Talk about timing
BrewDog expected to open new premises in Durham’s Milburngate four years ago - but the whole city centre development has been stuck behind an unsightly and unwelcoming metal necklace of interlocking barriers in all that time.
Nothing continued to happen, as they say. Until yesterday that is, when it was announced that the site had been bought for an undisclosed sum by Manchester-based property firm Northhold Group, who promised to restart work on the site in the coming months.
The news, ironically, came in the same week that BrewDog went into administration. The Scottish company that was once valued at more than £1billion was swiftly sold for a cut-price £33m to US company Tilray Brands.
The sale preserves the jobs of 733 employees working across the head office, brewing and bar divisions but only 11 “strategic” BrewDog bars in the UK and Ireland are part of the deal.
You won’t find Durham on the list of 38 BrewDog pubs that closed with immediate effect - Newcastle was on it though. But you won’t find Durham on the list of pubs that are part of the Tilray deal either.
Durham County Council leader Andrew Husband said the sale of the Milburngate site would boost the plans of the Reform-run local authority to improve the city centre and create a new innovation district. But, unlike the rest of the development, it seems BrewDog Durham is still in limbo.
Bitter taste
Two groups of people will have been particularly bitter about what happened with BrewDog this week.
Some 484 staff from 38 bars - including the one on Dean Street in Newcastle - were given 25 minutes notice of a conference call on Monday where they learned that their jobs were being made redundant during a 15-minute call.
Bryan Simpson, hospitality organiser with the Unite union, said: “I've been representing bar workers for over a decade and it is the worst mass redundancy I have dealt with, including during the pandemic.”
Then there’s the 200,000 people who took part in the Equity for Punks crowdfunding scheme. They will get will get nothing apart from the prospect of their bar and online discounts still being in place - and maybe a drink on their birthday.
The scheme, launched in 2009, is said to have raised around £75m - that’s more than double this week’s sale price. Investors typically spent about £500 on shares, although many invested larger sums.
Reed all about it
Hartlepool councillors delayed making a decision on their budget and council tax rates (Health, wealth and muscle memory) to go back to Government and make their case for additional funding - it has the third highest number of children in care per capita in the country.
The meeting with housing, communities and local government secretary Steve Reed did not go well. ‘Furious’ and ‘appalled’ were just two of the words used and council leader Pamela Hargreaves said: “Refusing to fix a rigged funding system and telling deprived communities to tax themselves harder is not leadership, it is abdication.”
However, an MHCLG source told The Guardian that Hartlepool had been given one of the biggest funding increases in the country and was now asking for “special treatment that no other council gets despite many local authorities dealing with equivalent pressures”.
The result was councillors agreeing on Tuesday to increase council tax bills by 1.98% - the lowest in the North East. The plan was for a freeze but Hargreaves said the rise was a “direct consequence of spiralling children’s social care costs”.
Creative appointment
Deni Chambers, the Director of Curriculum and Skills at Gateshead College, has left to take up the role of Principal of LMA Newcastle, a specialist creative university which opens its doors to students in September.
LMA (Liverpool Media Academy) started in 2009 and has six schools offering degree courses - Film & Digital Content, Performing Arts, Games & VFX, Music & Audio, Acting Stage & Screen and Creative Business.
Newcastle will be its third campus after London opened in 2020. Deni said on her LinkedIn: “To lead this next chapter, in a city with such heart, identity and creative fire, is a privilege.”
Tax rise passed
Newcastle City Council has approved a Council Tax rise of 4.99%, a headcount reduction of 75, and an overall spending reduction of £4.9m over the next 12 months. The Greens voted with the minority Labour administration to pass the budget.
With a £37m funding gap projected over the next three years, councillors backed a proposal from the Newcastle Independents’ Tracey Mitchell to set up a cross-party task force that will come up with “clear deliverable savings options” in the next six months.
Court win
Ant and Dec have won a High Court order to trace “secret and unauthorised profits” allegedly (always good to stick an allegedly in there) made by an unnamed intermediary in deals to buy and sell Banksy artworks.
The transactions include their £550,000 purchase of a set of six prints in which Banksy depicted model Kate Moss as actress Marilyn Monroe in the style of Andy Warhol. They say the seller apparently only received £300,000, and want to know what happened to the other £250,000.
Judge Iain Pester has now agreed to issue an order to force an art dealer to disclose details of his trades with the intermediary.
Culture race hots up
Gateshead has entered the race to be crowned UK Town of Culture for 2028 - the 30th anniversary of the Angel of the North. It’s a congested race that already includes North Shields, Berwick and Bishop Auckland from the North East.
The bid was announced yesterday at a gathering of the area’s creative sector at Gateshead College. Angela Douglas, the council’s cabinet member for culture, sport and tourism, said: “Applying to be Town of Culture is an audacious move by Gateshead, but it matches our spirit, ambition and pride. It’s a chance to shine a national spotlight on the people who make Gateshead such a special place.”
Northern sold
Look out Texas, the Northern Sound is coming your way. Ten artists from across the North will be performing at SXSW Austin, one of the world’s most influential platforms for music discovery, innovation and international exchange.
The showcase forms part of a new commitment from Northern mayors to strengthen international pathways for artists and music businesses – launching the UK’s first pan-regional Music Export Office.
The SXSW music festival runs from March 12-18 and among those taking part will be North East acts Hector Gannett, Jenna Cole, Tom A Smith and Andrew Cushin, plus Loren Heat and Marketplace from the Tees Valley.
A quick word
Sunderland University vice-chancellor Sir David Bell has been asked by Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson to lead an independent review into how schools and colleges identify, respond to and prevent antisemitism. Planning permission has been given for a £25m development to turn Kirklevington Hall in Yarm into a high-end mixed-use leisure destination. Chris Musgrave, a major partner in the Teesworks project, bought the former Judges Country House Hotel in May 2023, just months after its sudden closure. Footballer Andy Carroll will go on trial in January next year in Chelmsford after pleading not guilty to breaching a non-molestation order by repeatedly calling his ex-wife. New Labour peer Lord Joe Docherty has been administratively suspended from the party pending an investigation into alleged inappropriate behaviour. Washington and Gateshead South MP Sharon Hodgson has been appointed parliamentary under-secretary of state for public health and prevention in a mini-reshuffle of junior ministers. Newcastle College has been awarded White Ribbon Accreditation by White Ribbon UK, recognising its work to promote safer, more inclusive environments for women and girls. The owner of Whitehouse Farm, a family-run visitor farm near Morpeth, has called on Northumberland County Council to revisit the decision to refuse permission for a covered, accessible playground. Work had already started and an online petition urging the local authority to reconsider has more than 7,500 signatures. The number of empty shops in County Durham’s town centres has increased for the third year in a row, with Peterlee and Bishop Auckland continuing to have the highest percentage of vacant units. Northumberland councillors have been told that pharmacies could close because of financial pressures and the rural nature of the county. Fans travelled from as far as Northern Ireland and Iceland to pay their respects to Sunderland’s ‘supporter of the century’ George Forster who was laid to rest on Monday following a procession which took him past the Stadium of Light one last time. Habib Rahman, who became Newcastle’s first non-white lord mayor in 2021, has announced he will not seek re-election in May. He quit Labour after accusing the party of “institutional racism” and has been an independent for two years.
Drama hat-trick
The campaign to change Britain’s double jeopardy law took centre stage as I Fought the Law emerged the big winner at the Royal Television Society North East and the Borders annual TV awards.
The four-part ITV drama, which chronicles Teesside campaigner Ann Ming’s long fight to bring her daughter Julie’s killer to justice, picked up three prizes.
Sheridan Smith was named Best Performance for her portrayal of Ann, while Ben Wilson won Best Photography and the production itself secured Best Drama. Sam Wonfor has all the news, award winners and pictures from the Hilton Newcastle Gateshead.
Tony award
Tony Mowbray has been named North East Personality of the Year by the North East Football Writers’ Association. The award, presented in association with The Sir Bobby Robson Foundation, recognises individuals who use their position in football to make a positive impact beyond the pitch.
Other award winners included Sunderland’s Dan Ballard, Katie Kitching and Katy Watson, as well as Newcastle United’s Lewis Miley, with additional recognition for Spennymoor Town and Middlesbrough FC Women.
Nicholas
Business bites
UK-based European Cargo is making a multi-million pound investment to establish an operational base at Teesside Airport Business Park which will see five weekly freight flights launch to China from this month. Nissan is putting out the welcome mat in Sunderland for people who want to see inside one of the most advanced automotive manufacturing plants in Europe. Short tours (2 hours), full tours (4 hours) and corporate day visits are available. Sage, TSG, Close House, Lookers and Mediaworks - Ian Dinning has an impressive business pedigree and he has just founded Payment Lynk, a consultancy set up to save businesses money on their payment systems. The Middleton Enterprises-backed OneGym is opening a £1.2m site at Eldon Gardens in Newcastle, its third new opening in the last year. British Steel reports receiving more than 1,000 applications for its apprenticeships and graduate roles in Scunthorpe and Teesside. Ward Hadaway was the most active legal adviser in the North East in 2025, according to a new report by Experian Market IQ. Muckle was in second place with Mincoffs third. In terms of financial advisers, UNW topped the list followed by Grant Thornton and Azets. Members of the University and College Union at Northumbria University have confirmed a further 10 days of industrial action, beginning on March 16, in a row over switching pension schemes.
Newcastle’s SkinBioTherapeutics has appointed experienced senior executive Rachel Parsonage as interim CEO just weeks after the suspension and subsequent resignation of former CEO Stuart Ashman. County Durham-based Filtronic, a key supplier to Elon Musk's Starlink satellite programme, has moved into a much larger HQ and manufacturing facility close to its original home at NETPark. The £38m takeover of Fentimans by the makers of Irn Bru (“made in Scotland from girders”) could result in the closure of the botanical brewery’s site in Hexham and the loss of 37 jobs. Caravan manufacturer Elddis is to stop production at its Consett site after a steep drop in demand. Around 480 jobs are at risk. Specialist safety doors manufacturer NEOS Protect Holdings has been acquired by a Shropshire investment group in a deal designed to support and accelerate its long-term expansion plans. Darlington Borough Council has backed a blueprint to create a STEM education hub in the town’s Science Park, which already houses Teesside University and business support organisation CPI. Manchester-based workplace design and build specialist TSK has opened a new delivery studio in Newcastle. Sales were up and profits were down but Greggs staff will still receive a share from a £20.2m bonus pot after their latest annual figures were announced. It’s back to the future for Naylors Gavin Black. The Newcastle commercial property consultancy is rebranding as Naylors, the name it had before merging with Gavin Black & Partners in 2019.
1985 ad break
Levi’s ran a series of ads in the mid-80s and early 90s that paired stylish visuals with classic songs, the exposure sending the tracks back to the top of the charts. This is probably the most famous one starring Nick Kamen, who stripped off in a laundrette - his jeans needed a wash - to the sound of Marvin Gaye’s I Heard It Through The Grapevine.
The ladies seemed to like it. Madonna certainly did. She had a relationship with the young man and helped him launch his (short-lived) music career. Who remembers Each Time You Break My Heart?
THE WIDER VIEW
Return to spender
Dentists in England are returning hundreds of millions of pounds a year to the government for unfulfilled NHS care.
A BBC report says more than £900m has been handed back in the past two years - £1 out of every £7 they have been paid - as dentists instead prioritise private work.
The findings help explain why so many patients are struggling to get a dental appointment despite record sums being set aside for NHS dentistry.
Give me strength
Most people know that physical activity benefits health. However, different types of activity have different effects on the body, and strength training holds the key to healthy ageing, says Christopher Hurst, a senior research associate at Newcastle University.
“Over time, muscles become smaller and weaker”, he writes in The Conversation. “This matters because muscle does more than move our limbs: it stabilises joints, supports balance and acts as a reserve during illness or injury.
Strength training, also known as resistance exercise, is the most effective way to maintain or improve muscle strength as we age - and you don’t have to go to a gym to do it.
Fake banker
I remember reading this at the time and thinking ‘why would anyone go to the media and complain that they can no longer afford five holidays a year’. Turns out they didn’t. This story in The Telegraph from June last year is not true.
I don’t know what happened to the checks and balances in the newsroom but the article was removed from the website, a complaint has been upheld by press regulator IPSO and the newspaper has published the regulator’s ruling on its website - but declined to tell it how the article featuring a fake banker and stock images came to be published in the first place.
Any idea how much the Bridget Phillipson/David Bell review into schools' response to antisemitism is costing? Is David Bell doing it for nothing? This is categorically not an antisemitic comment, rather an observation that the relationship between the two - Sunderland MP and university leader who seems to be teflon-coated - might be a bit close. From leaving Reading University with £20m of debt to the disingenuous handling of the National Glass Centre, Bell has risen leaving others to clean up the mess. Other university leaders are surely available, possibly even outside the MP's region, to look into this.