County Durham’s prestigious Environment Awards are looking for entrants as they mark their 30th year. Groups and individuals are being encouraged to sign up for the 30th celebratory County Durham Environment Awards, with entries open until Friday, July 19. Organised by Durham County Council on behalf of the County Durham Environment...

Training providers Optimum Skills are supporting a neighbouring joinery firm to recruit young staff and support its growth. Optimum are providing top new talent to Kensington Specialist Joinery after recruiting an apprentice joiner and business admin assistant. And a third apprentice is already in the pipeline as Kensington look to build on...

By Donna Campbell The racing calendar was certainly full this week for the runners of ARC with members racing from as early as the Monday evening. Monday evening’s race was part of the NEMAA Track Season and saw Alan Wilks compete in the 1500m. Alan Wilks was first place in his age category with a time of six minutes exactly. On...

Families can once again find out more about the work of our real-life superheroes at a free family fun day at the end of this month. The ‘PCVC Celebration of Local Superheroes’ event is back for 2019 will showcase and raise awareness of all the good work that is happening in our local communities, thanking those who go above and beyond to...

A local fundraiser has edged closer to raising a total of £40,000 following the efforts of friends and family which saw over £1,600 raised at a coffee morning. Paul McGeary, 37, was twice struck with Leukaemia in recent years, and though his condition is currently in remission, he remains under ongoing after-care of James Cook hospital in...

Newton Aycliffe’s cricket fixtures were washed out by rain at the weekend, as the above picture of Aycliffe Sports Club’s waterlogged pitch shows. Aycliffe’s first team are due to travel to Barnard Castle in the NYSD Division Two on Saturday, while our second team entertain Sedgefield’s second XI on Saturday (1.30pm).  

Schoolchildren in County Durham are learning the dangers of jumping into rivers this summer, through the return of a water safety campaign. Assemblies are being delivered on cold water shock for a fourth year, as part of the Safe Durham Partnership’s Dying to be Cool campaign. The campaign, led by Durham County Council, seeks to raise...

More than 300 new jobs could be created with the launch of a £4.9m fund to help County Durham’s small and medium sized businesses to expand and grow. The three-year County Durham Growth Fund has been launched by Business Durham, the economic development arm of Durham County Council, to help stimulate and enable businesses to grow by...

The appointment of Jo Farrell as Durham Constabulary’s new Chief Constable has been confirmed. The announcement follows a Confirmation Hearing – a statutory process where members of the independent Police and Crime Panel have the opportunity to question the preferred candidate, and to endorse the appointment. Jo first became a police...

What exactly is cyber security, and do we need it? Cornerstone MD Chris Petty explains… The chances are that you’ve probably heard lots on the news, in the press and on social media about the importance of cyber security. Some have even suggested to me that “It’s just another GDPR”, something many of us have already forgotten...