An energy firm is being accused of trying to shortcircuit the planning process after unveiling plans for a controversial 24-turbine wind farm. E.ON has proposed two clusters of seven and 17 turbines more than a mile apart east of Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, known as the Isles. The firm said its preferred layout was drawn up in...

Durham Wildcats, the County’s own basketball team, have teamed up with Get Set Kids, Newton Aycliffe-based magazine, to promote their Adopt a School Scheme. The Wildcats felt that Get Set Kids were ideally placed to promote this scheme as they distribute the magazine via 60 primary schools in the County and also to other family...

By Martin Walker European Cup winner Ross Turnbull is adding his support to a fundraising campaign by his local non-league club. The Chelsea goalkeeper picked up a Champions League medal last weekend as an unused substitute when the Blues beat Bayern Munich in a dramatic penalty shoot-out on Saturday night. It caps off a remarkable...

Britain’s Got Talent star Les Gibson is set to appear at Newton Aycliffe Big Club as part of a fundraising event for a local youth football club. Heighington AFC Boys would like to invite residents of Aycliffe and surrounding areas to the evening, with special guest Les Gibson, a 2011 finalist of hit TV show BGT, supported by local acts...

Brodie Millichap picks out this week’s TV highlights... FIVE PICKS OF THE WEEK Robson’s Extreme Fishing Challenge: Monday 9pm, Channel 5. Robson Green travels to Alaska for what will be his last fishing trip of the series. Here he will come up against some veteran fishermen as well as taking in the sights of Resurrection Bay,...

A Newton Aycliffe woman has been promoted to a new executive position with her Darlington-based healthcare company. Amanda Jackson, from Aycliffe, and her colleague Michelle Fenwick both joined Heritage Healthcare, a leading provider of home-based care, as departmental managers in 2008. Amanda, 43, worked as a carer for five years before...

Tom Warke reviews his Album of the Week – The Enemy’s Streets in the Sky… Coventry indie rock band The Enemy, were formed in 2006. The members of the band include Tom Clarke, Liam Watts, Andy Hopkins and Chris Allen. Their first acclaim was by NME who describe them as an act ‘most likely to break your windows’. Throughout their...

By Glen Robertson Newton Aycliffe Spartans put in a much improved performance la but are still looking for their first win in the British Baseball Federation North League AA Division after a double defeat to Manchester Torrent. The Manchester outfit had been the visitors at the first ever home game for the Spartans in mid-April and the...

Police seized drugs with a street value of hundreds of thousands of pounds after they stopped a car in the Ferryhill area this week. Shortly before 6pm on Wednesday, 23rd May, officers stopped the VW Passat for suspected traffic offences as it drove along Encombe Terrace in Ferryhill. While they conducted enquiries with the occupants...

By Martin Walker Newton Aycliffe boss Allan Oliver insists Moore Lane Park is “the place to be” for players who want to enjoy their football, after he secured the signature of popular defender Darren Craddock this week. Craddock, a former Hartlepool United star who signed for his hometown club last summer, has agreed to stay with the...