Business

Affluent Stoke Poges welcomes plan to ‘take pressure off’ by levelling up

Stoke Poges, the Buckinghamshire village name-checked in the prime minister’s speech as a potential beneficiary of his “levelling up” policy, is an archetypal home counties spot: green, pleasant, affluent, ageing and unaffordable, with all the attendant benefits and drawbacks.

It is reportedly the eighth richest village in England and sits in the heart of the Conservative “blue wall”. This area of Buckinghamshire has been relentlessly Tory-voting, at least until the byelection in neighbouring Chesham and Amersham when the Liberal Democrats overturned a big Tory majority.

Boris Johnson may well have calculated that the blue wall needed a bit of love. There were fears that levelling up would switch public investment out of south-east England and into the north and Midlands. There had been outrage at government plans to force through mass housebuilding in the shires.

Johnson said his policy would “take the pressure” off places like Stoke Poges, which had in effect become the victim of its own success – or as he put it, people’s “sheer lust” to live there. Invest outside the “overheated” south-east and people would live elsewhere. Thus, the logic goes, levelling up would leave south Buckinghamshire to its unspoilt green pastures.

“Boris Johnson has a very strong point,” said David Anthony, a councillor and chair of the Beeches Community Board, which represents Stoke Poges on the county council. “If investment were taking place throughout the country, business would be more spread out.”

Places such as Stoke Poges were overheating he said, though he accepted this was partly inevitable. It boasts beautiful countryside and excellent transport links. As the Telegraph, cited by Johnson, couched it: “It hits the sweet spot – a sliver of rural England slipped between the M25, M40 and M4, handy for Heathrow and Ascot.”

Anthony has lived in the area since 1982 and remembers when Stoke Poges was “more of a rural village”. It is now more of a commuter town. He said vigilance was needed to prevent encroachment from the likes of urban Slough. Anthony was pleased the mood music from government about greenbelt development appeared to be changing.

Homes in the new-build terraces and large gated estates here can sell for millions. The village has a sleepy feel with an ancient churchyard – St Giles was where Thomas Gray composed his Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard, also cited by Johnson – and a manicured memorial lawn as a focal point. The village centre features a couple of shops and a Costa Coffee, and there are two pubs on the outskirts.

The greenbelt – about 90% of the village is protected from development – means there is little sprawl. After rapid growth after the second world war – ironically fuelled by postwar expansion in housebuilding – the population has grown little for 40 years. Instead it has got older, and the property more expensive.

Life expectancy is above the England average in the Beeches: people smoke less and drink less. Unemployment is 2.7%, compared with 5% for England. If it has an acute problem, according to local public health data, it appears to be loneliness.

Residents who spoke to the Guardian were unsurprised to learn that Stoke Poges had been cited as a shining example of levelling up. Several described the area as quiet and peaceful, and a “desirable place to live”, with easy access to nature, low crime rates and a close-knit community.

But they added that the popularity of the village had changed its character in recent years. Sandra Galatola, who works at the local preschool and has lived in Stoke Poges for 20 years, said high demand for housing had resulted in a parade of shops, including a popular pub, being shut down to make room for new flats. “There are more people coming from far away because they know about Stoke Poges,” she said. “House prices are expensive: people pay for them with family money.”

Wayne Mitchell, a decorator, also identified high housing demand as a problem, with prices often surpassing £1m for a family home. “Once you have a property, nobody sells. There are no properties for sale so you have to live outside the village,” he said. However, he added that his business benefited from being located in a “well to do’’ area. “We can charge top prices for decorating.”

Business

CAC threatens to shut down PoS operators as deadline for registration expires

The Corporate Affairs Commission has said it will work with law enforcement agencies and other legal means to shut down recalcitrant Sales Operators who fail to register their businesses as its 60-day deadline lapses.

The Commission disclosed this in a notice Friday on its official X handle.

This comes after CAC on July 7, 2024, issued a 60-day deadline which expired on Thursday, September 5, 2024, for all PoS operators to register their businesses.

CAC noted that there was inadequate compliance with its directive, noting that those who decided not to register may be engaging in unwholesome activities.

“The Commission notes inadequate compliance with the directive for formalization when viewed from the background of the large number of POS operators in the country. Those who have taken steps to formalize in line with the Commission’s directive are commended for their positive attitudes.

“Recalcitrant operators have refused to adhere to the advice for formalization due possibly to engagements in unwholesome activities or for some reasons best known to them.

“We are here to make it clear that the Commission is working with Law Enforcement Agencies and other relevant stakeholders to deploy a comprehensive enforcement and sanction framework that may include not only possible shutdown but other severe legal Consequences.”

Meanwhile, the Association of Mobile Money and Bank Agents in Nigeria, AMMBAN, recently challenged the CAC’s registration directive.

Business

Dangote’s petrol to flood market from Sept 15 — NNPCL

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has announced that Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), commonly known as petrol, from the Dangote Refinery will begin to flood the market starting on September 15, 2024.

This development follows the refinery’s commencement of petrol refining earlier in the week.

In a statement signed by the NNPCL’s Chief Corporate Communications Officer, Olufemi Soneye, on Thursday in Abuja, the company clarified that petrol prices would now be determined by market forces.

The statement addressed speculations about price control, reiterating that the downstream sector had been fully deregulated and that NNPCL would no longer fix fuel prices.

Adedapo Segun, NNPCL’s Executive Vice President of Downstream, emphasised that foreign exchange (forex) illiquidity had been a major factor influencing PMS price fluctuations, which are now regulated by the free market as mandated by the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).

Segun also noted that the current fuel scarcity should ease within a few days as more filling stations recalibrate their systems and resume selling PMS.

He cited Section 205 of the PIA, which established that petroleum prices are governed by market forces rather than government intervention. The exchange rate, he added, significantly impacts fuel prices.

Regarding the supply of petrol from the Dangote Refinery, Segun stated that NNPCL was preparing for the September 15 timeline when products would be available for distribution.

He assured Nigerians that NNPCL is working closely with fuel marketers to ensure stations remain open and well-stocked to meet demand, while measures are being taken to prevent product diversions.

Segun’s comments come on the heels of the Federal Government’s announcement of an impending boost in petrol supply over the weekend, as vessels had started offloading while reaffirming that PMS prices would not be fixed by the government.

Business

PMS Prices are determined by free market forces—NNPC Ltd

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd.) has stated that foreign exchange (forex) illiquidity has been a significant factor influencing the fluctuation in prices of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), which are governed by unrestricted free market forces, as provided for in the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), 2021.

Speaking on TVC News’ “Journalists’ Hangout” show on Thursday, the Executive Vice President of Downstream, NNPC Ltd., Mr. Adedapo Segun explained that the current fuel scarcity was expected to “subside in a few days as more stations recalibrate and begin selling PMS.”

He said Section 205 of the PIA, which established NNPC Ltd., stipulated that petroleum prices were determined by unrestricted free market forces.

According to him, “The market has been deregulated, meaning that petrol prices are now determined by market forces rather than by the government or NNPC Ltd. Additionally, the exchange rate plays a significant role in influencing these prices.”

On the commencement of lifting PMS from the Dangote Refinery, Segun said that the NNPC Ltd. was awaiting the September 15th timeline provided by the Refinery.

Segun, who said no right-thinking individual would be comfortable with the current fuel scarcity, added that the NNPC Ltd. has nearly a thousand filling stations nationwide and was collaborating with marketers to “ensure that stations open early, close late, in order to maintain adequate fuel supply to meet the needs of Nigerians.”

He assured Nigerians: “We are also engaging relevant authorities to ensure products diversions are prevented and timely deliveries to all stations are ensured. The scarcity should ease in the next few days as more stations recalibrate and begin operations.”