Lincolnshire County Council’s executive is commissioning an independent report into the potential impact of National Grid’s proposal to build 420 50-metre pylons to run 140km of high voltage cables through the Lincolnshire countryside.

Council leader Martin Hill said: “The council’s view is that National Grid has dismissed a valid alternative of putting the cables on the sea-bed, and instead plan to blight our landscape and affect our countryside and coastal communities for generations to come. “We are keen to take urgent action to get all the information about the options. If necessary we will take legal action to challenge the reasoning that this infrastructure is the best solution.”

James Pinchbeck, partner at Streets Chartered Accountants, comments on the Spring Budget. The headline grabbing announcement from the Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s Spring Budget, and perhaps his last before an election, was the 2% cut in rate of National Insurance (NI). This second cut follows a similar cut given in last year’s Autumn Statement and comes with an election looming. For some it might have felt like that ubiquitous loss leader that retailers prompt to get you to buy so as to take your mind off the fact that whilst making such a purchase, perhaps one you hadn’t intended to buy, you might buy something else at higher price and margin. In this case, the reduction in NI perhaps coupled with the freezing of alcohol duty, the fuel price cap and changes to child benefit are all sweeteners to give us a sense that things are getting better and we are better off than we might be really. This aside there were a number of key announcements that will affect both businesses and individuals. The freeze on alcohol duty no doubt will be welcome for both consumers and the licenced trade. Perhaps though more could have been done in light of the cost-of-living crisis and the impact it is having on our pubs, clubs and eateries. Plans to scrap the furnished holiday lets regime perhaps comes with a double edged sword in that hopefully it can address the issue of access to affordable homes for those living in holiday destinations, but equally will it adversely affect the provision of holiday accommodation for holiday makers. Turning to property, there was a reduction in the higher rate of property capital gains tax from 28% to 24% – a move aimed to stimulate the market for sales of properties caught by the higher tax rate. The Chancellor also announced the abolition of stamp duty relief for those buying more than one dwelling, a relief known as the Multiple Home Relief. Many small businesses including the self employed will have welcomed the news that the VAT registration threshold will rise from £85,000 to £90,000 from the start of April. For those businesses looking to invest in plant and machinery, whilst no date was given as to when it might come into effect, the Chancellor stated that plans were in place to draft new legislation so that leased assets could be included in Full Expensing for the purchase of plant and machinery. Whilst this may not affect many reading this, Jeremy Hunt confirmed the non-domiciliary status will be abolished and it will be replaced by a ‘simpler and fairer’ system from April 2025. The current system means that those living in the UK with overseas links and financial interest only pay UK tax on money earned here, going forward they will be required to be taxed on worldwide income. For those engaged in the creative industries sector, news of the £1bn additional tax relief must have been as good news as perhaps being nominated for a BAFTA. Not least that measures include a tax credit for UK independent films with budgets under £15m. Also announced was a 40 per cent relief on gross business rates until 2034 for eligible film studios. The Chancellor also said the government will remove the 80 per cent cap for visual effects costs in the audio-visual expenditure credit. When it comes to the public sector though it would seem the only real beneficiary was the NHS with a commitment to a public sector productivity plan. There were no real announcements around the much needed support for education, skills, emergency services, nor our local authorities, all facing the pressures of the cost of living crisis and often increasing demands. Overall, was it a Budget to gain or even regain voter confidence, or did it fall short? Did it feel more like a government that is tired and lacking ideas and one that has perhaps lost its way? Perhaps we will know more over the next few weeks and months on the run up to the 2024 election.   For the devil in the detail there is still time to book for Streets Chartered Accountants’ post Spring Budget webinar which takes place from 11am until 12noon on Thursday 07th March. Register to join us live and/or to receive a post broadcast recording to watch on catch up. https://www.streetsweb.co.uk/about/events/spring-budget-2024/

ABP’s Humber Container Terminal at the Port of Hull has taken delivery of a new state of the art reach stacker to boost its container handling capability in Hull, which, with its Immingham counterpart, is the leading northern England gateway for short sea container traffic with Europe and the Baltic. The new truck joins the ten-strong fleet of reach stackers used across the container terminal to move and store containerised cargo and load out containers onto lorries for their onward travel. The new reach stackers are the latest addition to ABP’s £50 million investment plan at the container terminals in the Ports of Hull and Immingham completed in recent years. Simon Bird, Regional Director for the Humber ABP ports said: “ABP has the space and state-of-the-art service across its container terminals here on the Humber for those looking for a reliable and resilient route to market. “Our northern access makes the Humber a great solution for retailers and suppliers looking to build more sustainable supply chains by reducing road miles for their customers.” ABP’s Humber Container Terminals at the Ports of Immingham and Hull have become a significant gateway for containerised cargo in the UK, offering, flexibility, value added services and excellent road and rail access. The Port of Hull Container Terminal, spanning 30 acres, has the capacity to handle more than 400.000 units per year. The terminal is complemented by ABP’s Port of Immingham Container Terminal; together they welcome over 26 vessels a week, connecting trade routes from European and global ports, handling 243,000 containers combined in 2023.

Leeds-based law firm Gordons has been hired by the UK subsidiary of global sports and outdoor equipment and apparel retailer Decathlon to provide regulatory advice amidst growing sales.

The firm will advise Decathlon UK on product stewardship and consumer law for the company, which operates 50 stores and employs more than 1,500 people. In August, the UK business reported its revenue had reached £300m for the first time in its history.

Decathlon’s UK conformity & quality leader Dorota Wypych, said: “Gordons has been instrumental in our ongoing product compliance efforts.

“Their in-depth knowledge of regulation has been invaluable, helping to navigate the complexities in dealing with product compliance enquiries. Their expertise and clear communication made the whole process smooth and successful.”

Gordons partner and head of regulatory, Simon Tingle, said: “Decathlon has become one of the most prominent names in the global sports retail space.

“We are looking forward to playing our part to help the UK business tackle continually evolving regulatory challenges with our straight-talking advice grounded in retail expertise.”

The Mayor of West Yorkshire and leader of Leeds City Council have written to the Prime Minister, urging him to ensure land around Leeds Station continues to be safeguarded. Leeds Station is at capacity, and land to the south could provide space for expansion – boosting economic growth across West Yorkshire and improving reliability across the rail network in the North. The Mayor of West Yorkshire, Tracy Brabin, said: “Failing to expand the capacity at Leeds Station would hold West Yorkshire and the North’s economy back for decades to come. “We’re an economic powerhouse desperate to grow further – I’m calling on the Government to sit down and work with us to find a solution. “Don’t force us to fight with one hand tied behind our back as we seek to create a better-connected North.” Cllr James Lewis, Leader of Leeds City Council, said: “The value of our city’s station to our economy as well as that of Yorkshire and the North cannot be overstated, and yet we are already approaching capacity. “We must protect the limited opportunities we have to ensure the station and railway infrastructure in central Leeds can continue to grow in order to meet ever-increasing passenger demand and not become a bottleneck for other significant new schemes such as the welcome new station for Bradford and Northern Powerhouse Rail. “It is vital that safeguarding restrictions on land around the station are extended until the current study is completed, to help ensure that opportunities to better connect our city with the wider region and the rest of the country are not lost through short-sighted decision making.”   The letter in full: We are writing to draw your urgent attention to the future of rail connections to and capacity within Leeds City Station – the North of England’s busiest rail station – and the huge strategic risks that any hasty release of HS2 safeguarded land in Leeds would bring to securing the long-term economic potential of our railway for the North as a whole. Plans to develop the station have been uncertain since the Government’s decision to cancel the eastern leg of HS2 in 2021 and were put further at risk by your statements last autumn to accelerate the release of land safeguarded for HS2 delivery. Our concerns were further heightened by the Network North document published at that time which, whilst including welcome commitments to the West Yorkshire mass transit and Bradford station schemes, did not include any commitments to Leeds City Station. Nonetheless, we had been led to believe that the Government shared our ambition to secure the right solution for Leeds and that this would be provided by thorough a robust evidence-led study of rail connectivity between the Midlands, Yorkshire and the North East (“the MYNE study”). This was required by the Transport Select Committee and committed to by the Rail Minister. However, we now understand that a decision to release HS2 safeguarded land, that could provide new south-facing platforms and onward rail connections, is to be taken imminently, before the MYNE study has even commenced. Leeds City Station is the busiest and most congested rail station in the North of England. Sitting at the centre of the rail network, which connects Liverpool, Manchester, York, Hull, Sheffield, Newcastle, Birmingham, and Edinburgh. As such, the station provides the same national hub role on the east of the Pennines as Manchester Piccadilly does to the west. It is also at the most important hub for the West Yorkshire economy. Services into Leeds from Bradford, Kirklees, Wakefield, and Calderdale have shaped our modern economic footprint. Towns such as Ilkley, Halifax and Hebden Bridge, alongside places such as Harrogate beyond our boundaries, now providing some of the greatest concentration of higher skilled communities due to their rail connections. Collectively, Leeds City Station and its connections provide perhaps the greatest single example of how transport connectivity to our Northern cities can genuinely unlock economic agglomeration and transformation. The city of Leeds continues to grow, with an average of 3,000 new homes delivered annually, population growth higher than the national average, and GVA projected to increase by £12.9 billion by 2040. To support this growth, Leeds rail station must expand, with passenger numbers forecast to exceed 43 million users within the next twenty years alone. Hence, it was a major surprise that commitment to increase the capacity at the station was not part of the Network North plans. The station’s potential to secure further economic benefit is currently constrained. A third of delays on the rail network in the North can be found here, and 50% of passengers travelling through the station have their trains delayed or cancelled. This situation will worsen if improvements are made elsewhere on the railway without addressing the Leeds hub properly. However, the land is safeguarded by HS2 Ltd only until this Summer. We understand that a decision is in front of you to not extend this safeguarding, well ahead of the MYNE study work that is required. We are aware of some hasty work within government, with some headlines from which DfT officials only very recently revealed to our officials. That work falls well short of the study commitments that have been made and would bring strategic risks for West Yorkshire and the North for the remainder of this century. Therefore, we have to implore you in the strongest terms to instruct HS2 Ltd to extend the safeguarding on the corridor between Clayton Junction and Leeds City Station for a period to allow the MYNE study to be completed. We would be grateful if you could confirm this decision at the earliest possible opportunity and would ask that you discuss with us if you are not in agreement with safeguarding the land. We and our officials remain committed to working with you and your officials, to determine the parcels of land which needs to remain safeguarded, so not to delay disposal of land that is no longer required. We can work co-operatively on this matter to ensure the residents of Leeds, the commuters of West Yorkshire, and passengers across the North have the appropriate transport infrastructure to reach our full potential.

The government has approved Kirklees Council’s proposals for the new West Yorkshire Life Sciences Investment Zone. The news continues to build on billions of pounds of planning investment across Huddersfield, including major transformative projects such as the council’s Huddersfield Blueprint, the Transpennine Route Upgrade and further government regeneration funding. In November last year, the government announced a new ‘Investment Zone’ for Kirklees and wider West Yorkshire, which will focus on supporting innovation in the health, wellbeing and digital industries. This means that alongside other local authorities across West Yorkshire, Kirklees Council is set to receive government investment to boost innovation, productivity and growth, and support the commercialisation of important research in these areas. This investment is because the government has recognised Kirklees and wider West Yorkshire as being a region of ‘high potential’. Since the funding was announced in November, Kirklees Council has been working closely with the West Yorkshire Combined Authority to provide the government with a detailed business plan for the funding. The council’s plans for the Investment Zone will build on Kirklees’ existing local strengths in innovation and research, and will aim to help develop a strong cluster of interconnected businesses, suppliers and local research institutions, extending beyond Kirklees to other Investment Zone sites across Kirklees, Bradford and the rest of West Yorkshire. The proposals Kirklees Council put forward centre on its Station to Stadium Enterprise Corridor – a scheme of work that’s all about boosting economic development in Huddersfield, creating new opportunities for businesses to grow and develop, and more high quality jobs for local people.  This corridor stretches from Huddersfield Railway Station to the John Smith’s Stadium, anchored by the new National Health Innovation Campus (NHIC). The NHIC is a transformative project led by the University of Huddersfield, which is set to improve health outcomes and lead innovation in healthcare for the north of England, the UK and internationally. The new campus will deliver a mix of world-class research, teaching and public health facilities, including clinical diagnostics, skin integrity and infection prevention. The Investment Zone programme will speed up work on the NHIC, and bring forward other sites for potential investment within that area to attract more businesses looking to colocate and benefit from links to the campus. Kirklees Council will also be investing in key infrastructure to unlock barriers to development, and improving links for pedestrians and cyclists across the area. Revenue funding will also provide more business and innovation support for organisations in the health and digital sectors. This support will build on some local programmes which have already received government funding, including the university’s Health Innovation Partnership and ‘Thrive’ – a new programme to support brand new businesses and entrepreneurs in the health and wellbeing industry, which is kicking off in April. Thrive will be based at the Glass Box, the flagship business centre for Business Kirklees (the council’s business support service), which sits right next to the NHIC. Both of these projects are already funded by the government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. Councillor Cathy Scott, Leader of Kirklees Council, says: “This is an incredibly exciting time to be part of the health and wellbeing sector in Kirklees. “The West Yorkshire Life Sciences Investment Zone will allow us to build on all the fantastic research and innovation already taking place, and really put us on the map for health tech.  It’s a sector where we’re already making waves, and now that these proposals have been approved we’ll be doing so much to support new innovation, to help businesses grow and thrive, and to get brand new ideas off the ground which could transform our healthcare systems in years to come. “This is fantastic news for Huddersfield, for Kirklees, and for West Yorkshire as a whole.” Mayor of West Yorkshire, Tracy Brabin said: “We are creating the future of Healthtech and Digital Tech here in West Yorkshire. “Our universities are conducting groundbreaking research, our businesses are creating cutting-edge innovations, and our people are developing the critical skills they need to make the breakthroughs of tomorrow. “This investment will catapult our strengths to the next level as we work to build a stronger, brighter West Yorkshire that works for all.” Now that Kirklees Council’s proposals for the Investment Zone have been approved, it will continue to work closely with the West Yorkshire Combined Authority to agree how each of these individual areas will move forward.