A North-East theatre maker who has been treading the boards since he was 10 years old has added his voice to County Durham’s bid to become UK City of Culture 2025. Originally from Crook, Jake Jarratt discovered his passion for performing arts at a young age and seized every chance to nurture his talent and pursue his dream of becoming a...

Local businesses have joined forces to help launch a campaign to clean up Newton Aycliffe. Durham County and Aycliffe town councillor Nev Jones has launched the Keep Aycliffe Tidy (KAT) campaign with support from local employer Gestamp Tallent. Gestamp has sponsored a set of 50 branded high-vis vests, t-shirts and caps for volunteer...

Billingham Town 2-5 Newton Aycliffe Saturday, July 31 By Joe Ramage Newton Aycliffe opened their Ebac Northern League Division One campaign in pulsating style with a dramatic win over Billingham Town. Jake Petitjean and substitute Ben Dibb-Fuller both scored twice as new signing Sonni Coleman scored on his debut from the penalty spot to...

More than £70,000 has been secured to support the training of adult social care staff across County Durham. County Durham Care Academy has been awarded a £70,165 grant by the Workforce Development Fund to help local care providers cover the expense of upskilling their staff. Durham County Council launched the Care Academy in 2019 to...

Aycliffe Business Park Community (ABPC) has appointed a business development manager to drive forward its ‘On the Map’ engagement project. Martin Walker, managing director of Aycliffe-based Mantis Media, has been appointed to the consultancy role on an initial six-month agreement after the ABPC board carried out a full and transparent...

Lee Weldon’s weekly round-up from the wicket… Saturday 31st July – NYSD Division 2 Saltburn 2nd XI v Newton Aycliffe 1st XI – weather was cool, cloudy and eventually rain. Saltburn won the toss and chose to bat first. Saltburn 2nd XI 292 for 7 after 50 overs Michael Howe 3 for 74, Jack Slatcher 2 for 54 and James Layfield-Carroll...

A Newton Aycliffe-based charity is seeking volunteers to support an adult day service for those with physical and learning disabilities. Pioneering Care Partnership (PCP) has ran Options, a service dedicated to adults with learning and physical disabilities, since they opened their doors to the local community in 1998. Volunteering with...

A new chief executive looks set to lead the North-East’s largest council. The Chief Officer Appointments Committee at Durham County Council has advised that John Hewitt is their recommended candidate for chief executive following an appointment process. John has been interim chief executive since December. He joined the authority in 2016...

The country’s social care system does not currently achieve the best outcomes for children and their families – and significant change is needed in order to alleviate unsustainable pressure on services. These are the key findings of a report on children’s social care, carried out by the directors of children’s services at 12 North-East...

By Paul Dalton We start this week with a look back at the ‘Run Like A Legend’ Mile Time Trial event which took place in Durham on Friday, July 16. Fastest for the club on the day over the classic mile distance was John Surtees in 4:56, and he was followed by John Firby in 5:19 and Paul Dalton in 5:25. Peter Tennick continued his...