RESIDENTS living near to an award-winning pub say a 32ft tepee is making their lives a “nightmare” as it’s like living near a festival.

The Eagle and Child, in Ramsbottom, Bury, Greater Manchester, erected the structure in its beer garden during the pandemic.

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The teepee seats up to 72 people and has been described by the pub’s owners, Daniel Thwaites, as an “essential part of the business”.

It is used to host events including weddings, christenings and birthday parties.

However, the pub, which was crowned UK ‘Pub of the Year’ in 2017, has now been ordered to remove the teepee and an outdoor bar following complaints from neighbours.

Aimee Burgess, who lives opposite the pub in Whalley Road, claims the “constant noise” made by people attending events at the teepee was “like having a festival outside the house”.

On one occasion, she claimed she was awoken by revellers performing karaoke outside the pub at 1am.

“It’s ridiculous,” she said. “It’s like having a festival outside the house with the amount of music, people wooing and cheering, and bottles smashing. It’s constant.”

When the teepee was first built, Ms Burgess said it was “absolutely fine”.

But, as more events began to be held at the pub, the problems began.

“It’s only been bad since they started holding weddings and parties in the outside tent,” she said.

“At first, there was an event every weekend. Now there’s an event during the week and every Friday, Saturday and Sunday night.”

A shortage of parking spaces at the pub means that customers often end up parking their cars on surrounding roads, Ms Burgess claimed.

“It’s mayhem in terms of parking,” she explained. “On a weekend, we have to be back by half six if we want to park anywhere close to our house.

“There have been times when we have had to park a five or ten minute walk down the road.”

Ms Burgess said she had contacted the council to explore the possibility of a residential parking scheme being introduced.

“The pub are trying to make everyone happy and I do feel for them, but they needed to be doing more before it got to this point,” she said.

“The teepee itself is fine, it’s just not a pub that was made for events. It was great as a gastropub.

“The beer garden is lovely and has stunning views but it’s not the place for an outdoor venue for weddings, birthdays and bar mitzvahs.”

PLANNING APPLICATION REJECTED

Earlier this month, Bury Council rejected a retrospective planning application for permanent retention of a circular tented ‘teepee’, outside bar, pergola and toilet block.

It came after neighbours raised objections about issues including noise and waste being thrown into rear gardens from the beer garden.

Planners at Bury Council said the application was refused mainly on noise and traffic issues, plus design and appearance.

A planning report found that the plans “would have a serious and detrimental impact on visual and residential amenity”.

It also expressed concerns about on site parking as the pub only has 11 spaces.

Every Friday, Saturday and Sunday, we are having other people’s parties inflicted on us

Local resident

One man who lives in nearby Cheshire Court said he was among those who objected to the planning application.

“I’ve lived in this house for the best part of 28 years and it’s only in the last three I’ve had to complain,” said the man, who asked not to be named.

“It’s a quiet residential area. Since they have introduced that, it’s caused a lot of issues for the residents.

“Every Friday, Saturday and Sunday, we are having other people’s parties inflicted on us.

“The music starts at about one in the afternoon and the noise goes up as more and more people arrive.

“You get singalongs and people banging on the table. There are times when I can feel the baselines in my windows.

“They are having a good time but putting a tent slap bang in the middle of a residential area has been a nightmare for the last three years.

“It would be nice if the venue could contain that within walls rather than a teepee.”

‘DOUBLE PARKING’

As well as “severe noise” late at night, he said another issue was customers “double parking” on Cheshire Court.

On occasions, he says car have been parked on the street for several days after an event.

“The surrounding area is being used as an overspill car park for the pub,” he said. “If they have got a lot of customers then there is not a space anywhere along this street.

“Sometimes there are cars parked all the way down to the motorway bridge.”

He said items have also been thrown over neighbours’ fences, including stones, glass bottles and vape refills.

“We can’t do anything without experiencing the activities going at the pub,” he explained. “I don’t know what the solution is short of it being put back to what it was.

“Businesses are having a hard time but you shouldn’t be able to run a business if it’s massively detrimental to local residents.

“If they had done this and they were somewhere in the middle of a field and weren’t disturbing anybody then good luck.

“To introduce it to this area has caused such a nuisance for the last three years.

“This argument that the pub was there first so they get carte blanche is nonsense.”

When there’s an event, parking is chaos round here

Jon Walker

Jon Walker moved into his home in Peel Brow in October 2021.

He accused the pub of being “disengaged” with residents, as he said: “It doesn’t feel like a local pub. It feels like an events space.

“A lot of the clientele are not from the area. They drive to the pub and park on the street.

“When there’s an event, parking is chaos round here.

“It p***** people off.

“It would be nice if the pub was more engaged with the local community and came and chatted to us.

“It’s odd that you would get an outdoor events space in the middle of a residential area.”

Ramsbottom councillor Gareth Staples-Jones has since called for compromise after being “very disappointed” by the decision.

He said: “As ward councillors, we were not made aware of this decision.

“If residents have concerns or issues relating to the teepee, it would have been helpful to have known prior or at the time of the issue arising so ward councillors or council officers could approach the brewery and pub to find a middle ground and a way to resolve.

“Waiting until a retrospective planning application to hammer in nails feels wrong.

“I will be working with our enforcement team to ensure we’re doing our best to promote places like Eagle & Child whilst also listening to residents’ concerns.

“Rammy is an attractive destination to live, eat, relax and be part of a wonderful community – we need to grow that by working with businesses and the community.”

Earlier this week a spokesman for Daniel Thwaites said that following the decision “we are currently reviewing our options and are aiming to meet with Bury’s planning team to find a solution that works for all parties”.

“Rammy is an attractive destination to live, eat, relax and be part of a wonderful community – we need to grow that by working with businesses and the community.”

Previously, a spokesperson for Daniel Thwaites said: “The teepee was installed post-Covid as part of The Eagle and Child’s recovery plan and has since been very well received by customers and local community groups.

“Following a recent planning decision, we are currently reviewing our options and are aiming to meet with Bury’s planning team to find a solution that works for all parties.”

The Sun Online has approached the pub and Daniel Thwaites for further comment.

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Good morning and welcome to your Morning Briefing for Friday 25 October 2024. To get this in your inbox every morning click here.

FCA records 40% rise in complaints about non-financial misconduct

The Financial Conduct Authority has recorded a 40% increase in non-financial misconduct complaints including bullying, sexual harassment and discrimination last year.

The findings are from the FCA’s survey which looks at how investment banks, brokers and wholesale insurance firms record and manage allegations of non-financial misconduct.

The survey of over 1,000 firms found that the number of allegations reported increased between 2021 and 2023.

The Wellesley Grove Journal

Hosting the MM Awards this year was comedian Lucy Porter, who did such a fantastic job of pointing out how full of acronyms this industry is, we wanted to highlight it here….

“I wanted to find out more about you, so I asked Tom and his lovely team, and they said that these are the Money Marketing Awards, or the MMAs.

“They said that, in the room tonight, we might have CEOs, CFOs, MDs and VPs from companies like CCLA, HSBC, HL, AJ Bell and M&G.

“They said some of you might be members of the PFS, the CII or the CISI. They said you might have MCSI after your name, or be a proud owner of a DipFa or RQF Level 4 diploma.”

Quote Of The Day

Keeping a pot for life will make it far easier to keep track of and boost engagement as members can see their pension grow in one place rather than having a fragmented picture through scattered pensions.

-Helen Morrissey, head of retirement analysis, Hargreaves Lansdown comments on the lost pension problem, with an estimated 3.3m pots going astray.

In Other News

The Income Protection Task Force (IPTF) has announced ambitious plans for 2025 as part of its annual membership presentation.

The plans outlined will see the continuation of some of the organisations key work including 7Advisers, Income Protection Action Week, workstream meetings and the return of the Let’s Talk IP podcast.

It will also include several ambitious projects for the year ahead focusing on the organisation’s key objectives — education, collaboration and insight.

The group also announced an organisation restructure including the introduction of a Board to provide professional oversight.

Andrew Wibberley will step down as co-chair after four years, with Jo Miller becoming managing director and Board chair and Vicky Churcher becoming executive director and vice chair.

Keir Starmer hints at tax rises on people with income from assets (The Guardian)

UK consumer and business confidence weaken ahead of Budget (Financial Times)

Europe seeks to underpin Russia sanctions, fearing Trump overhaul (Reuters)

Did You See?

The government appears to have four key objectives ahead of its first Budget next week:

• Cover the £22bn black hole it has uncovered
• Make the UK pension system less or non-dependent upon state support
• Encourage the UK population to become more financially self-reliant
• Encourage investment in UK business

Richard Hulbert, insight analyst at Defaqto, makes four big predictions ahead of the Budget.

VINTED has crashed leaving shoppers and sellers locked out of their accounts.

Over 1,000 users have complained about being unable to use the second-hand marketplace early Friday morning.

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Reports on Downdector show over 71% of customers have been unable to use the app.

Meanwhile, another 21% have not been able to log into their accounts.

The issue appeared to peak at 8:30am with over 1,300 reports being made.

People have taken to X, formally known as Twitter to complain.

One user wrote: “Is Vinted App not working for anybody I’ve got the wheel of eternity but it’s not loading?”

Others said that when they try to log on to the app on their phone they are met with a message stating that something has gone wrong.

The issue comes as it is payday for thousands of workers across the UK, with many looking to treat themselves to some online shopping,

Another user said: “It’s payday and Vinted isn’t working? Like… what else I meant to do all day.”

The Sun has approached Vinted for a comment.

This is not the first time the shopping app has crashed.

Customers reported a similar issue back in September, and also in May.

Vinted has skyrocketed in popularity over the past few years, as it has become an easy way for households to flog their old items for extra cash.

It has become a lucrative business for many people, with some racking up £1,000’s each year by selling online.

Vinted has capitalised on this, launching this month a “pro” version of the app, which would allow sellers to register as sole traders and be identified as professional sellers

The upgrade is free to use and users can sell an unlimited number of of items for free.

However, The Sun revealed the second-hand seller had paused new registrations to its new professional selling feature after it made some users’ National Insurance (NI) numbers publicly available, putting them at risk of fraud.

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) advises that you should not share your NI number with anyone who does not need it to prevent identity fraud.

The Sun has learned that the Independent Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is now investigating the breach after a number of sellers reported it.

Commenting on the issue a spokesperson for Vinted said: “For a small number of Vinted Pro members, their NI number was visible on their profile page.

“While our teams were working on fixing the issue completely, we temporarily halted the ability to upgrade accounts to Vinted Pro.

“We apologise to anyone that was affected and encourage members who have questions to reach out to our member support team.”

What can I do if my money isn’t paid out?

If you’re struggling to get your cash from Vinted, first get in touch with the app and let it know you haven’t received your money.

Provide evidence to show you haven’t received the money such as your latest bank statements.

There is also information on Vinted’s help page for users who haven’t seen their money hit their bank account. Visit: vinted.co.uk/help/73-my-withdrawal-has-failed.

You can contact the website’s member support team directly via the app if you are still experiencing issues.

If you’re still having issues or aren’t happy with how you have been treated, you may be able to complain to a third party dispute resolution service, such as Complain.biz..

Do you need to pay tax on items sold on Vinted?

QUICK facts on tax from the team at Vinted…

• The only time that an item might be taxable is if it sells for more than £6,000 and there is profit (sells for more than you paid for it). Even then, you can use your capital gains tax-free allowance of £3,000 to offset it.
• Generally, only business sellers trading for profit (buying goods with the purpose of selling for more than they paid for them) might need to pay tax. Business sellers who trade for profit can use a tax-free allowance of £1,000, which has been in place since 2017.
• More information here: vinted.co.uk/no-changes-to-taxes

WITH just days to go until Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ first budget – we look at how some state pensioners could end up paying tax and how to avoid it. 

One move the Labour government have been rumoured to be considering is an extension on freezing income tax thresholds. 

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These determine how much you can earn before paying basic, higher, or additional rate tax.

The Personal Allowance – the amount you can earn before you start paying income tax – has been set at £12,570 since 2021. 

It is meant to remain frozen until 2028, but the rumour is that Rachel Reeves could continue the freeze to 2030 or beyond.

Freezing tax thresholds – the point where you start paying higher rates of income tax are also frozen – is a stealth move that’s making us all pay more.

As wages rise, more of us are being dragged into higher tax bands.

A study by the London School of Economics found that by the 2027/8 tax year, the average person will hand over 13.6% of their income to the taxman, up from 11.6% in 2021/2 – all thanks to static tax thresholds.

It’s not just workers feeling the pinch. Pensioners are getting hit too, with the unmoving thresholds affecting their finances as well. 

Your pension – including the state pension – isn’t exempt from income tax.

However, up until now, most pensioners have avoided paying it, thanks to the Personal Allowance shielding their income.  

“Frozen tax thresholds are stealthily pushing up our tax bills and we face the very real prospect that in the coming years someone solely reliant on the state pension will have to pay tax on it,” says Helen Morrissey, head of retirement analysis at Hargreaves Lansdown.

Thanks to the Triple Lock the state pension rises every year – it’s set to go up by 4.1% next April.

The Triple Lock guarantees that your state pension increases annually by whichever is higher: average wage growth, inflation or 2.5%.

It is a generous safeguard, boosting the full state pension from £9,339.20 in 2021 to £12,016.75 from April 2025.

But this could lead to a collision with the Personal Allowance, which is frozen at £12,570, just a few hundred pounds above the state pension. 

If the Triple Lock triggers a rise of 4.6% or more in April 2026 anyone receiving the full state pension will be liable to pay income tax on it. 

With pension increases of 10.1% in 2023 and 6.7% in 2024, it’s highly likely the state pension could exceed the Personal Allowance soon.

“Rachel Reeves’ decision to brutally scale back the Winter Fuel Payment will see millions of pensioners taking a hit of up to £300 later this year,” says Tom Selby, director of public policy at AJ Bell. 

“There could, however, be a silver lining coming in April 2025 in the form of a bumper state pension boost linked to average earnings growth figures.

Although even this could come with a catch.

“While the personal allowance remains frozen, more and more people are going to be dragged over the threshold, with millions of retirees just receiving state income at risk of being dragged into paying income tax.”

The idea of paying tax on a state benefit might sound crazy, but that’s exactly where we’re heading. 

One option could be for the government to introduce a pensioner tax allowance – something the Conservatives dubbed the ‘Triple Lock Plus’ before the election.

This would keep the state pension below the tax-free threshold. 

But Labour wasn’t having it at the time, calling the plan not ‘credible’.

Even if the government finds a way to shield the state pension from income tax, frozen thresholds will still drag millions of pensioners into paying tax during retirement.

Just a small private pension could be enough to push them over the Personal Allowance. 

“The triple lock may increase state pensions, but with tax thresholds frozen, many will find themselves paying taxes on what should be a lifeline during retirement,” says Jon Greer, head of retirement policy at Quilter. 

“For those with a combination of state and private pensions, the hit will be felt even sooner, eroding their incomes at a time when financial security is crucial.

“Compounding this pressure, Reeves’ decision to axe the Winter Fuel Payment adds salt to the wound.

“Together, these policies threaten to squeeze pensioners from all sides.”

If you are worried about paying income tax on your pension, there are steps you can take to reduce what you owe. 

Right now, most people who rely solely on the state pension for their retirement don’t pay any tax.

But if you’ve got the state pension and other sources of income in retirement you may face a bill from HMRC.

“Pensioners looking to manage their tax bills should plan their incomes carefully,” says Morrissey.

One trick is to make the most of your tax-free lump sum. 

Most of us can take 25% of our private or workplace pensions tax-free, but you don’t have to grab it all at once.

You can take a small amount each year to top up your income, letting you take less from your taxable pension. 

For example, if you need £15,000 a year to live on, and you’ve got the full state pension plus £60,000 in your private pension, here’s a trick. 

After your state pension, you still need £3,500 a year.

Since you can take £15,000 of your pension tax-free, you could take £1,000 as income from your pension and £2,500 from your tax-free lump sum. 

This way, you’ve got the cash you need, without handing any of it to the taxman.

Another option is to boost your pension income without a tax bill by dipping into your savings.

“Any money taken from an ISA is tax free so this could prove handy in keeping those bills down,” says Morrissey. 

You can use your savings just like the tax-free lump sum, reducing how much you need from your private pension and keeping your taxable income lower. 

But in the end, the Government needs to face up to the fact that we’re heading toward a crazy situation where pensioners are taxed on their state pension – and they need to act before it’s too late. 

Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing money-sm@news.co.uk.

Plus, you can join our Sun Money Chats and Tips Facebook group to share your tips and stories

Such a slay

Competition was tough in the ‘Best selfie’ competition at the Money Marketing Awards this year.

Amid a swathe of strong entries, mortgage and protection adviser Sheun Oke scooped the prize for her slay selfie — very demure.

This did, of course, leave many disappointed. But fear not, Greg Moss and Tom Ham — there is always next year for you to up your rizz.

FS… full of BS?

Hosting the MM Awards this year was comedian Lucy Porter, who did such a fantastic job of pointing out how full of acronyms this industry is, we wanted to highlight it here….

“I wanted to find out more about you, so I asked Tom and his lovely team, and they said that these are the Money Marketing Awards, or the MMAs.

“They said that, in the room tonight, we might have CEOs, CFOs, MDs and VPs from companies like CCLA, HSBC, HL, AJ Bell and M&G.

“They said some of you might be members of the PFS, the CII or the CISI. They said you might have MCSI after your name, or be a proud owner of a DipFa or RQF Level 4 diploma.

“They said you might be responsible for overseeing your company’s ESG framework, CSR policies, DNI initiatives, maybe even GDPR compliance.

“They said you’re probably interested in how developments such as new AI models, like ChatGPT, will affect your industry. And they said, whoever you are, you’ve got to hit your KPIs, get a good ROI for investors, all as the FCA breathes down your neck.

“And obviously, like the rest of us, you’re probably wondering whether HMG and the BoE are doing enough about inflation on the RPI, while also hoping everything’s going to be A-OK with the UK’s GDP now that GB said TTF ends with the EU.

“And, at that point, I just thought, ‘OMG, WTF, LOL — your industry’s full of BS.’”

Out of context

‘Soon to be known as Jsn Wndsr’

Money Marketing reader Tony Faraday takes the opportunity to poke fun at e-less Abrdn as it hires a new CEO.

‘I’ve just been reading a wealth manager’s brochure and it highlighted how their fee structure was simple and transparent — but it didn’t disclose what the fees were’

IFA Robert Lewis points out a prime example of disingenuousness.

‘The job search continues. I gave up being dressed as a balloon at a theme park after I found some angry customers really upsetting. They had a right pop at me’

Writer Simon Read can always be relied upon for top dad jokes.

‘One common mistake I see people make with their money is that they spend it all. Follow me for more financial insights’

Obvious but valid perception from adviser Douglas Boneparth.

This article featured in the October 2024 edition of Money Marketing. 

If you would like to subscribe to the monthly magazine, please click here.

A LUCKY lottery winner nearly missed that he had scooped a £500,000 jackpot after he “assumed” there was a lag on the system.

A computer maintenance engineer is finally celebrating his £500,000 lottery win a year after having surgery for cancer.

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The win comes after a painful 24 hours of waiting as John Lingard, from Great Yarmouth in Norfolk, said he initially saw no increase on his bank account’s available funds.

“I assumed there must be a lag or something on the system, so went to work and didn’t give it another thought,” he said.

“Even when I logged on later that day to buy my EuroMillions ticket, I didn’t look more deeply into the message that popped up congratulating me on a win.

“It was only 24 hours later that I finally read my messages and the penny started to drop, although not fully, because at first glance I thought it was £500.10.

“I was just on my way out the door, heading to the supermarket, but when I worked out that it was actually £500,000 plus £10 on another line, I decided driving wasn’t a good idea so walked to the local shop,” he added.

John bought a Lucky Dip ticket for the September 25 draw via the National Lottery app, and his winning numbers were 13, 15, 18, 30 and 33 with Thunderball number 7.

He said he “felt like I was on cloud nine” when he realised he had won £500,000 in the Thunderball draw.

The engineer’s lotto success follows a nasty cancer diagnosis which saw him have one of his kidneys removed to stop the spread of the disease.

He has since been given the all clear.

The 66-year-old plans on spending some of his winnings with friends in Tenerife – a place he visited a year ago to find some peace and calm after he was first diagnosed.

“It’s crazy to think that at the start of the year I would come to the beach to find inner peace in all the turmoil of the treatment and my worries about the future,” he said.

He added: “I couldn’t have dreamt that less than 12 months later I would be here celebrating a National Lottery win!”

His trip will be the first week of unpaid leave for the engineer since he started work at 16.

“I visit Tenerife three or four times a year, but when I left in September I told friends I probably couldn’t make it back before early 2025,” he said.

“Now, thanks to my Thunderball luck, I can afford to take a week off – unpaid – and head back for a little winter sun, and to celebrate with my friends over there,” he continued.

The engineer also said he might do a little house-hunting while on the island to have a “bolthole for the future” and so that he can share some of his fortune with those closest to him.

John added that he has no plans to retires but is keen to spend his money doing fun things with friends.

But first it will take some time adjusting to his new fortune.

He said: “I started playing when the National Lottery first began 30 years ago and, while all along I’ve believed that one day I would win big, now it’s happened it’s taken a bit of getting used to!”

“And having been through such a challenging time with my cancer diagnosis and treatment, I want to be sure I make the most of every moment, whether that’s work, rest or play.”