The Journal
Schemes could bring 6,000 jobs
SCHEMES that could create thousands of jobs and speed up regeneration in different parts of the North East have been outlined at the UK’s largest investment event. Northumberland County Council has announced plans for two separate business sites, one...
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Mayor: Leaders must match our sense of urgency
NORTH East mayor Kim McGuinness has laid down the gauntlet to the Government to improve lives in the region after disastrous local elections. Ms McGuinness was speaking at the Great North Investment Summit in Leeds, an event bringing together northern...
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Northern mayors set to push huge investment plan
NORTHERN mayors will today come together to push a unique blueprint they hope will lead to thousands of new jobs and a “new era of prosperity” around the region. The Great North Investment Summit taking place in Leeds aims to capture the spirit and...
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CASTLE’S STAMP OF APPROVAL
BAMBURGH Castle has been given the “stamp of approval” by the Royal Mail in a new collection aiming to ‘showcase the architectural brilliance of castles from across the UK’. Bamburgh is one of eight to be included in the main collection, while a...
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Labour turmoil continues as PM sticks to his guns
THE Labour Party has descended into open division as Ministers and dozens of MPs called for Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer to resign – but more than 100 others warned against a leadership contest. Another day of turmoil for the Government yesterday...
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Hexham MP resigns as ministers tell the PM to step aside
DOZENS of Labour MPs have now called on Sir Keir Starmer to quit after a local election pummelling. The party lost control of councils including Newcastle, Sunderland, South Tyneside, and Gateshead, sparking fury among many MPs over the direction of...
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‘Why don’tYOU take on the PM?’
ANORTH East cabinet minister has been challenged to act against the PM during a live television broadcast. MP Catherine West pressed Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson – MP for Houghton and Sunderland South – to come forward and remove the Prime...
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Labour swept away
VETERAN North East MP Ian Lavery has warned that Labour is “on the road to utter annihilation” after a disastrous set of local election results in the region and beyond. The Blyth and Ashington MP, who was party chairman under previous leader Jeremy...
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Rivals say splits in Reform’s ranks exposed in public
DIVISIONS among councillors in Northumberland County Council’s Reform UK group were exposed as a majority of councillors repeatedly went against the group’s leadership on a series of votes. At the council’s AGM, Reform councillors refused to back...
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‘Landmark’ port expansion plans
MULTI-MILLION pound plans to expand the Port of Blyth have been revealed, with the potential to create hundreds of jobs. Port bosses laid out ambitions to reclaim up to three hectares of land from the River Blyth estuary at the Battleship Wharf...
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Nissan to reduce production lines at North factory
NISSAN is planning to cut hundreds of jobs across its European operations and will be bringing together two product lines into one at its Sunderland plant. The moves come as the Japanese automotive giant battles tough conditions in the global car...
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Youths ‘out of control’ at park, says councillor
ANTI-SOCIAL behaviour centred on a Northumberland park is becoming “out of control”, a local councillor has warned. Youths in Ashington’s Hirst Park have been riding electric bikes, climbing on roofs and even throwing eggs. Reform UK councillor Sonia...
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Green candidate denies her posts were anti-semitic
A NEWCASTLE City Council Green Party candidate is under investigation for allegedly making anti-semitic posts on social media. Tina Ion, who is standing in the Blakelaw and Cowgate ward, allegedly published posts on social media platform Threads under...
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Drugged-up driver killed girlfriend in head-on A19 crash
ADRUGGED-UP and dangerous driver who killed his girlfriend in a head-on smash while driving the wrong way down a dual carriageway had reached a speed of 136mph as he tried to outrun police. Kane Farragher had vast quantities of drugs in his system as...
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Plans for 2,000-job site up for approval
OUTLINE plans for a major industrial development in south east Northumberland that could create thousands of new jobs are set to go before a council planning committee. Known as West Hartford Park, it is envisaged that the scheme planned for the edge...
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Huge rise in number of region’s businesses in distress
NORTH East businesses are being pushed to the brink, with late payments squeezing finances and more firms than ever experiencing ‘critical’ financial distress, two reports have shown. The latest Red Flag Alert research from business advisory group BTG...
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Mayors launch first ever Great Northern Investment Summit
NORTHERN mayors, business leaders and senior Ministers have been lined up to lead an event designed to bring more jobs and prosperity to the region. The Great North Investment Summit – which has been inspired by the spirit and success of the Great...
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Revolution on the buses must come sooner – Polanski
ZACK Polanski has called for faster and further action to return the North East’s buses to public control and remove fares for young people. The Green Party leader was in Newcastle city centre yesterday to condemn the “unmitigated disaster” of the...
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NORTH EAST REMAINS READY FOR ITS CLOSE-UP
North East-born Robson Green filming an episode of his Weekend Escapes for the BBC, which is committed to continuing to make the most of the region’s amazing locations.
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Council leader used ‘homophobic slur’ in online post
THE Reform UK leader of Durham County Council has used a homophobic slur in a comment made on social media. Reform UK councillor Andrew Husband posted the message under a post on the North Durham Labour Facebook page. Coun Husband has declined to...
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Starmer faces quit calls on North visit
AN under-pressure Sir Keir Starmer faced down calls to resign and reports of a cabinet split as he visited Newcastle yesterday. The Prime Minister spent the morning at the Newcastle United Foundation, amid mounting speculation over his future in the...
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Town centre hit by break-in spree
ANORTHUMBERLAND town has been hit by a spate of break-ins with police treating the offences as being linked. Three businesses have been targeted over two nights in Hexham. The Journal understands that specialist paper craft shop Hanji on St Mary’s...
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Farage: Reform UK isn’t the risk here – Labour is
NIGEL Farage has denied accusations that Reform UK poses a “massive threat” to regeneration plans in towns like Gateshead. Labour figures battling to keep hold of the party’s dominance in Tyne and Wear at next month’s local elections have claimed that...
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Business leaders’ plea to back pubs and restaurants
THE group representing businesses in Newcastle city centre has called on all parties running for election next month to prioritise the area’s pubs, bars and restaurants through their policies. NE1 Ltd wants whoever forms the next council...
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Reeves weighs in for North East on mission to the US
RACHEL Reeves promised to drum up investment into the North East at a major summit in Washington DC. The Chancellor was joined by North East Mayor Kim McGuinness in the US capital for the International Monetary Fund spring meetings. They met with...
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Sunderland plant ‘central’ to us, say Nissan bosses
NISSAN has said its Sunderland plant is “central” in the switch towards electric vehicles after unveiling a new model of its Juke car which will be made in the North East. The all-electric Juke has been unveiled at Nissan’s HQ in Japan, with the...
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Sycamore Gap tree vandal is released
ONE of the two men who chopped down the Sycamore Gap tree has been released from prison to serve his sentence at home. Last July, Adam Carruthers, 33, was sentenced to four years and three months for causing criminal damage to the famous tree beside...
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£3.6m boost for The Baltic
THE Baltic has been granted more than £3.6m as 12 North East venues have received a share of Government funding aimed at improving access to arts and culture. More than £12m will go to the venues across the region from the Department of Culture, Media...
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Nissan decision a blow to region’s automotive sector
A SUNDERLAND car parts factory is having to seek alternative work after it emerged it will no longer provide Nissan with the powertrains it was built to supply. The Jatco factory, 75% of which is owned by Nissan, was opened to great fanfare in January...
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Streeting hails the expansion of diagnostic centre
THE Government has confirmed plans to expand the Metrocentre NHS Community Diagnostic Centre in what the Health Secretary told The Journal was great news for the area. The Gateshead site, which opened 18 months ago, has provided thousands of NHS...
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BLOOMING LOVELY!
> Grace Hildrith, 7, left, and Evie Willis, 9, at the world’s largest collection of ‘Taihaku’ in the Cherry Orchard at the Alnwick Garden, Northumberland.
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Blow as AI giant pauses major project
ONE of the world’s largest AI companies has paused plans for a multibillion-pound investment expected to help bring thousands of jobs to the North East. ChatGPT developer OpenAI said energy costs and regulation in the UK were holding back...
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Mayor’s bid to cut firms’ energy bills
NORTH East mayor Kim McGuinness is poised to launch a new project aimed at slashing energy bills for hundreds of small businesses. A £2.8m programme to help small and medium-sized enterprises cut their energy costs is expected to launch later this...
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Next phase of vision revealed
NEW plans have been unveiled for a residential neighbourhood on a major Newcastle city centre regeneration site. Designs for 78 homes at the Stephenson Quarter, next to Central Station, have been published by developers. Homes planned under a new...
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Davey pleads for region to reject ‘divisive’ politics
ED Davey has urged North East voters to reject “nasty, divisive politics” at next month’s local elections. The Liberal Democrat leader was in Newcastle yesterday and said he believes his party can make a “real breakthrough” at May’s polls. Lib Dems...
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Phillipson: We’re making progress, but must do more
CABINET Minister and North East MP Bridget Phillipson has admitted the Government has to do more to help people in the region feel better off, as Labour faces huge losses in the local elections. The Education Secretary was speaking at an event in...
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STORM BRINGS EASTER CHAOS
> This felled tree at a petrol station on Benton Park Road, Newcastle, was among many brought down across the region by Storm Dave on Saturday night.
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Hoteliers in plea to revive plan for conference centre
HOTELIERS have pleaded with the North East mayor to revive plans for a huge conference centre on Tyneside. An international grade conference facility had long been a key element of the vision for the Gateshead Quays, sitting alongside a “world class”...
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> GRATE EXPECTATIONS?
Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch applies the finishing touches to a dish as she visits Vito’s Italian restaurant in Sheepfolds, Sunderland, during a local election campaign swing across the North East yesterday
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Water company told to improve 138 times in year
NORTHUMBRIAN Water has been told to make almost 140 improvements in the past year following Environment Agency inspections to sites such as sewage treatment works and storm tanks. This comes following 742 inspections by industry regulators, after...
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Delays in cancer diagnosis tackled
HOSPITAL bosses in Newcastle are working with nearby NHS trusts and health service commissioners to tackle delays in skin cancer diagnosis. Health chiefs at the city’s hospitals said that the issue had a “disproportionate” impact on meeting key...
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Deal could create ‘city within a city’ near Metrocentre
LEADING North East shopping and leisure destination Metrocentre has struck a deal to create a major new development with thousands of new homes, described as a “city within a city”. The landmark agreement has been signed between the Metrocentre and...
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Reform will put thousands of jobs at risk – mayor
THE North East mayor has warned Reform UK’s anti-netzero message is “dangerous” for our region, as leader Nigel Farage claimed there is “no chance” of a huge expansion of wind farms delivering a promised jobs bonanza. Plans from the Crown Estate to...
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City on shortlist for TV festival
NEWCASTLE is in the running to take over the hosting of the UK’s most prestigious TV conference. The organisers of the Edinburgh TV Festival have issued a three-city shortlist to host the event from 2027, with the possibility of keeping it in the...
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Upgrade agreed for key junction
PLANS to upgrade Moor Farm roundabout in Northumberland will go ahead after the scheme was included in the latest round of projects set to be delivered by the Government. It comes after years of campaigning to improve capacity on the notorious...
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Huge expansion of offshore wind farms to be announced
AHUGE expansion of wind farms off the North East coast is set to be announced today, just as £60m work gets under way on a mammoth green energy project on Tyneside. The Crown Estate is expected to announce its plans to lease new seabed sites in the...
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Reform vote surge forecast for region
REFORM UK could be on course to seize control of four more North East councils in May. New polling predictions put Labour on course for a dramatic collapse across Tyne and Wear at the upcoming local elections. The AI-driven modelling suggests that...
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WELL HOWE ABOUT THAT!
EDDIE Howe paid tribute to the “special” Geordie public as the Newcastle United boss accepted the city’s highest civic honour. Twelve months on from the club’s historic Carabao Cup final triumph, the NUFC manager has now been presented with the...
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Inquiry report to stay under wraps until after election
THE findings of an independent inquiry into the running of Newcastle City Council will not be published until after crunch local elections. Councillors agreed to commission a review into the governance of the local authority in December 2024, in the...
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‘Vibrant’ urban village vision for city’s valley area
ANEW vision for the next phase of regeneration in one of the country’s trendiest neighbourhoods has been unveiled. Newcastle’s Ouseburn Valley has undergone an enormous transformation over the past few decades, turning it from a former industrial...
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Royal Mail is now failing its duty to deliver, say MPs
AHEALTH condition that became life-threatening, an application to join the Navy that was lost, and Christmas cards arriving in March were all examples given by MPs about the shocking state of mail deliveries around the UK in recent weeks. In a debate...
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Killed by a man they should have been able to trust
A DRUGGED and “crazy dangerous” driver who killed his nephew and brother in a horror smash has been jailed for over 13 years. Michael Webb, 35, was twice the limit for cocaine and doing almost double the speed limit when he smashed into a lamppost and...
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Ambitious county plan for 11k jobs
LEADING councillors in Northumberland have signed off on a decade-long economic plan they say could create up to 11,000 jobs by 2035. The county council’s new strategy provides a blueprint for growth in traditional and emerging sectors. The plan...
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LAST-GASP HEARTBREAK
LAMINE YAMAL’S FINAL-KICK PENALTY ROBS UNITED OF FAMOUS VICTORY:
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Mayor’s cash bid to boost projects
THE North East mayor has unveiled a £104m cash injection mostly aimed at salvaging two of the region’s most prominent stalled developments. Plans to build a world-class arena on the Gateshead Quayside and new film and TV studios on the banks of the...
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Sapling from felled Sycamore Gap tree makes a journey to the end of the Wall
THE grounds of Wallsend’s Segedunum Roman Fort has now officially become the home of a Sycamore Gap sapling. Shortly before 1pm on Friday, a Sycamore Gap sapling was planted at North Tyneside’s UNESCO World Heritage Site with the help of Mayor Karen...
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University boss wants £25m cuts by end of 2026
ANORTH East university in the midst of a lecturers’ strike has unveiled plans to make £25m worth of cuts. Staff at Northumbria University, in Newcastle, have been warned that it will be enacting substantial cost-cutting measures by the end of...
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