A scheme that aims to improve County Durham’s woodlands has been awarded hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of funding. The Durham Woodland Revival project has been awarded £434,200 from the National Lottery Heritage Fund to restore and reconnect woodland in the county. The funding will enable Durham County Council to work with...

By Bob Wood There were some new faces among the players who gathered at Moore Lane last week for the start of Newton Aycliffe's pre-season training. Three new signings have been confirmed so far with Shaun Ryder (pictured) making the switch from local rivals Bishop Auckland. Ryder is a hard-working centre midfielder who regularly...

Greenfield Community College were thrilled to attend the Artsmark Celebration Event at the BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art to accept the prestigious Platinum Artsmark Award. The evening brought representatives from regional schools who had received Artsmark status. Head teacher David Priestley was present to accept the award on behalf of...

Strategies devised to help people tackle their housing issues and provide support to County Durham’s homeless are being put forward for final approval next week. Durham County Council has worked with partners to develop both a housing strategy and a homelessness strategy, with each going before the authority’s Cabinet for adoption at a...

An Aycliffe Angel has been sharing her memories of ammunitions manufacturing during the Second World War ahead of Armed Forces Day. Dora Mattrick, 96, was just 20 years old when she started working at ROF (Royal Ordnance Factory) in Aycliffe. Known as the Aycliffe Angels, the factory employed more than 17,000 women, producing hundreds of...

A new trade mission was launched last night to help businesses in County Durham take advantage of the burgeoning export opportunities in South Africa. Business Durham, the economic development arm of Durham County Council, hosted the South African Trade Mission launch at Ramside Hall Hotel, Durham, in conjunction with the Department for...

Lee Weldon with his weekly round-up from the wicket… Saturday 29th June – NYSD Division 2 Hartlepool 2nd XI v Newton Aycliffe 1st XI – weather was hot and sunny. Hartlepool won the toss and chose to bowl first. Newton Aycliffe 1st XI 177 all out after 49.2 overs Lewis Gimple 39, Sam Telford 37 and Adam Gittins 21 Hartlepool 2nd...

Work has started on a multi-million-pound motorway junction improvement scheme in County Durham. Durham County Council has begun its major work on junction 61 of the A1(M) at Bowburn ahead of the Integra 61 development, which will see 101 acres of industrial units and 270 new homes constructed in the area. The £4.5m road scheme, which has...

Business leaders from across the region have taken a terrifying leap of faith to help change their mindset. More than 50 businesses took part in a motivational Monday morning session with Tom Cockerill, director of Cockerill & Co from Darlington, who invited a number of guest speakers to the breakfast event at ROF 59 on Aycliffe Business...

The North East’s largest council is trialling new electric cleaning equipment as part of its fight against climate change. Members of Durham County Council’s Clean and Green Team have been using a new electric bin lift and road sweeper to empty the county’s wheelie bins and clean its streets. The council, which declared a climate...