Sunderland Metro platform issue still not addressed five years on
Work to make a platform safe for a new fleet of Metro trains is yet to be completed five years after it was commissioned.Nexus, which operates the Metro in Tyne and Wear, said tracks at Sunderland station's platform two would need to be raised by about 4in (10cm) before its new Class 555 trains could safely use it.The company launched a £2m programme in 2020 to adjust the height of tracks to ensure that new trains, which have a sliding step at every door, would fit smoothly into platforms.The new trains will be temporarily using other platforms at Sunderland station until the issue is sorted.
Costs unknown
The new Metro trains entered service on the line between Sunderland and Newcastle International Airport for the first time on Tuesday.This was two months later than they began on the South Shields to St James route, with the snag at Sunderland station blamed for the delay, the Local Democracy Reporting service said.Metro services heading towards South Hylton will be using platform one, which is usually used by Northern trains, until the issue is resolved.Northbound Metro services towards Newcastle have not been affected and will continue to use platform three.
Nexus said the cost of the required works remained unknown and none of its 60 other stations were currently affected by the problem.Paul Welford, major projects director at Nexus, said the firm was working with Network Rail, who own the track, to resolve it.Half of the Metro's 46 new trains are due to be in service by the end of 2025, with the entire new fleet being rolled out over the next two years.
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No issue is too big or small, and all submissions will be treated with the strictest confidence. I moved into a new build rental flat last year and am really struggling with cost of heating and hot water. When we viewed the place, the letting agent mentioned it was part of an energy-efficient communal heat network, which sounded like a good thing. However, the reality has been very different. Not only are my bills much higher than in my previous place of around the same size, no-one seems to be able to give me any answers as to why. From what I can tell, the amount I pay is down to how much the operator bulk-buys the gas for, but my bills don't explain how this is decided, why my unit rate is more than Ofgem's price cap, or whether I'm paying for heating in hallways and other communal areas. It's so confusing. Normally I'd switch to a different provider but this isn't an option for heat network customers, so I'm effectively locked in. Aside from reducing my consumption even further (I'm already wearing jumpers and timing my showers) or moving somewhere new, it feels like I'm out of options. Is there anything else I can do? An interesting and important question Alfonso, thank you for raising it. The problem you're facing is a serious one and it's going to start mattering to more of us over the next few years, as in order to slash meet net zero, the government wants one in five British homes to ditch gas boilers and join a heat network by 2050. That's 6 million households across the country. For those who haven't yet come across them, a heat network is a single centralised source of heating, cooling systems and hot water that supplies multiple households – from a block of flats to an entire town. The theory is that the heat network can buy energy in bulk, thereby keeping costs down for each household. In practice, as you are clearly only too aware, that's far from the reality. There are several reasons for this. 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Now, your question is what you can do to bring the costs of your heating down. For the moment, the answer is possibly not a huge amount more than you're doing already. However, if you haven't yet, try these options: Contact your landlord explaining the situation . Ask if they will agree to subsidise your heating bills for a period of time – they might even be prepared to take on some of the cost permanently if it means you stay a tenant. . Ask if they will agree to subsidise your heating bills for a period of time – they might even be prepared to take on some of the cost permanently if it means you stay a tenant. Tell your heat network you're struggling – they might be able to lower your bills temporarily or have some other form of support available. Don't hold your breath but do ask the question. – they might be able to lower your bills temporarily or have some other form of support available. Don't hold your breath but ask the question. 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3 days ago
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Customers benefit from: – Award winning service from the UK's leading mortgage broker – Expert advisors on hand 7 days a week – Access to 1000s of mortgage deals from across the market Unlike many mortgage brokers, L&C won't charge you a fee for their advice. Find out how much you could borrow online Mortgage service provided by London & Country Mortgages (L&C), which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (registered number: 143002). The FCA does not regulate most Buy to Let mortgages. Your home or property may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage. We're Nick (25) and Ant (26), a married couple and content creators. We share our life with our audience of more than 4,500,000. Our journey began with documenting our long-distance relationship between Canada and the UK. Since then, we've developed a love of renovating homes. We bought our property in South West London in 2022, but it needed a full renovation. After nearly a year of transforming it, which cost just under £200,000, we officially moved in, in 2023. We were incredibly lucky to secure the last house on our street to sell for under £1,000,000. Our property cost us £910,000. The house was in a derelict condition and had been sitting on the market for months. It had pretty much everything wrong with it except, thankfully, no foundational issues or subsidence. It was severely damp, almost every wall had blown plaster, and many of the original floor joists were completely rotten. There were places where you could feel the floors bowing beneath your feet. Despite all that, we tried to preserve as much original character as possible, such as the corbels in the entrance hallway and the cornices, but unfortunately, a lot of the original features were simply too far gone to salvage. We opted for a 20% deposit of £180,000. It was important to us that our monthly mortgage payments were manageable in the long term. Our mortgage is around £3,200 per month, and our other costs, such as insurance, heating, water, electricity, internet, and smaller household subscriptions like security systems, make up the remaining £500 to £800. We try to keep a close eye on everything, and we've found that being proactive with utilities and home maintenance helps keep costs from creeping up. We' both started working at a young age, so had about 10 years of savings each under our belts. Over time, we've also invested in ISAs and stocks, making sure our savings were growing rather than just sitting idle. In addition to that, we originally got on the property ladder in 2020 in Canada. Our first home wasn't in quite the right neighbourhood for us, so we sold it just four months later. Not long after, we bought another home, which we really loved. But then we decided to move back to the UK, and sold that home too. Luckily, both properties appreciated in value during the short time we owned them, which allowed us to gain some equity. That bit of financial growth within just a year made a big difference when it came time to buy again. As self-employed creators, getting a mortgage can often be more complex. Thankfully, working with a broker made everything so much easier. We had all our paperwork in place – two years of tax returns and solid credit scores. We ultimately got offered a great rate and LTV. The biggest hurdle was deciding whether Nick, who's Canadian, should also be on the mortgage. Including him would have increased our interest rate, because at the time, Nick's visa only had three months left on it. June might mark Pride Month, but the reality is that LGBTQ+ people still face issues accessing housing. Research from Stonewall shows that almost one in five LGBTQ+ people have experienced homelessness; these statistics increase to 25% of all trans people. 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Due to the additional risk for the lender, we opted not to at the time to save money. We locked in a 3.48% fixed rate for five years, just as interest rates began to climb. Some of our friends managed to secure sub-3% rates shortly before us, but given the timing and the current market, we're content with what we secured. For us, it came down to creative freedom. We struggled to find properties that matched our personal taste within our budget. Owning meant we could use our passion for renovation and interior design to craft exactly how we wanted our home to look – we are also very mindful of the privilege it is to be able to do so. It was a big investment upfront, but one we believed would be worth it in the long run. We found it on Rightmove and had actually passed on it once because it felt like too much work. But something about it stuck with us. A month later, we were nearby and decided to view it again. We negotiated a price we could manage and made an offer that same day. The home had been on the market for months with multiple offers turned down, so we do feel a little serendipity was involved. We believe the home was built between 1897 and 1903, so its late Victorian to early Edwardian, and we wanted to stay true to the era, while adding personal touches. It definitely carries that charm, with high ceilings, original details, and great bones. We wanted to maintain period elements like mouldings, fireplaces, and windows, while layering in modern influences like our Scandinavian-style kitchen or modern arches. Ant: My favourite room is the dining room. It's our boldest room, and while I usually shy away from colour, it's a reminder that stepping out of your comfort zone can often lead to the most rewarding results. Nick: I love our kitchen. It's the heart of the home, where we wind down, cook together, and host friends. It feels warm and welcoming. Absolutely. The property was originally a four-bed, but we converted one of the bedrooms into an en-suite bathroom and a utility room. This made the home better suited to us, a family of two and a cat! After such a big renovation, we're enjoying the calm. That said, it's always tempting to tinker! There is potential to extend one day. Fortunately, we haven't encountered any major issues since renovating. But during the process? Plenty. It turned into a full-scale renovation. Damp, rotten floors, cracked walls, and blocked drains were just a few of the issues we had to overcome. Nearly every surface needed to be replaced or repaired. One of the biggest challenges, though, was hiring the right people. Finding the right tradespeople can completely determine how smoothly your renovation goes. For anyone self-employed, especially those who run their own company, it's worth exploring whether you can use your company's pre-tax profits to apply for a mortgage. It made a big difference in our borrowing ability. More Trending More broadly, don't rush. If something breaks, there's almost always a solution, and you learn so much along the way. Lastly, if you can consider buying the worst house in the best neighbourhood, you're going to be onto something great. It doesn't have to be the biggest project, just something to add value – that's how we've been able to grow on the property ladder. We really see this as our long-term home. We've never lived anywhere longer than a year before, and we've now been here for almost three. It's been a long journey to feel settled in a space we love, and we're incredibly thankful to finally be here. Do you have a story to share? 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