Independent councillors have accused the Newton Aycliffe Labour Party group of being “deceitful and sly” in proposing to scrap the traditional Santa tours. An events sub-committee has proposed to change the way Newtonians can enjoy the town’s much-loved Christmas Eve tradition, which would effectively stop Santa from touring the streets...

Newton Aycliffe 2, North Shields 4 By Dave Strickland Newton Aycliffe suffered a 4-2 defeat at home to North Shields on Saturday. They started well in the gusty conditions, and Tom Gavin put them ahead on eight minutes with a screamer into the top of the net, after a good lay-off by Kurt Matthews. North Shields started to come into the...

Health and Safety – or ‘Elf and Safety’ – is to blame for Aycliffe Council’s proposal to scrap the 50-year tradition of the town’s Christmas Eve Tours. Pen-pushing jobsworths have referred Aycliffe’s new events sub-committee to road traffic legislation – suggesting the local authority has been breaking the law with the way Santa...

Members of the public have launched a campaign against a proposal to scrap the 50-year tradition of Santa’s Christmas Eve Tours around Newton Aycliffe. Hapless councillors on Aycliffe Council's events sub-committee have proposed to ditch one of the town’s oldest and much-loved traditions. The new committee, set up to try to rescue...

Engineers have paved the way for more than 3,000 new jobs and a near half a billion pound boost to County Durham’s economy. With £13m in Local Enterprise Partnership funding, Durham County Council has been preparing Forrest Park, a 52-hectare expansion of the North East’s largest industrial estate, Aycliffe Business Park. Now a major...

County Durham residents are being urged to protect their property from opportunistic thieves this winter. The onset of dark nights can lead to a rise in burglaries, as a house which is in darkness can look empty to an opportunistic criminal. As part of Durham Constabulary’s Winter Nights campaign, people are being urged to take simple...

By Donna Campbell The runners of ARC were again out racing although it was a slightly quieter weekend. As always many members joined in the local parkruns on Saturday. This week two members achieved PB’s both at Sedgefield. Simon Turner in a time of 23.03 and Melanie Rowland in 29.00. Also on Saturday Richard Tonge took part in the...

Local charity Madathon has donated a portable Defibrillator to Horndale Residents Association which the group will use on coach trips and events. Madathon is a local charity which raises money for life saving equipment, Northumbria Blood Bikes, MRI Scanner and much more. After a chance conversion Madathon became aware of Horndale’s plans...

A council and its partners have pledged their commitment to ensuring people with mental health needs feel supported and understood in County Durham. Members of the County Durham Partnership signed the Time to Change Employer Pledge at an event to mark World Mental Health Day. By signing the pledge, Durham County Council and the Pioneering...

Newton Aycliffe manufacturer Ebac has announced positive results for the year ended December 2017. The only British company to produce washing machines, founded more than 40 years ago by Brexit-backing North East engineer John Elliott, who now serves as its executive chairman, recorded a profit of £362,216 in the year ending 31st December...