Residents in Great Aycliffe have voted overwhelmingly in favour of introducing new planning policies specifically for their area. More than 91% of people who took part in a referendum said they would like Durham County Council to use a neighbourhood plan created by Great Aycliffe Town Council when making planning decisions. A total of 2,789...

The first Intercity Express Train bound for GWR’s Devon and Cornwall route has now arrived in the UK. From 2018 a new fleet of Class 802 Intercity Express Trains will connect London Paddington to Exeter, Plymouth, Penzance and many more communities. A five car test train (802 001) built at Hitachi’s factory in Japan arrived in...

Public opinion is being sought in a local survey, to gather residents’ views on alcohol consumption. The online survey is part of a month-long campaign, led by Ron Hogg, Police, Crime and Victims’ Commissioner for County Durham and Darlington, who is raising awareness of a variety of issues around alcohol consumption. Hogg aims to...

Tributes have been paid to former Aycliffe Mayor Michael Dalton, who passed away following illness. Mr Dalton, who had represented the town for almost two decades, served one term as Mayor of Great Aycliffe, while supporting his 92-year-old mother Mary Dalton during her four stints in the role. The 52-year-old was born with spina bifida and...

Young women are being encouraged to consider a career in engineering by four female apprentices from a Newton Aycliffe engineering training centre. International Women in Engineering Day is an annual celebration of the achievements of outstanding women engineers which aims to raise awareness of the huge range of opportunities for young women in...

A round-up of the weekend’s cricket action... Saturday 24th June  – NYSD Division 2 Newton Aycliffe 1st XI v Barnard Castle 2nd XI – weather was warm and sunny. Barnard Castle won the toss and chose to bat first. Barnard Castle 2nd X 258 for 8 after 50 overs Michael Howe 2 for 54 and Luke Telford 2 for 58 Newton Aycliffe 1st XI...

Students from Newton Aycliffe schools are taking part in a community outreach project based around vocal performing. The project, led by Woodham Academy, will culminate in a performance given by all participants in the annual Woodham Summer Concert on July 13. Four primary schools have signed up to the project. Students from Vane Road, Sugar...

An innovation project has been launched to help companies tapping into the thriving space industry scale up faster as they take their cutting edge products to market. STEPHANIE, delivered in County Durham by Business Durham, is a five-year EU-funded Interreg programme which will help promote research and innovation in the space and photonics...

Housebuilder Avant Homes is bringing a new £36.5m development to County Durham creating 182 new homes. Outline planning has been granted for a two-phase build programme of properties on a 14-acre site in Chilton. The development – called Peerfields – is located off Durham Road and will comprise a selection of three and four-bedroom...

A round-up of last weekend's cricket action... Saturday 17th June – NYSD Division 2 Guisborough 2nd XI v Newton Aycliffe 1st XI – weather was hot and sunny. Guisborough won the toss and chose to bat first. Guisborough 2nd X I18 for 6 after 50 overs Luke Telford 2 for 11 and Patrick Howe 2 for 33 Newton Aycliffe 1st XI 119 for 2...