Latest news with #NewcastleUnderLyme
Times
2 days ago
- Times
What happened to the homes bought by HS2?
S ome 50 family homes sit on the wooded slopes of Whitmore Heath in Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, each in its own generous plot, individually designed in a dazzling array of architectural styles, from faux Arts and Crafts to stark contemporary. Many of the residents are in their seventies, eighties and nineties, having lived on Whitmore Heath for decades, raising their families here. Until HS2 came along and turned their world upside down. In 2011 the West Midlands to Crewe leg of the high-speed railway, or Phase 2a, was announced and HS2 started buying homes in the area, which locals call 'millionaires' row'. The Department for Transport now owns more than half of the homes here. This is despite the fact that Phase 2 of the project was cancelled by Rishi Sunak in 2023.
BBC News
13-06-2025
- BBC News
illegal vapes and cigarettes seized in Newcastle-under-Lyme
Illegal vapes, tobacco and cigarettes worth more than £9,000 have been seized during raids in from Trading Standards and Staffordshire Police discovered the illicit goods when they searched three premises in found 5,460 cigarettes, 2.75kg of hand rolling tobacco and 431 oversized or banned Anthony Screen, of Staffordshire County Council, said the supply of the illegal goods was closely linked to organised crime. "The items can also be dangerous to people's health and can affect legitimate traders at the same time," he raids on 4 June came after the government banned single use vapes in response to health and environmental concerns. Follow BBC Stoke & Staffordshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
BBC News
08-06-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Nail boss converts old Staffordshire church to pink fairytale HQ
What started out as a fairytale-themed nail salon for Annabel Maginnis has expanded into a global brand, with the recent opening of her new headquarters in a former Staffordshire church. Ms Maginnis , owner and creator of Nails by Annabel, began her journey painting nails from her mum's kitchen table in years on, her global brand is now called Glitterbels, and she has moved the salon and headquarters to a nearby converted methodist church, decked out in a fairytale original church columns have been transformed with gold leaf, clouds on the ceiling, and the walls, floors and radiators painted pink with 100 gallons of paint. The £500,000 transformation of the church on Watlands View took two years, Ms Maginnis told the BBC. She said: "We wanted to find a building that was large enough for everything we wanted - multiple training rooms, stock, product shop and our salon."When we walked in, we got a really nice feeling for it. It's quite unusual, it's a fairytale immersive world when you walk in now."She said the main room of the church has become one of the largest training facilities for nail technicians in the UK. With over 17,000 nail students across the world, the company supports nail tech, as well as selling its own brand of acrylic and gel nail powders and polish. "My original salon [in Lower Street] was a magical wonderland with a full sized white stallion unicorn who had a pink mane and Swarovski crystal horn - and this HQ is several stages more extra than that," she said. The new 850 square metre space has a nail salon with space for up to 10 nail technicians, as well as a retail space open for headquarters was launched to the public on 17 May with 50 guests receiving hour long complimentary treatments. Ms Maginnis said: "I love bringing glitter and joy into people's lives, whether that's the customers or the thousands of nail techs I help to train every single year. "I used to be a nail tech and now I help nail techs." Follow BBC Stoke & Staffordshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
BBC News
03-06-2025
- General
- BBC News
'You leave the military not knowing how to cook'
Free classes for former armed services personnel who left the military without knowing how to cook have been lessons, run by the Tri Services and Veterans Support Centre in Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, teach prospective students everything from how to boil an egg to making a three-course 12-week course was put together by veterans at the charity who realised none of them really knew how to the attendees were former radio operator Hannah Bailey, who said she needed to get to grips with tech like induction hobs and air fryers, and Anthony Cross who served for nearly 15 years in the army's Cheshire Regiment. "When you've come out [of the army] you've got to find your feet again, a lot of the stuff is done for you," he said. "I've never learned how to cook so coming out [of the army] was a bit of a shock".He relied on microwaved ready meals or his partner to be able to feed himself, he after attending the lessons he said he felt more confident in the kitchen and now helps his partner cook."She loves it, she encourages me to do this and we get to bond in the kitchen now," he added. Ms Bailey, a member of the Royal Signals Territorial Army, said she had some experience with cooking but needed a better understanding of some of the said: "Coming to the course, in general, was just about getting more confidence with the equipment and being more hands on with ingredients, rather than ready-made mixes."Geoff Harriman, chairman of Tri Services, said: "As service personnel, you are told when to eat, what to wear and what time to be there so when you come out you might not be able to do the basic stuff." Follow BBC Stoke & Staffordshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
The Sun
28-05-2025
- Business
- The Sun
I took DWP to court and won over tax on extra bedroom in our detached council house – now I have more benefits than EVER
'SEE you in court!' I say, voice raised, as I slam the phone down on the call handler. It was my third call to the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) about the absurd bedroom tax we were facing and nothing had changed, so this time I was taking legal action. 5 5 The property I live in is a three bedroom detached council house in Silverdale, Newcastle-Under-Lyme. As it is just myself and my partner Paul in our home the DWP has always deducted our joint Universal Credit claim for this by almost £100 in bedroom tax. Introduced in 2013 the policy is part of the British Welfare Reform Act 2012 and outlines that council or social housing tenants with rooms deemed to be "spare" face a reduction in housing benefit. Having one bedroom more than the calculated allowance means a reduction in housing benefit of 14 per cent, and two "spare" bedrooms means that a tenant will lose 25 per cent of their housing benefit. The ruling states that one bedroom is allowed per adult couple and while I have three bedrooms I don't agree that we should be penalised for them. The £911 a month Universal Credit we received barely covered our rent and bills so to lose out on £94 to spare bedroom tax was out of the question. Conservative minister Iain Duncan Smith previously argued it was an "unfair situation where the tax payer is subsidising people to have home, paid for by the state, with spare rooms they do not need". While many will be quick to agree, I do in fact need all of the bedrooms in my home. The first spare 'bedroom' is upstairs and is completely inaccessible to my partner as he is a permanent wheelchair user. The two downstairs rooms are both under 3 x 3 metres so we need the extra room simply to store Paul's wheelchair and equipment such as wheelchair chargers and the two extra seats we removed from his car to fit his hoist and wheelchair in. Tragic 'suicide' of bedroom tax victim As the rooms are so small, Paul also needs his wardrobe in our spare room as the other room only fits a queen-sized bed and wheelchair. The spare bedroom tax penalises those with disabilities and I'm not the only one who thinks so. Two-thirds of the people affected are registered as disabled and when the policy was introduced many found themselves suddenly liable for the bedroom tax after deaths or after children had moved out of the home. In 2012 the High Court rejected the premise that the policy was a breach of Article 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights due to the effect on disabled people. The following year disabled grandmother Stephanie Bottrill took her own life after struggling to cope with the newly introduced tax on the three bedroom home she had lived in for 18 years. The law has since been amended so that those whose bedrooms stand empty as a result of death are exempt. Prickling with the injustice of our own situation, I asked the DWP to reconsider what we are entitled to, known as a mandatory reconsideration. When this was rejected with an official letter, I made the decision to take the DWP to court, a tribunal all DWP claimants are entitled to if they disagree with a decision. 5 5 It wasn't the first time I'd done this. In 2013 my PIP for schizophrenia was stopped. According to the DWP I couldn't possibly work part-time as a journalist if I really had schizophrenia. It didn't seem to matter that I was working from home, mostly from my bed on my laptop, always in my PJs and never working more than 16 hours a week. Back then I also disagreed with the decision to stop my PIP and asked for a mandatory reconsideration. After they rejected this, I took the DWP to court and the judge ruled I was indeed entitled to middle rate PIP - which was a higher rate than I'd expected. WHAT IS THE BEDROOM TAX? Called the under-occupancy policy, it was dubbed the Bedroom Tax as critics who condemned the changes faced by people on benefits amounted to a tax, due to the lack of social housing for affected people to downsize to. Having one bedroom more than the calculated allowance means a reduction in housing benefit of 14 per cent, and two "spare" bedrooms means that a tenant will lose 25 per cent of their housing benefit. The penalties, which can see people affected losing a significant amount of their income or risk being evicted, have also been criticised as having a disproportionate impact on disabled people. In 2016 it was announced that the penalty would be extended to elderly people, despite promises from the government to protect the elderly from benefit cuts. Our court hearing this March only lasted 20 minutes. Armed with my packet of Lambert cigarettes and wearing my tracksuit, I calmly stated our case to the DWP representative. I was intimidated, so I only said the bare bones of our case, that I disagreed with the DWP's decision to add bedroom tax for two spare rooms to our Universal Credit payment each month. We got lucky with our representative who said that the decision to add bedroom tax to our benefits was 'utterly ridiculous' especially when the upstairs room was inaccessible by wheelchair. So a month after the ruling, I got a lump sum of £600 and an extra £94 a month in Universal Credit. I've invested the £600 in a desk, a sewing machine and new laptop which I hope, when further benefits cuts take place next year, might help make an income from writing and clothing alterations. If, like me, you disagree with a decision made about your benefits don't stay silent. Ask for your mandatory reconsideration and if you still disagree, take it to a tribunal. Be sure to read all documents in full and they will outline the steps that you need to take, to further your claim. I've won the two appeals and now my benefits income has been boosted to £1,004 a month, more than ever before. That doesn't make me greedy or a scrounger, it's just what I am entitled to. 5
