County Durham’s early years team is working hard to keep provisions open for key workers and vulnerable children during the coronavirus outbreak. Following a shortage of childcare spaces nationally, Durham County Council is providing 30 hours of funding to any nursery or childminder taking on new key worker or vulnerable children. The...

By Colin Young Open to business and open for business, The Work Place delivers exactly what it says on the black and white road sign. Opened in 2008 and owned by a charity, the eye-catching structure is very much open to the businesses of Aycliffe as a centre for meeting, learning and working. You will have seen the sign as you drive...

Supportive health and wellbeing charity the Pioneering Care Partnership (PCP) has been working hard behind the scenes this past month to aid the NHS and the region-wide community responses to the Covid-19 outbreak. During this challenging time PCP teams have adapted quickly to offer a wide range of support to ensure that vital local services...

Newton Aycliffe FC chairman Allan Oliver has moved to thank his management team, supporters and sponsors after their season was brought to an abrupt end due to the Covid-19 outbreak. The FA Council declared the 2019-20 campaign null and void, with Aycliffe – fifth in the Northern League first division table – standing a good chance of...

More than 7,000 grants have been paid to County Durham businesses to help them deal with the effects of the Coronavirus outbreak. To date, Durham County Council has now paid more than £76 million, which is 85 percent of the overall sum that was originally expected to be paid. Last week, updated government guidance extended the support...

A stair climb challenge has raised £16,000 to fund protective visors for local organisations in need of vital PPE kit. UTC South Durham’s ‘Visors for Victory’ campaign has so far raised £24,000 in total. The local university technical college has already donated more than 1,500 visors to over 65 organisations across the North-East,...

A local pub football team has raised £600 for two good causes after creating a virtual ‘race day’. Sunday morning pub side the Iron Horse organised the ‘Isolation Race Day’ among players and their friends, in a bid to ease the boredom for the long-faced workers furlonged by their employers. Organisers were hoping to get 40-50 people...

Destination management organisation Visit County Durham has launched a campaign that lets people enjoy a virtual visit to the county, from the safety of their sofa. With all national and international marketing activity delivered by Visit County Durham to encourage visits to the county now paused in light of the COVID-19 outbreak, the focus has...

Public, private and voluntary sector professionals in the County Durham and the Tees Valley are now able to sign up to free digital skills training – both technical and creative – following some quick thinking by Teesside University as part of its comprehensive response to Covid-19. The Digital Skills for Growth programme was due to run as...

A Newton Aycliffe student has launched an online fitness shop to help people keep fit whilst socially distancing and staying at home. Ralf Fatoohi, who attends UTC South Durham on Aycliffe Business Park, has created toohfit.com, which offers a variety of fitness equipment useful for working out at home, including fitness electronics, yoga,...