EC01/06/2012 01 JL0106-01A Fri12AJL_pdf
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journallive.co.uk
News
Friday, June 1, 2012 THE JOURNAL
Picture: PAUL NORRIS www.journallive.co.uk/buyaphoto ref: 00688314
History in focus at fair this weekend A HUGE heritage fair for history buffs is open for business in Sunderland this weekend. As an addition to the Diamond Jubilee year celebrations, the Sunderland History Fair will be held for the third time, in the Seaburn Centre, Sunderland, tomorrow. Its organisers, the Sunderland Heritage Forum, hope the event will be even more successful than its predecessors, with over 60 groups attending the fair, which runs from 10am to 4pm and features displays and artefacts from the North East’s rich and vibrant history. This year, the theme is family artefacts and public participation. The public are encouraged to bring old photographs, memorabilia and even films to the event, with the hope that they can be advised on how best to restore them. The main organisations behind this theme are the Sunderland Antiquarian Society, based at the Sunderland Minster and Living History North East, which is based at the Donnison School. LHNE already has a vast collection of photographs and recordings which capture the essence of life in the area in their respective periods. Both groups welcome further contributions.
WORRIED Tony Hughes, who is complaining about the huge rise taxes for the disposal of waste and fears jobs will be lost
Fear tax hike will cost jobs Landfill trip is costing £1,000 more after rise Brian Daniel
was
£105
now *
£29
07733 002 822 [email protected]
WASTE transfer station boss in Northumberland has voiced fears for the future of his business as it faces a massive increase in taxes. Tony Hughes, who runs the venture in Cramlington, says the jobs of 13 people who work there are at risk because the Government has increased from £2.50 to £64 per tonne the tax it must pay to take certain materials to landfill. Mr Hughes said the move will cost his businesses hundreds of thousands of pounds over a year and is calling on ministers to re-think the changes. The Government says it has made the change to the tax in response to concerns
A
from operators of landfill sites that some businesses were paying more than others. Up until recently, Mr Hughes, 64, who has been in the industry 26 years and running the station for 12, paid tax of £2.50 per tonne of “trommel fines” – a kind of dust filtered out by a screen – which he took to landfill sites. The figure is the lower rate of tax for materials taken to skips, with the higher rate £64. But now Mr Hughes is having to pay the higher rate for such materials. A trip to one site last week which would have cost him around £54 prior to the changes will instead leave him with a bill for £1,290.71. The businessman says his company has in the past made an average of eight 15-tonne deliveries to landfill a week, with two some days. Mr Hughes claims the changes will cost him £10,000 per week on the fines alone, around £500,000 a year. He fears an overall tax bill of £1.5m a year for a business having only a turnover of £750,000. Mr Hughes, whose premises are at Old Stone Road on the East Cramlington industrial estate, said: “No business can
No business can stand for this. We have not budgeted for this. Everybody is panicking stand for this. We have not budgeted for this. It is going to cause mass unemployment in the undustry. It is going to cause unrest of disproportionate scale. Everybody is panicking, no one knows what to do. “We want the Government to retract.” Mr Hughes said recycling stations like his will be deterred from taking their waste to landfill sites, despite being urged to recycle by the Government. A spokeswoman for Her Majesty’s Revenue and Custom said: “HMRC responded to concerns expressed by landfill operators that some companies were not paying the right rate of tax and, in the process, disadvantaging those who paid the correct rate. “We have addressed this anomaly by issuing fresh guidance to ensure a level playing field for all businesses working in landfill.”
Points failure causes Metro chaos
C M
WORKERS were caught up in commuter chaos after part of the Metro came to a halt during morning rush hour. A points failure at Pelaw in Gateshead was spotted at 8.30am yesterday which caused trains to be pulled from service
between Pelaw and Hebburn stations. Travellers were told to use their tickets on Go North East bus services while engineers worked to fix the problem. However, as engineers tried to rectify the fault Metro bosses had to withdraw trains
from Pelaw to Sunderland. All trains were back in service by 12.40pm but there were delays. A Metro spokesman said: “We apologise for the disruption this caused passengers.”
Y K
journallive.co.uk
News
Friday, June 1, 2012 THE JOURNAL
Picture: PAUL NORRIS www.journallive.co.uk/buyaphoto ref: 00688314
History in focus at fair this weekend A HUGE heritage fair for history buffs is open for business in Sunderland this weekend. As an addition to the Diamond Jubilee year celebrations, the Sunderland History Fair will be held for the third time, in the Seaburn Centre, Sunderland, tomorrow. Its organisers, the Sunderland Heritage Forum, hope the event will be even more successful than its predecessors, with over 60 groups attending the fair, which runs from 10am to 4pm and features displays and artefacts from the North East’s rich and vibrant history. This year, the theme is family artefacts and public participation. The public are encouraged to bring old photographs, memorabilia and even films to the event, with the hope that they can be advised on how best to restore them. The main organisations behind this theme are the Sunderland Antiquarian Society, based at the Sunderland Minster and Living History North East, which is based at the Donnison School. LHNE already has a vast collection of photographs and recordings which capture the essence of life in the area in their respective periods. Both groups welcome further contributions.
WORRIED Tony Hughes, who is complaining about the huge rise taxes for the disposal of waste and fears jobs will be lost
Fear tax hike will cost jobs Landfill trip is costing £1,000 more after rise Brian Daniel
was
£105
now *
£29
07733 002 822 [email protected]
WASTE transfer station boss in Northumberland has voiced fears for the future of his business as it faces a massive increase in taxes. Tony Hughes, who runs the venture in Cramlington, says the jobs of 13 people who work there are at risk because the Government has increased from £2.50 to £64 per tonne the tax it must pay to take certain materials to landfill. Mr Hughes said the move will cost his businesses hundreds of thousands of pounds over a year and is calling on ministers to re-think the changes. The Government says it has made the change to the tax in response to concerns
A
from operators of landfill sites that some businesses were paying more than others. Up until recently, Mr Hughes, 64, who has been in the industry 26 years and running the station for 12, paid tax of £2.50 per tonne of “trommel fines” – a kind of dust filtered out by a screen – which he took to landfill sites. The figure is the lower rate of tax for materials taken to skips, with the higher rate £64. But now Mr Hughes is having to pay the higher rate for such materials. A trip to one site last week which would have cost him around £54 prior to the changes will instead leave him with a bill for £1,290.71. The businessman says his company has in the past made an average of eight 15-tonne deliveries to landfill a week, with two some days. Mr Hughes claims the changes will cost him £10,000 per week on the fines alone, around £500,000 a year. He fears an overall tax bill of £1.5m a year for a business having only a turnover of £750,000. Mr Hughes, whose premises are at Old Stone Road on the East Cramlington industrial estate, said: “No business can
No business can stand for this. We have not budgeted for this. Everybody is panicking stand for this. We have not budgeted for this. It is going to cause mass unemployment in the undustry. It is going to cause unrest of disproportionate scale. Everybody is panicking, no one knows what to do. “We want the Government to retract.” Mr Hughes said recycling stations like his will be deterred from taking their waste to landfill sites, despite being urged to recycle by the Government. A spokeswoman for Her Majesty’s Revenue and Custom said: “HMRC responded to concerns expressed by landfill operators that some companies were not paying the right rate of tax and, in the process, disadvantaging those who paid the correct rate. “We have addressed this anomaly by issuing fresh guidance to ensure a level playing field for all businesses working in landfill.”
Points failure causes Metro chaos
C M
WORKERS were caught up in commuter chaos after part of the Metro came to a halt during morning rush hour. A points failure at Pelaw in Gateshead was spotted at 8.30am yesterday which caused trains to be pulled from service
between Pelaw and Hebburn stations. Travellers were told to use their tickets on Go North East bus services while engineers worked to fix the problem. However, as engineers tried to rectify the fault Metro bosses had to withdraw trains
from Pelaw to Sunderland. All trains were back in service by 12.40pm but there were delays. A Metro spokesman said: “We apologise for the disruption this caused passengers.”
Y K
