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Rough Music 18 - May/June 2008

What's In This Issue:
Crunch Time - The credit crunch has hit Brighton as a brace of developments are dropped due to the economic climate.
Factory Finish - EDO MDM have closed down their premises at Fishergate, as protests against them in Brighton continue with a Carnival against the arms trade on June 8th.
Mazzive Attack - As father and son double act are arrested at a protest against the Sealife Centre.
London Rd Calling - Tescos buy the co-op building on London Rd and have plans for a big development
High Trees-On - The Anston House development debacle goes on as developers Bridgetown Properties are up in court for illegally chopping down trees on the site.
Vestried Interests - Brighton squatters have occupied the ex-Methodist Church on London Road.
High On Trees - The financial crunch in affecting plans to trash Titnore Woods near Worthing, as companies rethink their finances.
Squat's The Difference? - Local squatters have art squat at a warehouse in Shoreham
Wanker's Corner - Step up Mr Goeffrey Theobold, Tory councillor.
The Gripes Of Froth - Locals are up in arms about plans for a Starbucks on St James St, Kemptown.
Wheels Of Fortune - Mark Lynch's Guardian security moves into the lucrative market of parking fines and clamping.
Big Bus' Up - Bus drivers have voted to strike after being screwed by Govia, the private company running Brighton buses.
Fo' Shoreham - Companies building the new airport at Shoreham hit the financial skids.
Get Yer Rocks Off - Newsquest, the media corporation which owns the Argus, and The Rocks, have closed down The Rocks.
What Is Rough Music

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CRUNCH TIME

AS THE BUILDING BUBBLE BURSTS

It looks like the build ‘em high, flog ‘em dear building boom that has blighted our city is grinding to a halt in the face of the credit crunch. Panic-stricken property developers are already knocking more than eighty grand of the sale price of a two-bed flat at the station car park development. How they ever thought £300,000 for a two bedroom flat was ever going to be sustainable is anyone’s guess, but now investors are going to feel the pinch. Greed blinded them to their folly and here in the RM bunker our collective heart bleeds for ‘em.

Brunswick Development Group, the developers of the £235 million redevelopment of the outer harbour at Brighton Marina, are ‘reviewing the timetable of the project’ – classic corporate speak for a wholesale bail out. Not only that but the Gehry towers up by the King Alfred are suddenly looking wobbly for reasons nothing to do with their groundbreaking melted lego design (RM #).

With scarcer land fetching premium prices, house builders still want to get a decent return. If the land costs a mint – then who in their right mind is going to want to build affordable accommodation? Where’s the shareholder valuein that? And of course buying land in such a prime location costs a fortune that most companies don’t possess – so they borrow the money. And with the ‘credit crunch’ meaning there’s less money to lend, a whole range of luxury flat building scams are going to be in trouble.

Barratt Homes - which built the City Point development at Brighton station - runs on an operating margin of just under 17% - i.e. for every £1,000 invested in a project profits are expected to be £170. House prices are, of course, crucial to this return– if you get a 17% fall in prices - you’ll break even at best. But its worse when you’ve been borrowing shed loads of money so you can buy more land (and rival companies). Barratt owes just under £2 billion – that’s almost ten timesas much as in 2006 when company bosses borrowed heavily in a take-over of housebuilder Wilson Bowden when the market was at its peak.

So with the increase in the cost of borrowing on the one hand and a fall in property values on the other – Barratt’s boxes are no longer the profitable option they once were. In fact shares are down 72% in under 12 months. Ha-Hah! And Barratt executives are now poised to go to shareholders and request a bailout or the UK’s third biggest housebuilder will go bust. No doubt the government will chuck in a few quid to bail out its buddies in the private sector – when the cash would have been much better used to build more affordable homes.

Not that this has stopped Oakdene Homes capturing the profitable spirit of that too late undiscovered bit of luxury on the south coast – Newhaven. They are planning to build what local campaigners are calling 600 ‘elitist’ homes in a waterside complex called ‘the Cape’. Presumably they will screen out the ginormous new incinerator set to overshadow the entire area – although whether they’ll be able to filter out the poisonous toxins from the polluted air is another question. Land’s a bit cheaper in Newhaven but the price of a two bed flat is just as high – what with the waterside living n’all. Another luxury flat development ready to hit hard times? We hope so.

FACTORY FINISH

One in the eye for the war machine! Local anti-arms trade campaigners are cautiously celebrating after hearing news that EDO MBM Technology Ltd is to close it’s facility in Fishersgate.

According to sources within the company, ITT - their new corporate owners - have insisted that the Flexible Circuit Division factory should be closed by November. This will be another major victory for local anti-war campaigners Smash EDO.

According to campaign spokesperson (and raven-haired heartbreaker) Chloe Marsh “EDO MBM are part of the Paveway IV guided bomb manufacturing team, and also make parts for the Stormshadow cruise missile, the Eurofigher Typhoon, and the next generation F35 Joint Strike Fighter, as well as components used by UK, US, NATO, Israeli, Saudi Arabian and other armed forces engaged in war crimes and human rights violations.”

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EDO MBM’s second Brighton factory is in Mill Road. -Fishersgate has been the site of numerous anti-war demonstrations, rooftop occupations and lock-ons over the last few years under the banner of the Smash EDO campaign. There have been several arrests as well as ongoing prosecutions against protesters arrested at the factory. The site has also been attacked with paint bombs and bricks.

Paul Hills, MD of EDO MBM has been seeking a buyer for the business since he was instructed by his dark masters at US parent corporation ITT, who claim to have no use for the factory in their plan for global domination, and if he can not find one by November the business will be closed completely and the site sold off.

Previously insiders have revealed the poor working condition of the Fishersgate factory, including dangerously unreliable air conditioning systems (where chemical fumes often leave employees feeling sick long they leave work), and insecure storage and disposal of toxic chemicals from in the etching process used to make flexible circuit boards. Drums of toxic chemicals are stored at the rear of the factory close to family homes.

The closure or sell off of the Fishersgate site will be a huge blow to EDO MBM, leaving them with just one remaining factory. It is expected to reduce the workforce of EDO MBM by around 25% and the number of employees may dip below 100 for the first time. In 2004 EDO MBM employed 200 people, but at its main Home Farm Rd factory in Moulsecoomb, Brighton, over sixty employees have either either left the company or been laid off since the Smash EDO campaign began in 2004. At least eight directors, including one managing director David Jones have also resigned or been sacked since 2004. The campaigners have continually vowed to continue protest actions against EDO MBM in Brighton until its entire military operation is closed down.

* See www.smashedo.org.uk

MAZZIVE ATTACK

RM’s publication schedule may put us a nit behind the times, but it’s still worth reporting the fishy goings on at the Brighton Sealife centre on National Zoo Awareness day back on 23rd March. Brighton Animal Action activists ‘clashed’ with local police, with one of the protesters later telling us: “There were only about seven of us, having our usual weekly demo. We’ve had hassle before but its not usually that controversial. Suddenly loads of police showed up. After a bit of a conversation about what we were doing they suddenly nicked one of our number, Maz. He wasn’t even on the megaphone! (RM hears he doesn’t normally need amplifying) He’s not a well man, he can only walk with a stick and suddenly he had three coppers sat on top of him.”

Maz’s seventeen-year-old son heroically leapt into the fray to help his old man - and was also promptly thrown in the back of a paddywagon. One protestor who had filmed the entire incident had her camera seized after being chased down the road. Our eyewitness told us, “What happened next was really shocking, the police rounded on members of the public who had videoed the incident on their phones and forced them to delete the footage under threat of having their handsets confiscated. Clearly they knew they were in the wrong.”

Father and son have been issued with matching bail conditions and were recently re-bailed for another six weeks. RM wonders why they’re so reluctant to bring charges.

LONDON RD CALLING

One lot seemingly impervious to the credit crunch are supermarkets. And as predicted in RM17, no Brighton development plan can be without a ungreengrocer underpinning the scam. Consultation has opened on redevelopment plans for London Road, but with one area of negotiation seemingly off limits – Tescopoly’s purchase of the old Co-op department store. Last issue RM reported how, within 15 miles in any direction from Brighton, you’d find 21 Tescos and another 20 Sainsburys.

So is it store No.22 for Tesco? Next door to the newly downsized Co-op, and just three minutes walk, past Somerfield, round the corner to the much-needed Brighton station Sainsbury’s. Although its not actually in the station – that’s Marks & Sparks territory.

Keen to take on the pound shops with its own 3 quid version, Tesco will be more than just groceries and shoppers will be able to nip in and pick up clothes, home furnishings, DVDs etc... Everything under one roof so any independent shops that are left will go to the wall. So it’s bye bye to the open market – but that’s to become a ‘vibrant artisans quarter’ anyway, so who gives a toss? London Road is, after all - according to the Brighton & Hove Business Forum - a diamond waiting to shine!

St James Developments are behind the scheme as they already own much of the land and shops in the area. The slick marketing tells us that the ‘Bright New London Road’ will bring jobs, education and they might even bung in a few wind turbines and solar panels to keep up the green credentials.

When not seeking a profit out of city centre redevelopments, St James’s investments buy-up property, mainly from those in financial difficulties. If you’re facing repossession the company will offer to buy your property but insist on at least a 25% discount on its real value. You see, there’s nothing as profitable as kicking someone when they’re already down. The Office of Fair Trading is currently being put under pressure to investigate such racketeers for unfair business practices as they cream off a profit from the most vulnerable.

They recently rented a space just off Preston Circus to launch their PR offensive. It involved canvassing the public by offering a limited choice of development options – all of which included provision for Tesco to go ahead! Despite reports of widespread negative reception and ‘No Tesco’ written across many a reply slip, RM does not expect the true results of the questionnaire will ever be revealed.

** There’s going to be a meeting to hear proposals for more sustainable alternatives to the current London Road proposals at 7pm on 9th May in the Community Base Conference on Queens Road.

HIGH TREES-ON

Chainsaw-happy developers Bridgetown Properties responsible for cutting down eight protected ancient beech, lime and elm trees at the Anston House site opposite Preston Park (see RM16) are finally facing the chop themselves - in court

Brighton Council has agreed to prosecute (on June 3rd at Brighton Magistrates Court, Eastern Road) following a 600-signature petition and the fuss kicked up by the Preston Road tree camp, finally evicted after its six month residency in January (RM 6).

There’s a call-out for people to get down to the court at 2pm on the 3rd. Campaigners are hoping that rather than just getting a slap on the wrist with fines of £20,000 per tree which Bridgetown have probably budgeted for already, they face the full rigour of the Town and Country Planning law which can see a fine twice the cost of the £10.5 million site, plus a custodial sentence. (Well here’s hoping but we’re not gonna put money on it)
Amy Kennedy, Green Councillor for the Preston Park said: “If they are found guilty in court, I hope this will send out a message to other developers that Brighton and Hove will not tolerate the wanton destruction of our precious natural environment.”

Frank Gehry, i360 twats, Marina developers – listen up... Now while RM supports Amy wholeheartedly we do remember how she dropped the tree campaigners quicker than a live hand grenade. This was shortly after the Argus smear campaign kicked in with articles scapegoating the campers as a bunch of thieving, heroin-taking scum etc etc when no drugs harder than African bush were ever in evidence.

Both Bridgetown Properties and the contracting firm are denying responsibility for ordering the destruction which should keep the proceedings interesting. And it must surely irritate the council that the bulldozers went in on a Saturday, last June, when it would have been impossible for the council to do anything about it.

Then insult to injury was when a further two trees were destroyed in January, following the erection of the eight foot metal fence close to the road and accompanying trench which disturbed root systems and made the two remaining trees a hazard.

The council could force Bridgetown Properties to replant similar age and species of trees to replace all those lost. The site was set to become an office development with car park but rumour has it that Bridgetown is now looking to offload it which could mean the curse of Anston House remains – the site has been seeking a developer for more than 20 years now.

VESTRIED INTERESTS

FIST OF FAITH FAILS TO BUDGE SQUATTERS

Brighton’s newest social centre has received marching orders after only a month. The ex-Methodist Church on London Road has been a favourite location for Brighton’s long-suffering squatting community over the years, but on this occasion it was occupied specifically for the worldwide Days of Action for Squats and Autonomous spaces that took place on the 11th and 12th April.

Following a successful Brew not Bombs day of action on the Level, the squat held film screenings. The building was transformed from a squalid, derelict church into a liveable space for community events and political campaigning, offering free food and film nights.

Occupants made several attempts to contact the Methodist Church and come to an agreement. After all the church’s website expresses a desire to support “community development and action for justice, especially among the most deprived and poor” They were fobbed off, with the church pleading poverty and saying they needed to flog the building asap.

In fact the Methodist church is an extremely wealthy organisation. Over £1 billion of Church money is invested in dodgy corporations. Despite claiming to work to “the highest ethical standards”, the CFB invests in Shell and BP (guilty of environmental destruction and human rights atrocities), GlaxoSmithKline (famous for its animal testing activities) and Rio Tinto (the list is too long, check out www.savingiceland.org for their latest rampaging), amongst countless others.

Funnily enough the judge sided with the Church and a possession order was granted on Friday 2nd May. The occupants, however, vow to continue their struggle to create spaces beneficial to Brighton’s community. Check out http://www.myspace.com/88londonroadsquat

HIGH ON TREES

Camp Titnore campaigners, in the news for all the right reasons, could have further grounds to celebrate following local election shenanigans which hit the headlines early in May.

It looks like Persimmon - one of the major firms in the West Durrington Consortium backing the new Tesco and 875-house development on ancient Titnore Woods – is having second thoughts.

The current economic meltdown means they are not even going to consider any new building at sites until there is evidence of a recovery. The company’s sales hit a three year low in April. Persimmon has in fact sold 18% less houses this year than last - despite offering buyers more sweeteners and cutting prices.

So with the two year anniversary round the corner for the camp (May 26th) and 100 trees already saved could this be a decisive campaigners two, developers nil?

Dawn Smith, the pro-Camp Titnore candidate, unceremoniously dumped out of the Worthing election count, certainly thinks so. In high spirits and standing for the Stop Durrington’s Overdevelopment - Save Titnore’s Trees party, in the borough’s Northbrook ward, she was nicked apparently for “disorderly behaviour”.

In scenes that one witness described as ‘reminiscent of Zimbabwe’ – perhaps a slight exaggeration - she was thrown to the ground by police, held down with her hands behind her back, knelt on and handcuffed, then held for four hours at Durrington nick - all for objecting to camp dwellers being violently ejected from the count for not having valid ID.

Apparently the passes she registered had not been recorded, iin an official balls-up.

Other people, considered of “respectable” demeanour, were waved through by security but surprise, surprise ID from Dawn’s supporters was demanded for vociferously. Dawn wasn’t charged following the ding-dong and both her and the Titnore campers are now seeking compensation through the courts.

In the meantime it has to be said Dawn notched up a rather credible 99 votes in the ward, 11% of the vote which pushed the BNP back into fourth and last place.

* A stall supporting the camp will be held in Montague Place, Worthing town centre, on Sat May 10, from 11am. And then on Sat May 24, at 2pm, when there will be a celebration of the second anniversary of the tree camp on the steps of the Town Hall with a camp celebration later that evening.

SQUAT'S THE DIFFERENCE?

CAN YOU TELL WHAT IT ISN'T YET...

A bit of good news for once. Intrepid community squatters occupied the disused THS warehouse at Shoreham Harbour last month for the Temporary Autonomous Art event. Not the usual empty building with a few token scraps of spray paint, the event was packed with workshops, entertainment and some really excellent political artwork. Family friendly activities and kids’ space blended good-naturedly with the more spaced-out elements blundering harmlessly around. In a rare display of community spirit and common sense, the building’s owner said he liked the idea and had no problem with it as the space would only be occupied for a limited time. Nice one!

* MESHO - A spoof newspaper around the themes of autonomous spaces, squatting, homelessness and gentrification was produced in Brighton for this event, and other squatted centres in Britain across the country over the weekend of April 11-12th. Pick up a copy from the Cowley Club, or download the pdf (4.5meg) at www.schnews.org.uk/satire/pdf/mesho.pdf

Geoffrey Theobold

Having witnessed his dismal, failed attempt in the Council leadership stakes for the Tory Party when he lost out to our new leader, Cllr Mary ‘I’ll do you a pound-a-spuds for 30p’ Mears, RM would like to come to the aid of Councillor Geoffrey Theobald with the prestigious Wankers Corner gong.

Here are RM, we’ve been collecting an increasingly bizarre series of this self-important smug twat’s sayings. Try this “I would give up my national appointments such as chairman of LACORS to devote all my time to build on the successes that I and my colleagues have achieved in our first ten months in administration and move this city forward to even greater successes and achievements.” (We’ve no idea what LACORS stands for but our our guess is: Lucky Arseholes Cop Outrageous Rewards Sinecure.)

Or how about his latest: “My work for the city in which I was born and that I love is not yet complete.” He was heard telling a colleague shortly after this utterance that he wanted to be known henceforth by a new name: Obama.

Since becoming chair of the Environment Committee last year he’s proved himself a natural - with a typical Tory’s grasp on the subject. So far he’s tinkered with the timing of traffic lights to increase the flow of traffic in and out of our gridlocked summer roads. Policy point two is, er, the Hove bandstand down by the Peace Statue - a juicy contract for 80 grands worth of polish-up at the last bidding.

And Geoffrey’s hat-trick? He’s the dingo who came up with the idea of banning dogs from the beach. Proving about as popular as a french kiss at a family wedding, Geoffrey was last seen cocking a leg behind King’s House bike sheds - council officials and dog-lovers having refused to let him use the facilities...

THE GRIPES OF FROTH

What motivates the average member of Brighton’s media elite to take to the streets in protest? Out of control corporations? The imposition of a police state? Climate change? Poverty? Warmongering? Er, no, they’ve managed to get themselves into a froth over who exactly is going to serve them cappucino.

The spectre of a new Starbucks opening on St James’ St (where Sussex Stationers used to be) has seen a wave of unrest sweep through east Brighton. Local lifestylers want to sip their double strength mock-a-rocker-choca-chinos from quirky™ independent cafes - and fear the effect that the blandishments of the omnipresent mega-chain could have on the vibrant local coffee scene.

Even though anyone choosing Starbucks’ foul tasting crap-a-chino over somewhere else should mean all the local cafes getting ever cooler by being more exclusive, fears are that gradually they will all lose enough custom (squeezed also by rising rent / rates and bills of course) to go out of business and thus leave them short of quality supply for their rampant caffeine addictions.

Ringleaders and agitators have swiftly appeared to ride the wave of espresso-driven anger, with one dangerous radical starting a dedicated Facebook site (the catchily named ‘Stop Starbucks From Opening On St James’s Street’ group) asking people to ‘wake up and smell the coffee’. This fanatical mob of over 200 and rising look set to threaten the establishment with some extremists making the bold move of submitting objections to the councils’ planning application process (which need to be submitted by May 14).

The council had better heed this shot across the bows – else the creative engine room of modern- economic-miracle Brighton could grind to a halt – or even boil over erupt in civil chaos and kick off the big collapse we’re all waiting for.

While RM would never endorse supporting scum like Starbucks, we will welcome all disillusioned and outraged luvvies and help them to really ‘wake up and smell the coffee’...

WHEELS OF FORTUNE

Now yer ‘two wheels good- four wheels bad’ RM ain’t gonna turn over a new leaf and start sticking up for the rights for all you motorists - but we had to laugh when we saw who the council’s put in charge of their clamping mafia. None other than RM favourite Mark Lynch (see Wankers Corner RM#11)

Previous incumbents in the lucrative position (currently worth £64,000 a year and set to expand) Security Core Ltd got the boot after being a little too greedy and repeatedly clamping people with disabled ‘blue badges’. But RM asks were there really so few applicants for the job that this third-rate Mussolini impersonator even made it onto the shortlist?

But sadly Guardian Parking Management (One of Mark’s front groups) have been in charge of the council’s clamping since November 2007. After an outcry from motorists claiming they’d been wrongfully clamped, Lynch started trying to softpedal our rival publication the Argus. He started off by claiming that his “businesses played strictly by the rules” and that “we certainly don’t employ thugs”.

Well that last statement certainly caused a collective intake of breath in the RM bunker. Could this be the same Mark Lynch convicted of assaulting a female protestor outside the Sealife centre on 21st January 2007? The same bald-bonced bouncer captured on his own surveillance camera boasting about stealing pepper spray from the police station? The same handcuff wielding have-a-go-zero who is also on film viciously attacking protestors outside EDO MBM?. It surely is!

But the resistance is growing – one Horsham man staged a sit-down protest in front of GPM’s goons after they refused to take payment in 1 and 2p pieces.

BIG BUS' UP

Back in RM #13 we reported how the shareholders of Brighton & Hove Bus Company’s holding company, Govia, were celebrating a recent tripling of profits. No surprises perhaps when single bus fares have risen from 70p to £1.70. But despite bumper profits the company is to be too mean to pay its drivers a decent wage and, as a result, drivers are threatening to go on strike in May. Good luck to ‘em.

RM spoke to one bus company employee bringing home £275 a week who was renting a two bed flat for a family of four at 750 nicker a month. Plus council tax, gas, leccy and water and the full time driver ended up spending almost three-quarters of his take wages keeping a roof over the families’ head. In America (not renowed for its cuddly social welfare standards) someone is reckoned to be in housing poverty if they are spending more than 30% of their income on keeping a roof over their head.

For many bus employees (and all types of other public service key workers) it’s been a case of having to move out of Brighton altogether, picking up a cheaper place in Lancing or Shoreham-by-Sea. And this means that these pillars of the public transport system have to go to work by car! Hats off to Brighton & Hove Bus Company which proudly trumps its green credentials whilst forcing its staff to a lonely petrol burning commute to the bus garage.

Out of nearly 600 union members more than 400 have voted in favour of industrial action and a 24 to 48 hour strike has been pencilled in for sometime in May. Members are not happy that company boss Roger French has been busy spending loadsa cash on new buses and share holder bonuses, but can’t seem to find the readies for a pay rise of anything more than 2.75%. The company has also been busy advertising for new drivers at a rate of pay that the union has not had chance to discuss.

Already management has sent a threatening letter out to staff, saying that in the event of any strike, “any such action reducing the company’s income and our ability to fund pay increases will mean that it is no longer be possible to guarantee the pay offer.” Trade Unionists have hit back with a poster urging members to keep up the fight: “You have voted to ballot for industrial action. Now it’s delivery time.”

Roger French reckons that only half the drivers will go on strike and some scab labour will help run the service on the day. If the buses are still running on strike day, show your solidarity and give them a miss: its time shareholders rather than bus drivers were taken for a ride.

FO' SHOREHAM

RM has long held an affectionate spot in its heart for an expanded Shoreham Airport, oops sorry that should be Brighton City Airport...so it is with considerable sadness that we learnt that former owner Erinaceous has gone bust with debts of more than £250m.

Crack open the bubbly! Erinaceous hit the skids last year following an investigation over an alleged £10 million fraud, involving overvaluing properties (RM11). They then came up with the blinding idea of building flats about 20 yards from the runway (RM15) soon scrapped following concerns raised by English Heritage.

Although there are now daily flights to France and offshore bank havens in the Channel Islands, thanks to climate criminals Sky South, the proposed new or even extended runway looks miles off.

But hold on, put that fizz back on ice for a minute...The airport is now in the hands of Albemarle Shoreham Airport Limited which is backed by Geoff Egan, who by bizarre co-incidence used to run a company owned by er... Erinaceous.

They already own the commercial buildings and a spokesman is quoted between gritted teeth as saying: “Albemarle remains committed to the regeneration of the airport in accordance with the vision of the joint owning councils, when the airport was originally sold in June 2006.”

No mention of the knock-down price then – Brighton and Worthing Councils ‘foolishly’ sold off the site at a fraction of what it was worth: £9m rather than £21m.(see RM11) What’s a couple of million between friends?.

Eric Williams, the secretary of Communities Against Runway Expansion (Care), said he hoped it wasn’t a case of ‘out of the frying pan and into the fire’ which looks a fair bet as far as we can work out – Erinaceous in all but name it seems.

Meanwhile underlining the murkiness of events, Neil Parkin, the leader of Adur District Council, the planning authority for the site, said: “It’s not really our concern the goings on at big companies. I am just pleased it has been resolved quickly.”, while doffing his hat and chewing straw no doubt.

All airport manager John Haffenden could manage was that he was ‘glad to see aircraft in the air again’ – and a few pigs as well Johnny-boy...

GET YER ROCKS OFF

Newsquest, owners of the Evening Anus, have shown real green credentials by closing down their eco-mag Rocks after two years and getting rid of their only dedicated environment correspondent at the same time. What prescience! You can just see the board-room meeting: “How shall we save some capital? I know the environment is going to hell in a handcart so let’s not bother covering it at all just cut the lot.”

Rock’s was originally launched as an independent revival of the Insight after that publication’s brutal deflowering at the hands of one Mike Holland. But is was soon gobbled up by Newsquest, second biggest local media owners in the U.K. While RM is quite naturally fighting off take-over bids and beating Murdoch’s headhunters from our doors, we do still sympathise with better-known cappucino table publications, especially when it is rumoured Newsquest is even refusing to allow the magazine’s founder Sarah Lewis the Rocks brand to exist on the web. What’s that about! Newsquest is of course owned by huge pro-republican US media conglomerate Gannet – how’s that for unbiased local media!