Suffolk leaders commit £6 2m in Covid-19 recovery plan ipswichstar.co.uk - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from ipswichstar.co.uk Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
This weekend, CIFCO Capital Ltd, controversial investment arm of Mid Suffolk and Babergh district councils turns five – having snapped up 21 properties, from an NHS surgery to a wagamama.
Council chiefs said CIFCO completed a drawdown of funds ahead of year-end on March 31, 2021 and on the same day secured one of its final investments – an £8.3million industrial estate in Braintree.
Screwfix, a car wash and two more traders on an industrial estate in Ipswich’s Cavendish Street came next for £1.5m in April with one final new-build acquisition set to be announced in the coming weeks.
One of CIFCO s latest investments is in an industrial estate off Cavendish Street in Ipswich
- Credit: GOOGLE MAPS
It will cement the councils’ full £100m portfolio for years to come, with the authorities clear they have no further plans to invest in CIFCO.
Social distancing at Wherstead Park for Suffolk County Council s 2021 annual meeting
- Credit: Suffolk County Council
Two Suffolk council leaders have slammed the government for not extending remote meeting arrangements - after being forced to spend thousands of pounds hiring external venues for socially-distanced meetings.
The government, backed in a ruling by the High Court, refused to extend emergency legislation which allowed councils to hold meetings online through the Covid-19 pandemic.
That has forced authorities to meet in person after May 7 for decision-making meetings.
It left three of Suffolk s authorities having to hire Wherstead Park s atrium to hold their annual meetings, as the council chamber at Endeavour House in Ipswich would not be able to accommodate everyone with social distancing in place.
Abbeygate Cinema manager Pat Church
- Credit: Sarah Lucy Brown
The Regal Theatre in Stowmarket is getting £80,340 from the second round of the Culture Recovery Fund, while Film Theatre in Ipswich has been granted £2,823.
Ben Roberts, chief executive of the British Film Institute, said: People have been missing the big screen experience and we know they are looking forward to cinemas being able to reopen from 17 May onwards.
You may also want to watch: The Culture Recovery Fund has been a lifeline to survival for local independent cinemas up and down the country, ensuring that they will be able to welcome their audiences back.