A possible new way of safeguarding leisure and cultural services for the future will be considered by Durham County Council’s Cabinet this week (Wednesday). In light of large scale reductions in Government grants the council must make savings of at least £145.8M over the next five years. As a result the authority is looking at new...

Billingham Town 0, Newton Aycliffe 5 By Glen Robertson Newton Aycliffe moved to within three points of the top of the Northern League first division, after a 5-0 thrashing of Billingham Town. With West Auckland, Whitley Bay and Dunston all busy with FA Vase commitments, the Newtonians took full advantage to move up to fifth, while...

By Glen Robertson Durham Wildcats were denied a famous victory over local rivals Newcastle Eagles by a late surge from the current BBL leaders, who ran out 101-94 winners on Saturday. In front of a near sell-out Newton Aycliffe Leisure Centre, the Wildcats led their illustrious neighbours until six-minutes from the end of the contest,...

A North East pay-by-results telemarketing firm is celebrating its on-going success after doubling its workforce and increasing its services to keep up with an expanding client base. Touchstone Leads, based in Shildon, County Durham, has made an excellent start to 2012 by appointing three new business development team members to meet client...

The town’s Rotary Club invite anyone interested in applying to be a sponsored candidate for a trip to Brazil later this year. This is an opportunity for a professional person to widen their experience by joining the North East Rotary Group Study Cultural Exchange visit to Brazil departing for 4-6 weeks in May. Candidates must be aged...

Phil Wilson has given an exclusive one-to-one interview to Aycliffe Today to celebrate the website’s launch. The Sedgefield MP was delighted to hear about the town’s new website, and was keen to sit down and discuss a handful of local issues. The first part of Mr Wilson’s interview, which is just over seven minutes long, is now...

Libraries across County Durham will remain open despite reductions in Government funding, under proposals being discussed by councillors. Durham County Council, which needs to make savings of at least £145.8m over the five years between 2011 and 2016, is proposing measures that will guarantee that no libraries have to close. However,...

People who own off-road bikes are being asked to make them identifiable in case they get stolen. As there is no statutory obligation to register ownership of off-road bikes, they will not appear on the Police National Computer. This means that if a bike is stolen then recovered, police can have difficulty reuniting it with its...

The Pioneering Care Partnership (PCP) is offering a range of free courses to help job seekers. The PCP has formed a partnership with Bishop Auckland College, as part of the Newton Aycliffe Learning Partnership, to offer a range of Community Learning courses, free to those who are claiming Job Seeker’s Allowance (JSA) or Employment Support...

An exhibition of documents, pictures and records showing Charles Dickens’ connections to County Durham will be launched next week. Dickens in Durham has been organised by Durham County Record Office to mark the 200th anniversary of the author’s birth. Dickens visited the county on at least two occasions and even took inspiration from...