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GARDENER Alan Titchmarsh has blasted plans for a giant solar farm that could power 9,000 homes in Jane Austen country as “totally inappropriate”.
Supporters of the 22,000 solar panel scheme say it is a vital step in the fight against climate change.
And the vice-chancellor of Winchester University – where Titchmarsh, 71, himself is chancellor – said it was “urgently” needed.
But Titchmarsh, who lives 15 miles from the proposed development, insists it will “irreparably damage the countryside”.
The 21.7 hectare site is near Old Alresford, Hants, close to Chawton House where Austen wrote several novels, including Pride and Prejudice.
Winchester council will decide on the plans.
PRIVATE firms running children’s homes have raised what they charge councils 40% in six years, a watchdog has found.
The average bill per child per week soared from £2,841 in 2013 to £3,970 in 2019, with some up at the £7,000 mark.
The Competition and Markets Authority yesterday launched a probe into the wider provision of children’s social care services.
Chief executive, Andrea Coscelli, said: “We are concerned some children are not getting access to the right placements due to a lack of availability.
“And that rising prices are putting pressure on local authority budgets.”
The review will look at current levels of profitmaking in the sector.
A MAN who punched former football star Gary McAllister so hard his teeth went through his top lip has been jailed.
Days later, Damien Swan, 34, attacked volunteers working on a Sikh temple, goading his dogs to tear into a man’s flesh.
A court heard Swan battered McAllister, then 55, in Leeds city centre “for no apparent reason” while the ex-Scottish international flagged down a taxi with his wife.
Then, less than 48 hours after being quizzed about the assault by police, the court heard he was responsible for a “disgraceful attack” at the Sikh temple.
Swan, a paranoid schizophrenic, was jailed for five months and 27 months respectively for the attacks last March.