BARKER and Stonehouse is holding a clearance sale of more than £1 million worth of stock from its Cannon Park store in Middlesbrough from Saturday (28) to prepare for its relocation to the new £4.5m store on Teesside Retail Park, which baking legend Mary Berry will officially open on Saturday, March 28.

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COAST & Country has been shortlisted for the "Outstanding Campaign of the Year" category in the UK Housing Awards 2015 for its ‘Payday Loan Danger Day’ initiative.

Staff from the company, which owns and manages 10,000 homes in Redcar and Cleveland, took to the streets to warn of the dangers of taking out a Payday Loan to cover the long gap between December and January pay days, and to highlight other forms of affordable alternatives, including credit unions.

Now in their 19th year, this year’s awards attracted more than 250 entries. The winners will be announced at a ceremony at the Lancaster London Hotel on April 21.

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THE radical shake-up of pensions and the tax regime, announced by Chancellor George Osborne last year, is the biggest revolution in the industry for decades, according to Yorkshire accountants and business advisers Garbutt & Elliott.

The changes take effect from April 6, 2015 and the company is holding two free seminars to explain them. Nick Scull, tax partner, said the new rules were exciting and, on the whole, beneficial, but people need to be aware of a number of factors.

These include: no need to take an annuity on retirement or at age 75; the potential to access all or part of the pension fund at will from age 55; all untaken funds remain outside the Estate for Inheritance Tax (IHT) purposes; the money passes tax-free to the spouse etc where death occurs prior to age 75.

The seminars are at The Chambers, Park Place, Leeds, on Tuesday, March 10, and at Merchant Taylors, Aldwark, York on Wednesday, March 11. Both at 9.30am. Book a place on 01904 464100 or events@garbutt-elliott.co.uk.