In June 2020, under a previous administration, Middlesbrough Council drew up a list of 11 locations that council chiefs described as “eyesores”, which were under consideration for purchase and rejuvenation. In 2021, it was confirmed that up to £1m had been allocated to buy derelict sites and stop them blighting the town.  Five years on…

Reform UK councillors have begun setting their priorities for the future of Durham County Council after gaining control of the local authority in May.  Residents have been told the new administration wil priotitise core services to ensure public money is used wisely.  Speaking at a cabinet meeting, Council Leader Andrew Husband said: “There are many…

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Durham County Council declared the warning in 2019, setting out a target to achieve net zero emissions by 2045.  However, the latest move by the Reform administration suggests the party is prioritising other services.  Deputy Leader Darren Grimes has requested that the local authority instead declare a “County Durham Care Emergency” to recognise the “critical…

Blaydon-based group NE Youth say that Personal, Social, Health and Economic education (PSHE) sessions in school should include lessons on serious youth violence like knife crime and drugs and have compiled two separate reports on the issue, which they took to Parliament to present to MPs. Ellie Johnson, 18, from Horden, was one of the young…

Two members of the North Yorkshire Independents (NY Independents) group of councillors have left to form a new group with members of the Green Party. It comes after new Reform councillor Tom Seston was listed as a member of the NY Independents group along with Reform colleague Mike Jordan on the council’s website. Cllr Seston…

Betty Brown, 92,ran the Annfield Plain Post Office near Stanley with her late husband Oswall, in the 1990s and early 2000s. She claims his death was impacted by the ordeal of missing hundreds of pounds each week in their accounts. Ms Brown told the PA news agency: “We had a nice office, nice atmosphere, nice…

Patients on Teesside have been invited for tests in a lung health check programme to pick up warning signs. This has reversed trends for people receiving “curative” treatment to overcome cancer rather than palliative treatment to improve quality of life and manage symptoms. Samuel Peate, chief operating officer for the South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation…

Chief inspector of prisons Charlie Taylor repeated calls on Tuesday for the threat to be taken seriously “at the highest levels of Government” as he released his annual report.  The watchdog chief detailed how a “menu of drugs” is available in prisons where work to rehabilitate criminals is being prevented, with many inmates in their cells for…

Chris Head was falsely accused of stealing more than £80,000 from his branch in West Boldon, near Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, in 2006 before the criminal case against him was dropped. Speaking to the PA news agency ahead of the report being published, Mr Head said: “It’s a monumental day. “I do believe it will…