CITY NEWS

The volunteer programme at the Urban Garden –described as the “smallest garden centre with the biggest heart” –has had a clear impact on those taking part in 2022, says Director Matt Smail. “Even before we opened, The Urban Garden became a popular destination for those wanting to contribute to a project while meeting new friends, reducing isolation and learning new skills. We have continued with this in 2022 with 10 volunteers attending our general volunteering day when we are closed and 2–3 people when we are open Thursdays to Sundays. This adds up to almost 5,000 hours of volunteer time.

One recent volunteer said “The Urban Garden took me on a pathway back to wellbeing that I feel I could not have found elsewhere –it gave me back a confidence and interest in life.”

The largest new urban public park in the south west for over 50 years has received planning permission. Bath-based landscape architects Grant Associates are leading on the six-acre public space design for Brabazon Park, set to be a modern reimagining of Britain’s historic tradition of urban parks and the beating social heart of Brabazon, the thriving new neighbourhood being built on the historic former Filton Airfield.

The design takes inspiration from aviation engineering, aiming to capture the historical, cultural and ecological uniqueness of the former airfield. The lake will be the focus of the park, creating a distinctive waterside and wetland environment, as well as being an integrated part of the overall sustainable urban drainage system for Brabazon. brabazon.co.uk; grant-associates.uk.com

Bath-based Truespeed has announced a £22 million investment across multiple south west locations including South Gloucestershire, North Somerset and Bath as it continues to rollout its ultrafast full fibre broadband throughout the region.

Truespeed has added 12 new areas to its rollout plan, expanding its network to South Gloucestershire where it has added Thornbury, Almondsbury, Bradley Stoke, Patchway, Stoke Gifford and Chipping Sodbury. In Bath, Truespeed is expanding its footprint in Bathwick, Widcombe and Combe Down. It is also adding the North Somerset areas of Uphill, Banwell and Sandford located to the south and east of Weston Super Mare, to its full fibre network.

This latest investment is set to bring guaranteed speed, ultrafast and ultra-reliable broadband to a further 43,000 properties across the region. Truespeed delivers guaranteed, symmetrical upload and download speeds of up to 900Mbps for residential customers and 10Gbps for business users. Truespeed has frozen prices until May 2023, offers a 30-day money back guarantee and has a Bath-based call centre that aims to answer calls within 30 seconds. truespeed.com

Beauty boost for Bath SAQUA Beauty has opened in the heart of Bath. Director Sevcan Caglar is a biologist aesthetician specialising in skin care, delaying ageing and creating younger looks. Born in Switzerland, she has degrees in Biology and Health Institutions Management. Sevcan has successfully completed over 50 training programmes in fields related to skin, face, body and their treatments.

Caglar creates a special mix of serums bespoke to a client’s needs and focuses on creating visible results. SAQUA treatments include dermal fillers (Juvaderm and Lumifil), anti-wrinkle injections (Botox and BoCouture), micro-needling (DermaPen), Fibroblast (Privé), mesotherapy (Paris Shine NCTF 135+, Toskani), skin care and facials with Image products and Casmara masks. All treatments are covered by insurers.

SAQUA awaits you in its new location in ‘The Corridor’, with five floors comprising retail shop, treatment rooms and offices. Sevcan Caglar at SAQUA is looking froward to beautifying everybody in Bath.

Mogers Drewett is launching a new campaign this Christmas to help support three foodbanks local to their offices in Bath, Sherborne and Wells. Sean McDonough, Managing Partner of Mogers Drewett, explains, “Mogers Drewett has a long history of supporting local charities and community activities. This year, we have decided to support our local foodbanks as we can see how deeply the cost-of-living crisis is affecting our communities and we really want to help.”

The Mogers Drewett office is accepting donations of long-life products, cleaning products and toiletries such as shower gel and deodorants, and launching a Christmas raffle. Raffle tickets cost just £1 and can be bought at The Mogers Drewett offices on the Lower Bristol Road, Bath. Prizes range from an overnight stay at an award-winning luxury hotel in Dorset, afternoon tea at the 5* Bath Spa Hotel to tickets to Bishop Palace in Wells, plus much more. All proceeds will go to support Bath Foodbank, Sherborne Foodbank and Wells Vineyard Foodbank. To learn more visit bath.foodbank.org.uk or donate at bath.foodbank.org.uk/give-help/donate-money/

Given the lockdown restrictions over the last few years many grandparentswill not have seen their grandchildren during this special time and will be looking forward to being able to do so this year and now that restrictions have eased.

However, for grandparents who have a child(ren) that have separated, Christmas can be a difficult time of year, regardless of Covid, when it comes to spending precious time with their grandchildren.

The family team at Mogers Drewett often get asked what rights grandparents have to see their grandchildren when their parents have separated.

Unlike the children’s parents, grandparents have no automatic legal right to see their grandchildren. Grandparents seeking to establish or maintain contact with their grandchildren following a separation have two options open to them.

•Agreement with parents – be that directly, at mediation or via solicitors •An application to Court for a Child Arrangements Order

For grandparents, an application to Court is often a longer and as a result more expensive 2-stage process, as they will need to request permission from the court to make an application in the first place.

Court proceedings are the last resort and wherever possible you should try and reach an agreement with the parents.

Given that Christmas often becomes a very emotive time of year, with separated parents themselves often finding it hard to agree arrangements, communication and discussions early on is key.

Whilst communication with the parents can be difficult, try not to take sides and remain neutral. The festive period can be a stressful and hectic time for parents and so offering some respite to both parents during the holidays can provide them with support and also allow you to spend time with your grandchildren.

If seeing your grandchildren on Christmas Day itself is not possible, explore other opportunities for contact in the lead up to Christmas and in the New Year. It may be that you pick a day and treat is as your Christmas Day where you exchange Christmas gifts and have festive treats. There may also be opportunity to attend school plays/carol concerts this year as restrictions ease.

If seeing your grandchildren in person is not possible, perhaps due to location, then make arrangements for a skype/zoom or telephone call where, for example, watch them unwrap your Christmas present and play games remotely.

If you are not able to reach an agreement before the Christmas break and would like some advice on your rights as a grandparent, the Mogers Drewett family team are here to help. You can contact Victoria Cobham on 01225 750000 or email Victoria.cobham@mogersdrewett.com

ACCOUNTANCY

141 Englishcombe Lane, Bath BA2 2EL Tel: 01225 445507 www.oclaccountancy.com

We are very proud to employ excellent staff, and even more when their efforts are recognised by their professional bodies. Emily Cocking is our Payroll Senior and member of the Chartered Institute of Payroll Professionals (CIPP). Let Emily take up the story: “I was invited to the recent CIPP annual excellence awards at Celtic Manor in Wales. I have a good relationship with the CIPP and have been to their offices to film an interview that is on their website, and have featured regularly in their monthly magazine this year – I feel very lucky to have had these opportunities! Recently I was invited as a guest to the annual CIPP excellence awards as a result of my hard work during NPW (national payroll week). To celebrate I made a NPW cheesecake for the office, created a payroll quiz for everyone and connected with other payroll professionals in the industry, setting them a quiz! I posted every day on Linkedin with everything I was doing and the CIPP wanted to reward me!” Our congratulations go to Emily and we are pleased to have her as a team member. Payroll is of course only one of the services we provide, but one that has become more complicated with issues such as the furlough scheme, and more recently the changes in national insurance contributions, on top of SSP, SMP etc. Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you need assistance. Next month we’ll be back with the usual tax saving tips, easy to understand explanations of tax and business opportunities – and we wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Call Tristan Wilcox-Jones, Samantha Taylor or Lucas Knight on 01225 445507 to arrange a no-obligation meeting

Since the global financial crisis, we have been in an environment of historically low-interest rates as the Bank of England attempted to stimulate the economy. Although this had some benefits, one less wellknown consequence was on the annuity market.

Annuities are simply products that pay a guaranteed income for life. Typically, you take your pension savings to an insurance company and exchange it for this guaranteed, lifelong income stream. This was the standard approach to retirement planning in the past. However, as the Bank of England lowered rates, the rate of income you received in return for your pension savings also decreased.

Pre-2008, a retiree might expect to get paid £7,908* per annum from an annuity in exchange for a £100,000 pension pot. By 2016, this figure had dropped to £4,696*. Throw in George Osborne’s pension freedoms in 2016 and many people began to turn away from annuities.

More recently interest rates have been rising and annuity rates have once again reached potentially attractive levels. Today, a 65-year-old retiree might expect to get an annual annuity of c£7,608* (04/11/2022) from their £100,000 which is a significant change.

With current rates, annuities may once again be worth considering. When we advise clients on retirement, we look at several scenarios and income options to ensure we can achieve their retirement objectives in the most efficient manner possible. We’ve always considered annuities as part of this, however, at current rates they deserve more attention.

*Based on a single life, level annuity with no death benefits.

A pension is a long-term investment. The fund value may fluctuate and can go down. Your eventual income may depend upon the size of the fund at retirement, future interest rates and tax legislation. The value of units can fall as well as rise, and you may not get back all of your original investment.

info@mathesoncharles.com 01225 683 156 www.mathesoncharles.com 6/7 Trim Street, Bath, BA1 1HB

Matheson Charles Ltd is an appointed representative of In Partnership the trading name of The On-Line Partnership Limited which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Matheson Charles Ltd FCA number: 954458. Registered No: 13410532, Registered address: 6/7 Trim Street, Bath, Avon, United Kingdom, BA1 1HB, Registered in England & Wales. Source – Annuity Rates – sharingpensions.co.uk - https://www.sharingpensions.co.uk/annuity-rates-chart-latest.htm - figures from 04/11/2022