‘Happy’ birthday
Eyes & Ears ‘celebrated’ its first birthday on Substack yesterday. The inverted commas are deliberate, and I’ll explain why.
For the past 12 months, I have been putting a lot of time and effort into using my experience to bring you a round-up of things you may know, things you didn’t know, things you needed to know, and things you didn’t know you needed to know.
I want to give you information you can trust, make you feel better informed, better connected, save you time, and provide a little entertainment along the way.
I’ve never asked for a penny. The first birthday seemed a good time to turn on paid subscriptions - after all a sizeable number of you had already made a financial pledge to support my work.
So, I turned the payments on.
I should stress that this is not a paywall. Everyone will continue to see everything I publish. It’s just an opportunity for people who value what I do to show their appreciation by paying the equivalent of a small glass of wine a month (I don’t like coffee).
Now for the inverted commas. Yesterday did not feel like a birthday celebration because of my frustration with the Substack subscription service.
I turned the payments on, the subscriptions started to come through… then they stopped. My subscriptions are officially ‘paused’. I still do not know why - despite my numerous (pointless) conversations with a chatbot who kept on assuring me that “the technical team is investigating the issue”.
Without sharing any more of my pain, can I suggest that those of you who are minded to take out a paid subscription to Eyes & Ears wait until I have been given the all-clear from robotland. I’ll give you an update in Sunday’s edition.
If any of you tried to subscribe yesterday and failed, could you please email me at brian.aitken@theqt.online and let me know about your experience. I think I may compile a dossier!
And then there was one…
BP has pulled out of building a hydrogen plant at Teesworks in Redcar following a row over whether the site would be better suited to housing a data centre.
A government decision was due this week but BP backed out before that decision could be made, citing a “material change in circumstances” to the land that the plant had been due to be built on.
Tees Valley mayor Ben Houchen took to LinkedIn to say: “BP’s hydrogen project faced a number of challenges, and while I know this won’t have been an easy decision, I welcome their pragmatism.”
His enthusiasm may have been getting the better of him though when he said the decision “clears the way for what could be the biggest private investment Teesside has ever seen - bringing thousands of high-quality jobs and putting us right at the heart of the UK’s fast-growing AI and tech industry”.
Not sure that operational data centres are known for needing that many staff.
“Now we have clarity, we can get on and deliver,” he said. “From ICI to AI, Teesside powered the first Industrial Revolution, and now we’ve got the green light to lead the next one.”
Sounds good, but not sure that stands up to scrutiny either.
First summit
An investment summit to showcase the North on a global stage will take place on May 18 - the day before the opening of UKREiiF, the UK’s Real Estate Investment and Infrastructure Forum in Leeds.
The summit is being organised by The Great North, a partnership of mayors chaired by the North East’s Kim McGuinness.
She said: “We are creating the first ever forum dedicated to promoting the North of England collectively, demonstrating our unrivalled investment potential, and telling our story on the global stage with passion and pride.”
£15m help plea
Redcar and Cleveland Council is to ask the Government for £15m as an emergency measure to balance its budget, mainly due to escalating costs in children’s social care and years of underfunding.
A Cabinet report said savings of more than £20m had been delivered over the past four years through efficiency programmes but a “significant resourcing shortfall” had also led to a substantial reduction in the council’s cash reserves, which were now “critically low”.
Decision delay
A special scrutiny meeting of Northumberland County Council decided that the future of Hexham’s former fire station should be debated by the full council when it next meets on January 14.
The council want to knock the building down for a new depot but more than 3,000 people have signed a petition calling for it to sold to Angel of the North sculptor Sir Antony Gormley as storage and exhibition space.
Winging it
Protests from model aircraft enthusiasts and worries about public noise meant that Amazon only received temporary permission from Darlington council to build drone facilities at its Symmetry Park warehouse.
The company has now told the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), who have still to give approval of a six-month trial, that it expects to carry out a maximum of 10 flights an hour instead of 21 - something that would justify the above headline in The Telegraph.
However the article goes on to say that Amazon proposes to increase frequency from eight hours a day Monday to Friday to 12 hours a day seven days a week.
Wings clipped, you say. Let’s see. Original plan: 21 flights x 8 hours x 5 days = 840 flights a week. New plan: 10 flights x 12 hours x 7 days = 840 flights a week.
Spooky.
‘Protect historic trees’
Hexham MP Joe Morris, whose constituency includes the area where the Sycamore Gap was felled, has called for iconic trees to be protected through the introduction of a legal register.
He introduced the Iconic Trees and Nature Education Bill which seeks to protect trees holding widely recognised cultural, historical, ecological or symbolic value. The Bill would also require the Secretary of State to review how nature education is provided, aiming to strengthen public understanding of the environment.
The Bill will be discussed further in parliament with a second reading scheduled for January 16.
£5.5m payback
A Gateshead man has been stripped of his assets and ordered to pay back nearly £5.5m after a lengthy and complex investigation by the North East Regional Organised Crime Unit (NEROCU).
HMRC found that 64-year-old Stanley Miller had been evading paying VAT, income tax and National Insurance for eight years, as well as laundering money and benefitting from criminal cash. He was jailed for eight years and three months in 2018.
Detectives later identified various bank accounts, some in the UAE, a property portfolio in Gateshead and Newcastle, cash and luxury items, which were seized from his home in Ryton.
NEROCU Detective Inspector Thomas Maughan said: “Despite the best efforts of Miller and his legal team we have secured a financial order that really hits him where it hurts, his bank account.”
Better by degrees
Newcastle United’s Eddie Howe and Dan Burn, and former Sunderland chairman Sir Bob Murray were among seven people to receive honorary degrees from Northumbria University.
Other recipients included Lol Crawley, a Northumbria graduate and Oscar-winning cinematographer for The Brutalist, and Steph Edusei, chief executive of St Oswald’s Hospice.
Former Newcastle City Council leader Nick Forbes received an honorary degree from Newcastle University.
A quick word
An investigation into Cleveland’s chief fire officer Peter Rickard has ended. We don’t know what the allegations were, but an independent third party has concluded there was no evidence to support them. Case closed then. Northumberland councillors have approved the first phase of building works on a £10 billion data centre planned by QTS at the site of the former Blyth power station in Cambois with the US company looking to “move the project along at pace”. QT columnist Jamie Hardesty, the director of ecosystem development at Sunderland Software City, has begun a four-month secondment at the North East Combined Authority to shape the region’s AI Growth Zone strategy - a hugely popular move judging by reaction on LinkedIn. Sunderland council leader Michael Mordey and MP Lewis Atkinson have sent a letter to the National Trust asking if their Safe Harbour scheme might provide a lifeline for the National Glass Centre which is due to close in July. The Northumberland Line is to introduce later trains from Newcastle to Ashington from December 14 and all Sunday services are to be extended to the Metrocentre. The Tyne Bridge is need of 2,000 repairs - double what was thought when work began. Newcastle council expects the costs will be covered by funding already secured and that work will still be completed in time for its 100th anniversary in 2028. A ban on junk food ads on the Metro, first announced by mayor Kim McGuinness at the end of October, came into force on Monday. Homes England is looking for a development partner to bring forward a 500-home scheme at the site of the former St George’s Hospital on the outskirts of Morpeth. They attracted hundreds of public comments, but Durham’s planning committee has approved plans to demolish houses in the former mining village of Horden and build 100 new homes. More defibrillators will be available in communities across the North East thanks to a new partnership between the Voluntary Organisations’ Network North East (VONNE) and the North East Ambulance Service. Teesside-based family-owned property company Cable Properties has bought the Pitcher & Piano on Newcastle’s Quayside for around £5.5m.
Quite a Story
The Story has attracted more than 120,000 visitors and engaged over 1600 children through workshops, sessions and educational programmes since it opened in June last year.
Now the County Durham heritage centre, home to five major historic collections, including six miles of archives covering 900 years of local history and the full Durham Light Infantry Collection and Archive, has won a major award.
It has won (take a breath) the national Excellence in Heritage and Culture Award at the Royal Town Planning Institute’s (RTPI) Awards for Planning Excellence 2025. As I said - a major award.
A region united
The charity foundations of the region’s big football, rugby, cricket and basketball clubs have joined forces with the North East Housing Partnership and mayor Kim McGuinness to launch Together Through Sport - a year-long campaign to raise funds to make sure every youngster in the region can get involved.
Lesley Spuhler, Foundation of Light chief executive, said: “Sport has the power to change lives, and by joining forces we can make sure every child has the chance to experience that. Together Through Sport is about breaking down barriers and opening up opportunities, ensuring no young person is left watching from the sidelines.”
Scent of success
Noted Aromas is a direct-to-consumer fragrance company specialising in designer-inspired scents at affordable prices.
The fast-growing Durham business has just secured a £31m investment through a management buy‑out, backed by private equity. Investors see Noted Aromas as a “disruptor” with international expansion opportunities.
Business bites
Law firms in the North East have rallied to support staff from 100-year-old Newcastle firm Samuel Phillips Law which closed its doors with no prior warning a few days ago. LNER has taken on 100 additional staff as it prepares for the introduction of a new timetable on December 14 which will see an increase in the number of services it runs. Supply chain business Martin Brower is getting ready to open a 138,250 sq ft facility at Symmetry Park in Darlington where 220 staff will be employed. Ashington-based lighting specialist Raytec has made a strategic acquisition by taking over Finnish company Atexor Oy to expand its reach in Europe. Travel agency Dawson and Sanderson is looking to expand its presence on the high street after a year of “behind-the-scenes transformation and investment” which saw a dip in turnover but an increase in booking revenue. Renewable heat and power business Future Group has opened a new head office in South Shields as well as a training academy to upskill tradespeople in solar power installation and maintenance. UK Land Estates has increased its ownership at the Team Valley Trading Estate with the £7.5m purchase of the four-unit estate The Dukeries. The bulging order book at Newton Aycliffe-based Tekmar grew some more this week with the announcement of an €8m contract for its cable protection system to be used on a major UK offshore wind farm. Stockton-based Time To ACT is looking to acquire the assets and subsidiaries owned by advanced engineering materials group Versarien, which has filed a notice of intention to appoint administrators. Electronics manufacturer Filtronic has been awarded £1.2m in development funding through the UK Space Agency’s National Space Innovation Programme. Hartlepool precision engineers JJ Hardy & Sons - which is gearing up for its 170th birthday - has landed contracts with Eurostar and Transport for London for the supply of precision engineered rail carriage components. RMT Accountants & Business Advisors are looking to take on more staff after securing a significant contract with Cyclife UK. Bosses at John N Dunn Group are forecasting further profit growth as they look at further opportunities in the renewables sector.
1990 ad break
Last week’s bit of TV nostalgia featuring McEwan’s Best Scotch went down very well, judging by the large number of views.
This week it’s stablemate Newcastle Exhibition’s turn with the good burghers of Gelsenkirchen looking to have a twinning agreement - and the quality of the beer being the deciding factor.
Can’t say if the quality of the beer had anything to do with it, but Newcastle and Gelsenkirchen were twinned in 1948 as part of the post‑war peace and friendship movement, rooted in their shared mining heritage.
It remains Newcastle’s longest-standing twinning arrangement and the 75th anniversary was celebrated in 2023 with school exchanges, art projects, and civic receptions in both cities.
THE WIDER VIEW
The jury’s out
Justice Secretary David Lammy announced in the Commons this week that defendants facing sentences of three years or less will no longer have the right to a jury trial.
There was understandable criticism from MPs and legal groups to the measure aimed at tackling the Crown Court backlog, with the Law Society saying the proposals “go too far in eroding our fundamental right”.
It’s an issue where it’s easy to see both sides of the argument - although Guardian columnist Simon Jenkins produced stats that show Britain sends far more people to prison than countries without juries.
“England and Wales imprisons 145 of its citizens for every 100,000,” he said. “Jury-free Germany imprisons 71, the Netherlands and Norway just 54. I do not believe that Britons are twice as criminal as Germans, or three times as Dutch or Norwegians. The jury-loving US imprisons 541.
“British crime and punishment is prison-obsessed. Not a week passes without some MP demanding long sentences for everyone from hate speakers to water board chairs. Jurisprudence is stuck in a rut and hostile to new ideas. Crime is seen not as a societal disease, requiring professional analysis and cure.
“There seems no scope for restorative justice or the role of rehabilitation in sentencing, as there is in Scandinavia. Discussion is over retribution and deterrence – a deterrence that is patently ineffective in areas such as cybercrime and sexual violence.”
Baby boomers
One million more babies were born in Nigeria in 2023 than in the whole of Europe, according to Our World in Data. There were 7.5m births in that one African country compared to 6.3m in the whole of Europe, including Russia.
Beware the ‘experts’
Press Gazette has another tale of dodgy PR companies feeding publishers low quality content at scale tailored to fit around clickbait headlines.
This time they highlight a network of dubious “experts” who have been quoted more than 600 times by mainstream UK publishers over the last four years.
“They all work for a major business - MyJobQuote. And as far as we can tell, none of them are real,” said editor in chief Dominic Ponsford.
“It is a lucrative tactic which delivers valuable SEO links to business website domains. It has helped MyJobQuote steal a march on rival builder recommendation platforms like Check A Trade.”
And much of the advice these “experts” share is itself bogus.
“Sadly, UK-based IPSO regulated publishers like Reach, Future and News UK are among the most likely to publish this sort of content,” said Ponsford. “DMGT, Newsquest, Hearst and Immediate Media (all also members of IPSO) have also repeatedly breached its code by publishing this stuff.”