A record net 2,481 stores disappeared from Great Britain’s top 500 high streets last year, as openings slump to lowest levels on record.

New research has revealed that an additional 12,835 school classrooms will be needed in England by 2021/2022 in order to meet rising demand.
Scape Group, who published The School Places Challenge 2019 report, says that more than 385,000 additional pupils will enter the primary and secondary school system by 2021, while the school-aged population in England is expected to increase by 5.5 per cent over the same period.

Oxford City Council has facilitated a £41 million project to trial the world’s largest hybrid energy storage system.

A consultation has been launched outlining how the government will introduce a £95,000 cap to stop huge public sector exit payments.

British towns will benefit from a new scheme which will see landlords turn their empty shops into vibrant community hubs open to the public.

More than a third of local areas in England have reduced real terms spending on low level children’s mental health services.

A new study has found that budget restrictions are keeping public sector IT decision-makers from achieving digital transformation.

Falkirk Council has taken delivery of a further 10 Kia Soul EVs, taking its electric vehicle fleet to 45 vehicles in total.
The council has also continued to increase its charging infrastructure with an additional 26 charging points installed, taking the total to 50.
There are additional projects planned over the next 18 months that will see additional charging points throughout the council area for both public access and council fleet use. This includes a project at Falkirk Stadium which will see around 30 new canopied photo voltaic charging points being installed.

A number of innovative schemes have won government funding to look at new ways of using location-based data to help people in their everyday lives.