Notes from the North: Bodycare collapse latest and the tale of Toad Hall
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Each Wednesday and Sunday our award-winning editions of The Lead North are published, as we go beyond the headlines to provide vital rigorous independent local journalism in towns and regions in the North of England.
Begun in early 2024, the Lead North publishes in Blackpool, Lancashire, Calderdale, Teesside and Southport. Each week our senior editor for The Lead North, Luke Beardsworth, highlight some of the stories we’ve been breaking exclusively, covering extensively and staying the course on to ensure communities have access to verified independent journalism. If you have any stories you think we should be covering, or tip-offs, you can contact luke@thelead.uk
Bodycare collapse latest
A senior Government minister has called for an investigation into collapsed health and beauty chain Bodycare.
Sir Stephen Timms - Minister of State for Social Security and Disability - has written to the Insolvency Service calling for the actions of the firm’s owners Baaj Capital to be probed.
The minister wrote to the service’s interim chief executive Alex Pybus after being approached by former Bodycare staff who lost their jobs when the firm closed its 147 UK shops making 1,500 workers redundant. Exclusive reporting from the Lancashire Lead here:
Council tax reform gathers support
Blackpool South MP Chris Webb is one of 13 Labour MPs who have written to Rachel Reeves to call on her to scrap council tax.
In doing so Webb has reiterated his support for a campaign launched by The Lead North titles in March 2025 to reform what we dubbed one of the most regressive tax systems out there.
In the letter to Rachel Reeves, which has also been signed by Jonathan Hinder, Labour’s MP for Pendle and Clitheroe, the group says that Labour needs to be bold and embrace new ideas to fight back against Reform UK.
The tale of Toad Hall
Sefton Council has spent more than £450,000 on Toad Hall over the past 10 years, The Southport Lead has revealed.
The historic building has sat empty throughout that period and while calls for its demolition have previously gone unheard, it is now earmarked for demolition. When the local authority unveiled its vision for Ainsdale-on-sea last month, it explained that the state of the building meant it was no longer viable to be repaired.
As such, it is to be knocked down and replaced at first by a temporary car park and potentially by a “purpose-built visitor centre and high-quality public space” further down the line.
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