A family of travellers who turned a field in West Sussex into a caravan site have launched an appeal after being told they must leave.

Benjamin Keet laid hardstanding and built waste tanks on land off Stall House Lane, near Pulborough, before installing caravans on 18 January.

Police were called to intervene after clashes between the travellers and local residents, but no further action was taken.

Horsham District Council said it already has "a number" of existing traveller and gypsy sites, and that it had rejected retrospective planning from Mr Keets because of potential harm to the area and a nearby listed building.

The land is jointly owned by Mr Keet, Tony Castle and William Hughes, and there are currently two static caravans and two touring caravans on site.

After moving onto the land, they sought retrospective planning permission for four static caravans and four touring caravans.

But the council has rejected the application "due to concerns that the extent of the development was harmful to the rural character of the countryside location and to the setting of an adjacent listed building".

The authority then served an enforcement notice ordering the owners to remove the caravans and return the land to how it was before they moved in within six months.

All three landowners have appealed against the order, claiming the site is well screened and not visible from the road or other properties.

"You'd be chucking me and the kids on the side of the road in a caravan with a generator if I couldn't live here, same for my brother," said Mr Keet.

Shortage of traveller sites

Elizabeth Pleasant, from the planning inspectorate, heard from residents opposed to the development and council planning officers as well as the travellers, their agent and their barrister.

Michael Rudd, the barrister for the owners, said they had intentionally developed the land without permission, but said the law allows for retrospective applications and appeals.

"The impact from this development on the landscape is limited and can be reduced with planning conditions," he claimed.

Mr Rudd also said there was "significant need" for places for travellers to live.

A review carried out for the council last year concluded that 80 pitches for travellers and gypsies should be provided over the next five years and 128 by 2040.

But Mr Castle said the council have "little interest" in finding sites for travellers and gypsies.

"We're trying to create homes for our community that the local authority is failing to do," he said.

Mr Hughes added: "It's down to us and it's hard to find a site that's not in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, a flood zone or a protected area, and if we do find one, developers want it for housing and pay millions."

The planning inspector will decide whether to uphold the appeal in about four weeks.

The council accepted that there is a need for additional traveller sites, but said: "This application was refused due to concerns that the extent of the development was harmful to the rural character of the countryside location and to the setting an adjacent listed building, and therefore contrary to relevant planning policies."

"The council reserves its position on any further planning enforcement action until after the planning inspector's decision is received on both appeals."

More burial plots will be provided in Wakefield, after concerns about limited space in the city's main cemetery.

Wakefield Cemetery, on Sugar Lane, dates back to 1859 and is set to become full within seven years, according to a council report.

Opposition leader Nadeem Ahmed, from the Conservative and Independent Group, called for the allotments next to the site to be given priority when negotiating more space for burials.

However, Wakefield Council has instead pledged to consider a range of suitable sites in the city, so options are not limited.

Labour deputy leader Jack Hemingway told the council debate that securing burial provision that met the needs of all communities was being taken seriously.

"There is currently sufficient burial space at Sugar Lane and the council is pro-actively using the time we have to seek expanded burial provision when that space runs out," he said.

The councillor added the process to create burial land was not straightforward, with high environmental requirements now in place.

A finance report, published last month, estimated the cost of the work at a potential new site to be around £100,000, said the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Unequivocal commitment

The council has extended cemeteries or explored other potential sites across the district in recent years.

In January 2023, work began to create 1,000 plots by extending Hemsworth Cemetery.

In the same year,  surveys and drilling were carried out at Barracks Field, in Pontefract, to test if it was suitable to be turned into a cemetery.

Hemingway said surveys had also been carried out at a number of potential burial sites in Wakefield.

"We want to ensure that families can choose to bury their loved ones in the towns in which they lived," he added.

"We aim to meet the needs of all faiths, and those of no faith.

"We have already made a commitment to ensure sufficient burial space for Wakefield. I am happy to unequivocally repeat that today."

The deputy leader said the council did not want to preclude other sites that might be more suitable at this stage.

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An associate of the tech billionaire Mike Lynch had been "enjoying getting his life back" when he was fatally struck by a car while out on a run, an inquest heard.

Stephen Chamberlain died in hospital three days after a collision involving a Vauxhall car on the A1123 at Stretham in Cambridgeshire on 17 August 2024.

The 52-year-old had previously faced fraud charges in the US alongside Mr Lynch, who died after his superyacht Bayesian sank off the coast of Sicily on 19 August.

In a statement read by lawyer Sally Hobson, Mr Chamberlain's widow Karen said he had taken up running after the fraud charge, and it had "helped him mentally stay calm and focus on what was ahead".

Mr Chamberlain and Mr Lynch were found not guilty of the charge in June last year following a trial at a federal court in San Francisco.

Mrs Chamberlain said her husband would "meticulously spend hours planning his routes" and competed in ultra-distance races.

He was "safety conscious", she said, and he would wear one earbud but leave the other ear free.

She told the inquest at New Shire Hall, Alconbury Weald, that he had been home from the US for two months and was "making up for lost time, enjoying getting his life back".

'A matter of seconds'

The inquest heard the collision happened as Mr Chamberlain was crossing a road between two parts of a bridleway and he was struck by the car as it crested a humpback bridge.

In a statement summarised by area coroner Caroline Jones, the driver involved said that as she "approached the bridge she proceeded down the incline" and a man "suddenly emerged into the road".

She said she saw Mr Chamberlain "looking to his left away from her and only looked to his right just before the collision".

She said she had "braked hard and steered to the nearside", but "he was too close" and the front offside of the vehicle collided with him.

She said she had been driving within the 60mph (97km/h) speed limit, had been on her way to a shop in Newmarket, Suffolk, and had "no time pressure", the coroner said.

A witness statement said Mr Chamberlain was thrown "approximately 15ft" in the air and "the entire incident must have been a matter of seconds".

The coroner said the female driver of the car should not be named at the hearing.

Police forensic collision investigator PC Ian Masters said it was "not an ideal crossing point by any stretch of the imagination".

Asked by the coroner if it was his view that it was not an avoidable collision, Mr Masters replied: "Yes, that's correct".

The coroner concluded that Mr Chamberlain died as the result of a road traffic collision.

She shared the concerns of the family that the humpback bridge was an "irredeemable barrier" to visibility for pedestrians and other road users.

She said she would write to Cambridgeshire County Council as the highways authority for further information before deciding whether a report to help prevent future deaths was necessary.

Mr Chamberlain's daughter Ella said in a statement to the inquest that her father was the "perfect role model in every way".

His son Teddy said in a statement: "He was the glue of our family, always ready with an answer.

"The mental and physical strength he showed was beyond anything I could imagine."

He added that he was the "greatest dad I could ever have asked for and I'm so proud to be his son".

Stoke-on-Trent City Council is set to approve an extra £7m for adult social care services to help suppliers meet rising costs.

Care homes and providers – some of whom challenged the previous settlement at the High Court – have told the authority increases in National Insurance and the National Living Wage have pushed their costs up.

The council's previously suggested fee rises of 2-4% would typically increase to 5-7% under the revised plans for the coming year.

The proposal will be discussed by the authority's cabinet on 29 April.

In January, the High Court ordered the council to reconsider its 1.4% fee rise for the 2024-25 financial year, after Staffordshire Care Association challenged how the decision was reached.

Although the rise was later confirmed, council officers warned that "members should read this judgement in full" before considering this year's fees.

Sustainable care market

In a consultation in December and January, providers from different sectors told the council that staffing costs would rise by up to 10% because of changes announced by Chancellor Rachel Reeves in October's budget.

The Labour-run authority has assessed those rises, along with general inflationary pressures, to come up with new rates for firms providing residential and at-home care.

Despite the council's own financial challenges, cabinet members have been warned they have to follow government guidance and maintain a "sustainable" care market.

The authority's budget for this year had initially allowed for a planned increase of about £6m for social care.

The report to councillors said that while an additional £1.1m would be provided centrally, the service would have to "actively work to reduce expenditure and mitigate the additional costs over the course of the financial year".