21 h. ago 'Eyesore' £18,000 mural Labour council painted without permission sparks war with locals who have branded it 'hideous'

Enfield Council, in north London, commissioned the brightly coloured To Autumn artwork on the side of Enfield Town Library, claiming it celebrates local culture.

Economics

69 h. ago Historic building painted with St George’s Cross by vandals upsetting – council

Portsmouth Guildhall, a Victorian hall now used as an events venue, is one of a number of buildings and roads in the city which have been painted with the red-and-white symbol

Politics

1 week ago Developer sparks enforcement row by ‘fencing off’ street without permission

A councillor said the issue was reported to the local authority months ago

Events

1 week ago Vigilante paints potholes with St George's Cross in bid to force council to fix them

Ben Thornbury, 20, is known for his unconventional methods of drawing attention to potholes, and has come up with the new tactic in his home town of Malmesbury, Wiltshire.

Politics

2 w. ago Cotswolds town at war over Labour donor's huge Palestinian flag: Locals condemn Just Stop Oil tycoon Dale Vince's 30ft tall banner flown from his green energy firm's HQ

Locals in the town of Stroud in the Cotswolds have demanded the long-time Labour donor and entrepreneur removes the banner from his office building.

Events

2 w. ago I thought I didn’t care about Renaissance art. Then life happened to me – and I saw its power | Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett

There’s a reason these works have influenced great contemporary artists such as Jenny Saville. It just took me a while to truly see itThere is a painting that I think about often. The Madonna del Parto, a masterpiece painted by Piero della Francesca in about 1460, is housed in a dedicated museum in the Tuscan town of Monterchi. It depicts a heavily pregnant Virgin Mary flanked by two angels. To local women, this painting is considered a protector of fertility and the lives of pregnant women during birth. During the second world war, local women surrounded two men whom they had mistaken for a Nazi intent on stealing it. In 1954, they led a protest against its proposed movement to Florence for an exhibition. I remember reading as a student that the women had lain down in the street to block its departure.I thought about those women again yesterday, as I walked around the Jenny Saville exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery, tracing the influence of the Renaissance on her work. Sa...

Politics

2 w. ago Beach hut owner is embroiled in bitter row with neighbours after 'spoiling popular seafront' with 'ugly' walled fence

Punch and Judy beach hut owner Sophie Jarman has found herself at war with locals after installing an 'invasive' walled fence in front of her shed on Hordle Cliffs beach in Milford on Sea, Hampshire.

Culture

3 w. ago Community given go ahead for war memorial to honour its fallen soldiers

Dozens of soldiers from Raploch paid the ultimate sacrifice during World War II alone, but others will also be honoured.

Events

4 w. ago Solar farm plan for near sacred pilgrimage route is savaged by locals who say it will make it look like a prisoner of war camp

The rural village of Monk Sherborne, Hampshire lies along St James's Way, the English part of the Camino Way, a path which leads to Santiago de Compostela in Spain and has been used for 1,000 years.

Events