Aycliffe Today editor Martin Walker takes a look back at 2014, reviewing June and July…
June
• Aycliffe’s market looks doomed after traders snub an offer to relocate it to the Greenwell Road car park (pictured above).
• Aycliffe Today plays a key role in the sale of Woodham Golf Club – its new owners, Rushyford-based Hall Construction, reveal.
• Upex Electrical Distributors (UED) reveal a 30% jump in turnover in an exclusive feature in Aycliffe Today Business.
• Work starts at Woodham Golf Club to get the course and clubhouse in tip-top condition for an official opening.
• Teen cricket sensation Sam Telford roars Aycliffe to victory over promotion rivals Redcar, scoring 115.
• Teesside-based PD Ports opens a commercial office on Aycliffe Business Park.
• Work starts on a £40,000 Multi Use Games Area at Horndale Park in the town.
July
• Inquisitive children from Heighington Primary School are given a tour of the Finley Structures factory which is fabricating steel for Hitachi’s train-building facility.
• Aycliffe-based firm Tyne Tees Packaging announce plans to double turnover to £15m after relocating to larger premises on Aycliffe Business Park.
• Objections are made against a new 80-home development near Travellers Green.
• Police launch an investigation after a 25-year-old man from Wales was left with a serious head injury after he was assaulted in the early hours of the morning, in Humphrey Close.
• Dan Mellanby controversially resigns as manager of Aycliffe FC just a fortnight before the start of the Northern League kick-off. He’s later replaced by former New Zealand international Adrian Webster.
• Meanwhile, the annual Frank Swinburne Memorial Trophy match against Northallerton Town raises £500 for Great Aycliffe Cancer Support Group.