The developers behind a new 25-acre development on Aycliffe Business Park say the plans are on track for this year, with a planning application due to be submitted “within months”. Merchant Anglo, the company behind Merchant Park, home to Hitachi’s £82m factory which opened three-and-a-half years ago, is now planning to build three new...

Officers are appealing for witnesses to a collision which left a biker with serious injuries. It happened on Emerson Way outside the Iron Horse Hotel in Newton Aycliffe at 2.40pm on Saturday, March 30 and involved a KTM 350 motorbike and Volkswagen Golf. Both vehicles were travelling in opposite directions when they collided. The...

Horndale Community Association would like to thank Mandy, John, Staff and their patrons for their continued support. The group was handed a cheque for £100 which will be used to subsidise the group’s trip to Lightwater Valley in April. Chair Philip Clark said: “We would also like to thank Tesco for their support, they have donated gift...

More than 50 people attended the latest news and networking meeting on Aycliffe Business Park. Organised by Aycliffe Business Park Community and held at UTC South Durham, attendees heard from UTC principal Tom Dower and Adrian Goodall, Merchant Anglo development director, on the 25-acre Station Park development. Click here for details on...

Newton Aycliffe Youth FC is encouraging girls into football by holding coaching sessions as part of a national initiative. The FA and SSE launched the scheme to inspire girls aged between 5-11 to be involved in football. SSE Wildcats Girls’ Football Centres provide girls with regular opportunities to play football and take part in...

New arrangements for safeguarding children in County Durham are set to come into place well ahead of a Government deadline. Durham Local Safeguarding Children Board is to be replaced by a new body as part of national changes to safeguarding provision. Partner organisations across the country have until the end of June to notify the Secretary...

Woodham Academy’s soon-to-be new head teacher says he’s privileged to be taking on the role later this summer. Andrew Bell will succeed Christine Forsyth as Woodham’s head in September. And he says he wants to build on the work Mrs Forsyth has made during her eight-year spell as the school’s leader. “I think I am pretty clear,...

Aycliffe-based Tekmar Group has revealed it has completed the acquisition of Ryder Geotechnical. AgileTek Engineering, part of the Tekmar Group, has acquired the firm from Fraser Gibson and Nigel Jeremy Martin. Ryder Geotechnical, founded by Fraser Gibson in 2016, provide expert geotechnical design and consulting services in the offshore...

By Donna Campbell The focus in this weekend’s racing was the Dishforth Dash 10k and Ropner Park. Dishforth Dash was in its second year and takes place on the unused Airfield at RAF DIshforth which means it is almost completely flat and a great venue for PB potential. It was a good turn out from the Club for this race (pictured below)...

More than 24,000 illegal cigarettes, 129kg of rolling tobacco and £50,000 in cash has been seized in the past 12 months as part of efforts to crack down on the illegal tobacco trade in County Durham. The figures are revealed in a report to Durham County Council’s Cabinet which also shows that four custodial sentences, totally more than five...