Young care leavers could be eligible for a reduction in their council tax to help them make the transition to living independently. Earlier this year, Durham County Council’s Cabinet agreed the introduction of a care leavers’ council tax reduction scheme, aimed at helping young people adjust to living on their own. The new policy means...

Thousands of workers were represented during a high-level meeting of business leaders from Aycliffe Business Park. Bosses from 11 Newton Aycliffe companies – including Gestamp Tallent, Hitachi Rail, Roman, Ebac, Stiller Warehousing and Distribution, Palram and Tekmar Energy – gathered for the event at Redworth Hall Hotel. The informal...

Young people from across County Durham and Darlington will be able to apply for funding to cut crime and improve the safety of their communities thanks to a new fund launched this week by Libby Wright the newly elected ‘Young’ Police, Crime and Victims’ Commissioner. The £20,000 fund is made up of £10,000 from Police, Crime and...

A charity fundraiser’s quest to raise £30k was aided in recent weeks as a former teacher training colleague ran two epic races to boost the pot by a huge £670. Paul McGeary met 36-year-old Darren Smith seven years ago when they both enrolled on a PGCE course at Sunderland University. The teachers stayed in touch over recent years and in...

By Dave Strickland Newton Aycliffe gained a deserved point with a 1-1 draw at Consett at the weekend. Aycliffe started brightly, with Coombe in the Consett goal making good saves from Craig Hutchinson and Kurt Matthews. Sixth-placed Consett, with a strong wind behind them, settled into the game, and went ahead when a low shot from Dowson...

Aycliffe Today Business editor Martin Walker on the train-building progress Hitachi has made since its factory opened here two years ago... It doesn’t seem two years since David Cameron swept into Hitachi’s swanky new factory on Aycliffe Business Park, claiming victory for the Tories as he officially marked the opening of the £82m...

People thinking about adopting are being encouraged to find out more about how they can provide a loving home for a child. During National Adoption Week, which started on Monday, Durham County Council is spreading the message that many more types of people could be eligible to adopt and that a wide-range of support is provided for all adopters...

It was another busy weekend of Aycliffe Juniors footballing action took place. Younger teams are starting to establish themselves with one side playing their first game. The older sides are looking to progress their league positions. The Under 6 development team really enjoyed their first ever friendly match at Shildon. A great effort from...

Ten community organisations are celebrating a funding boost thanks to Great Aycliffe and Middridge Partnership (GAMP). GAMP asked community focused organisations to submit proposals as part of a ‘Callout’ for projects. All project proposals had to address at least one of the key GAMP priorities for 2017; Children, Young People and...

An actor at the centre of a storyline on child sexual exploitation (CSE) has visited County Durham as part of a week of events co-ordinated by the Local Safeguarding Children Board. Chris Harper, who played child groomer Nathan in Coronation Street, spoke about his storyline and the public reaction to his role during a training session on CSE...