celebration honouring the legacy of Danish engineer Mikael Pedersen.

The Veteran Cycle Club is marking its 70th anniversary with a full day of events in Dursley, Gloucestershire.

Mikael Pedersen, born around 1860 in Morkov, Denmark. He was working for an agricultural engineer when he helped design the separator, which drew the attention of industrialist Sir Robert Ashton Lister.

Mr Lister invited him to Dursley, where Pedersen would go on to create the bicycle that now bears his name.

A highlight of the day will see members ride into Dursley Market from 11:00 BST, paying tribute to the town's deep connection to the Pedersen bicycle.

The club was originally founded on the 50th anniversary of Pedersen's death and has since become a cherished tradition among vintage cycling enthusiasts.

In addition to designing the distinctive Pedersen bicycle, he also invented Denmark's first cream separator.

A colony of breeding seahorses is delaying work to repair a crumbling harbour wall.

Work to replace the walls around Weymouth Peninsula, Dorset, was due to begin in the winter but was halted due to "factors beyond the council's control".

Now contractors must wait until the protected seahorses, which breed and raise their young in the nearby seagrass, move back into deeper water.

Construction is expected to take 10 to 12 months, with completion expected in "mid-2026".

Inspections found the walls on the north east and north west side of the peninsula, which were built in 1977, were in "critical condition" and "at risk of failure".

Dorset Council place services councillor Jon Andrews said: "Balancing economic progress with protecting what makes Dorset special isn't always easy, but it's a challenge we are determined to meet.

"Seahorses are special creatures and it's right that we do what we can to avoid disturbing them during their breeding season."

X

Edinburgh councillors have approved emergency measures to tackle the city's worsening homelessness crisis.

The local authority confirmed new council lets will be suspended in all but a few exceptions.

People who have spent years on the housing waiting list say they are worried the new plans will reduce their chances of getting a suitable home.

But the council said it needs to take urgent action to meet unprecedented demand and fulfil its legal responsibilities.

Forty years ago in the UK, snooker had its most widely watched moment as a peak TV audience of 18.5 million witnessed a classic on BBC TV.

It was after midnight when Dennis Taylor finally triumphed over Steve Davis at the World Snooker Championship in what would be dubbed the '85 Black Ball Final'.

The sport's popularity was at its height and, as a Chas 'n' Dave novelty song about the sport reached number six in the chart in 1986, it seemed many people in the heart of England were also going Snooker Loopy.

In the era, more than 900 players were in the Staffordshire and West Midlands league and, while the sport struggled in the region at the turn of the century, fans say it is now making a recovery.

One Birmingham man who did benefit from snooker's 1980s boom and all the interest since is 66-year-old Steve Perry.

For 48 years he has installed and repaired snooker tables all over the country as well as in "Europe, Africa… all over the place".

The 80s meant plenty of work for him in London too as "one company had about 26 clubs" and his timetable involved "private as well – people had them in their houses".

Mr Perry remembered: "Cinemas were closing down because VHS video was coming in. Cinemas were converted into snooker clubs. They had big, available spaces.

"You'd have industrial units used…[Snooker] opened up in all sorts of places.

"It was about getting in as many tables as you could to make the money. You could have 20 tables in one club. The biggest I ever did was 30."

He thought there were more snooker clubs in the West Midlands four decades ago than today and that there had also been a decline in the number of working men's clubs since the 1980s.

Elsewhere in the Black Country in the 70s and 80s, some future professionals were honing their skills as the sport's popularity boomed.

For one of them, Martin Clark, it all started at Sedgley Ex-Servicemens Club.

After watching his dad play and being taken by his grandad, one day a team member did not turn up and, aged about 12, Mr Clark ended up playing against men.

He said: "We had a big junior section at Sedgley…25, 30…it was really cheap – five pence for 10 minutes.

"If [a] club opened at seven, you had to make sure you were outside the club at 06.30 to make sure you got on."

'Rammed'

He also played at two Conservative clubs that no longer exist, Whitmore Reans and Wednesbury, with the latter's team of five featuring four who turned professional – Steve James, Anthony Harris, Jimmy Chambers and Mr Clark himself.

He won the West Midlands title for a second time in 1986 and said about 300 people packed into a Wednesfield venue for it, adding "it was rammed".

"Our county side, if we were playing [say] Derbyshire or Leicestershire, we would have two 50-seater coaches," he said.

"There wasn't a bigger league anywhere."

Mr Clark turned pro in 1987 and reached several tournament quarter-finals – but now the 56-year-old is a tournament director at many major tournaments around the world.

The local league that "kick-started" his career was "still very good", Mr Clark said.

Organisers of said league, the Staffordshire & West Midlands Billiards & Snooker Association, backed him up.

They still have nearly 600 players across five divisions which each have 16 teams in them, organisers said. That total figure of 80 teams is the same as in the 1970s.

The current numbers represent an upturn from a low point of 66 teams and the Covid pandemic was highlighted as a factor in that decline.

League secretary Mark Poole said: "There were a lot of clubs…It wasn't very expensive to go out and play snooker.

"A lot of people played in the league for their night out in the week…They'd go out with friends and have a drink and something to eat.

"But in the early 2000s the league started to suffer with numerous clubs closing down and this continued into the early 2010s with clubs continuing to struggle due to the smoking ban."

Now though, the league has "started to recover," Mr Poole said.

A snooker shootout competition of 10-minute frames earlier this season attracted what he said was a record 103 entries in one day.

The league was also due to pay out record prize money of £750 to its individual champion.

Old Hall Snooker Club in Bloxwich, which charges £5 an hour for a table, said it had trebled its membership in a year.

Owner Ryan Watton added that, when he and his wife Kirsty bought it last year, the venue already had 1,300 members but they increased that to more than 4,000.

They made "a few changes" including adding new tables, cloths and lighting.

The club also started its own league across the 15 tables.

Mr Watton said: "More youngsters…are learning to play at a decent level.

"People who work outside in the winter, we know if the weather is (bad), builders, gardeners, anyone who works outside, you know it'll be busy."