By Martin Walker Hitachi Rail Europe's first pre-series Class 800 train for the Intercity Express Programme (IEP) arrived in the UK today. Rail Minister Claire Perry today celebrated the arrival of the carriage at the Port of Southampton. Train 800-001 is the first five-car pre-series train to be shipped to the UK from Japan, with 110...

By Martin Walker An ambitious accountancy firm is targeting major growth in the next year after seeing turnover jump by more than half. Matthew McConnell and Jonathan Tait are partners in the Durham franchise of national network Certax, and have been based at the HUB Workspace on Aycliffe Business Park since August 2013. Since their...

A free service for people living in Newton Aycliffe or Middridge who are out of work or at risk of redundancy has recently launched. The ‘Employability Pit Stop’ project, funded by Great Ayclife and Middridge Partnership (GAMP) and delivered by the Pioneering Care Centre (PCP) aims to help local jobseekers to develop skills to job...

Social enterprise Groundwork is celebrating 30 years of transforming the lives of hundreds of thousands of people across the North East for the better. Groundwork, established in the region in 1985 and which has an employment office in Newton Aycliffe, delivers a range of social and environmental regeneration programmes that engage...

Durham County Council’s Cabinet will discuss a new approach to providing childcare services for the under-fives, designed to improve the lives of some of the county’s most vulnerable children and their families. Proposals for the future of County Durham’s children’s centres will be decided on Wednesday, March 18, and if given the go...

By Martin Walker Hitachi Rail Europe has signed a deal to build new trains for the ScotRail franchise. Hitachi was announced as the preferred bidder for the train deal last October when Dutch operator Abellio won the franchise. Now the two firms have signed a contract for the provision and maintenance of 70 new trains. In all, 46...

By Martin Walker You could be the new owner of popular pub the Blacksmith's Arms - for a cool £425,000. The Hammers, as it's known locally, has been put on the market by Leeds-based leisure property specialists Fleurets. The freehold of the property, set in a beautiful 5-acre site on the outskirts of Aycliffe, is up for...

To celebrate National Apprenticeship Week, we speak to one of Hitachi Rail Europe's Apprentices, Sally Beale, who's currently doing her Apprenticeship with South West Durham Training (SWDT). Sally is pictured above with SWDT CEO Trevor Alley... • What type of apprenticeship are you following? I am on an advanced technical...

A Newton Aycliffe GP Practice has been awarded the Primary Care Practice of the Year Award by the Clinical Research Network (CRN) North East and North Cumbria, part of the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). The CRN: North East and North Cumbria NIHR Annual Awards 2014/15 took place at Sunderland AFC's Stadium of Light in...

Shildon Supporters 3, Aycliffe Sports Club 2 (Invitation League Cup) By Paul Eales Newton Aycliffe Sports Clubs run in cup competitions came to an end on Sunday when they were beaten 3-2 off first division Shildon Supporters Club in the Wear Valley League Invitation Cup. This defeat came on the back of last week’s exit from the...