More banks checking out
A raft of banking hubs are set to open in the region after Lloyds Banking Group announced it was going to close 136 more high street branches - seven in the North East.
The closure announcement sparked anger and concern. QT contributor Andy Cooper spoke to Hexham MP Joe Morris for an article in North East Bylines. Morris has written to Lloyds chief exec Charlie Nunn, urging a change of mind on the closure of branches in the Tyne Valley towns of Hexham and Prudhoe
He said: “Lloyds Banking Group will leave my constituents in England’s largest constituency by land mass, which spreads across an area wider than that contained by the M25, with just two dedicated bank branches.”
Five Lloyds branches are to close in the region: Houghton-le-Spring, Prudhoe, Hexham, Peterlee and Bishop Auckland. Peterlee and Hexham will also lose their Halifax branch.
The bank closures are not restricted to Lloyds. Jeff Watson, Conservative councillor for Amble West with Warkworth, told the BBC that the closure of Amble's TSB's branch in May, the town's last bank, made no sense.
"Hundreds of houses are being built and Amble is attracting more tourism,” he said. We're probably going to have 1,000 extra houses overall. It's a place that's really on the up."
Banking hubs, which can be used by customers of different banks, are becoming more common. Organised by Link, which runs the country’s ATM network, and run by the Post Office, the region already has hubs in Newton Aycliffe and Seaham.
Others are now planned for Ferryhill in County Durham, Alnwick, Amble, Crook, Spennymoor, Stanley, Whitley Bay, Barnard Castle, Houghton-le-Spring and Peterlee.
Big deal for city
Freight Island, a huge entertainment and dining destination inspired by Coney Island in New York, is coming to Newcastle.
Five years after opening in Manchester, the company is set to transform the rooftop of Eldon Square and the top floor of the former Debenhams department store into a vibrant hub of indoor and outdoor activity. The £16m investment into the city’s night-time economy is due to open in the autumn.
A key feature will be Music Box - a venue for live music and touring acts. This will allow Freight Island to host a variety of events, including corporate gatherings, art showcases, theatre, national festivals and international tours.
Sarah Green, chief executive of NGI, said: “The arrival of Freight Island will drive Newcastle’s destination brand to new heights and make it an even more attractive choice for visitors. This is a brilliant example of innovative regeneration that will enhance our city’s reputation and, critically, create more jobs and opportunities for local businesses to thrive.”
Better late than…
Durham County Council is looking to end the years of uncertainty over the city’s Milburngate development by buying it for around £55 million.
It was due to open in 2022 and last April The QT’s Chris Jackson took a close look at the impasse preventing the complex of riverside leisure units, offices and apartments from opening. You can read his investigation here.
Now, it appears, things are moving. Councillor Elizabeth Scott, cabinet member for economy and partnerships, told The Northern Echo: “We are very aware of the economic significance of Milburngate. Investing in it would, therefore, allow us to secure its future and bring significant economic benefit to the city and wider county.”
A spokesperson for the developers said: “We note the council’s statement. We have nothing to add at this stage.”
Sammy show returns
Sunday for Sammy, the unofficial Geordie command performance, is coming back for a 25th anniversary performance at the Utilita Arena in Newcastle on February 15 next year. It will be the first time the popular charity fundraiser will have been held since 2020.
Two new Sunday for Sammy patrons have been announced - Vera actress Brenda Blethyn and The 1975's Matty Healy, son of actor Tim who has been involved with the shows from the beginning.
Joined up thinking
There was a united front on show when the region’s two biggest political figures shared a TV screen on Sunday. North East mayor Kim McGuinness and Tees Valley counterpart Ben Houchen appeared together for the first time on BBC’s Politics North.
Conservative Houchen told political editor Richard Moss: “We're not rivals actually, we work quite closely. Working with Kim on what are practical issues rather than political issues means that we can work perfectly well together."
Labour mayor McGuinness agreed saying: "The job is to make sure more investment makes its way north of the M62, to make sure the east of the country gets the same amount of attention as the west, and to really create a joined up North East. I find that we do that well together.”
A quick word
Proposed timetable changes could see the number of weekday trains from Durham to Edinburgh reduce from 29 to 17, including the loss of the 08.22 which is popular with commuters to Newcastle. Police are investigating after Newcastle United midfielder Joe Willock was the target of racist abuse on social media following the club’s 2-1 home defeat to Fulham. A Monet masterpiece, The Petit Bras of the Seine at Argenteuil, will be displayed at the South Shields Museum & Art Gallery in early 2026 as part of the National Gallery's Masterpiece Tour. A crackdown on drivers trying to avoid parking charges at Newcastle International Airport appears to be working, according to Newcastle City Council who report “a significant improvement in parking issues”. The region’s first cat cafe, Mog on the Tyne, is to close on March 2, almost 10 years after first opening its doors in Pudding Chare, Newcastle. A letter written by Admiral Collingwood one year on from the Battle of Trafalgar, as he continued to lay siege to the Spanish city of Cadiz, has sold at auction for £1,764.
Poverty: a new chapter
The country’s first Child Poverty Reduction Unit has been launched in the North East. Mayor Kim McGuinness announced the launch at a story reading session attended by pupils, charities and teachers in Newbiggin-by-the-Sea. She was joined by Amanda Bailey, the director of the North East Child Poverty Commission, who has been appointed to lead the new unit's work.
The CPRU team will work with families and community groups and develop a draft plan which will be presented to the North East Combined Authority in March, with recommendations for investment to break down barriers to opportunity.
Alongside this, £1.4 million is being rolled out to support 220 North East schools with financial advice, cost-cutting initiatives and free after-school clubs.
Hydrogen agenda
The North East Chamber of Commerce has published a report highlighting how hydrogen can drive economic growth and help achieve the region’s decarbonisation goals.
Policy manager Marianne O'Sullivan said: "The North East is uniquely positioned to be at the forefront of the UK's hydrogen revolution, with key infrastructure, industrial expertise and a strong commitment to sustainability. We hope this report sparks further collaboration and investment to drive forward a cleaner, greener economy."
The report, produced in association with Womble Bond Dickinson and Teesside University, outlines the need for infrastructure investment, skills development, and regulatory frameworks to support the hydrogen economy.
Checks imbalances
Gateshead Council has admitted that checks on the crumbling A167 flyover were not carried out weekly. An experienced structural engineer carried out regular inspections - but the council declined to say how often this was done.
New work began this week to strengthen the doomed structure so that buses can run underneath it. Meanwhile discussions are still taking place between the council and government over the funding of demolition.
Roads assessments
The sudden closure of the A167 Gateshead flyover has prompted regional transport bosses to adopt a more pro-active approach to highway maintenance.
The North East Combined Authority cabinet will be asked in March to sign off on funding for a project to assess the state of the region’s key highways infrastructure, which will be used to build future investment cases and inform funding allocations to the seven North East councils.
Skills budget ‘slashed’
Adult education budgets are set to be slashed by the Government, sparking a fierce backlash from further education leaders, according to an exclusive report in FE Week yesterday.
Regional mayors have been told to expect cuts of around 2% to their adult skills fund and free courses for jobs allocations for the 2025-26 academic year, as the Department for Education scrambles to find savings for the Treasury.
Sue Pember, policy director at Holex, the lead professional body for Adult Community Education and Learning in the UK, said cutting funding “flies in the face of the change we were promised at the election. This decision is anti-growth, and anti-opportunity.”
Globe-trotting home
Oscar-nominated screenwriter Peter Straughan made an emotional return to Tyneside to talk at a screenwriting conference organised by New Writing North and sponsored by North East Screen, before introducing Conclave at a special screening at Tyneside Cinema.
“Coming over the bridge in the train I almost had a tear in my eye,” the Golden Globe winner confessed to David Whetstone in an interview for Cultured. North East.
He remembered fondly his time at Live Theatre, where he was artist-in-residence from 1999 to 2000. He wrote some plays for Live and also won the playwriting prize at the People’s Theatre.
Film, though, was a different and unfamiliar world. “Had North East Screen been around, I might have got there a bit earlier,” he said.
Second airport deal
UK operator TUI has signed a long-term agreement with Willis Aviation to carry out maintenance services at Teesside. The agreement follows a deal with Jet2 for comprehensive inspections on its Boeing 737s.
Phil Forster, managing director of Teesside International Airport, said: "Willis has been a vital partner for Teesside. This second deal shows we're growing as an attractive option for aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul, with operators sitting up and taking notice of what our site has on offer.”
Business bites
Nissan is said to be considering pulling out of its merger with Honda. It’s a developing story, but reports suggest Honda was proposing to make Nissan a subsidiary rather having a more equal structure. Weardale Lithium has received planning approval to build the UK’s largest lithium extraction facility on the former cement works at Eastgate, near Stanhope. It will create 125 jobs and accelerate production of electric vehicle power packs and battery energy storage systems. Sunderland City Council has cleared the way for a Seafront Business Improvement District to be set up to work with the existing BID and connect the coastline with the city centre. A ballot of businesses will be held in May. AstraZeneca has decided not to go ahead with its planned £450 million investment in a new vaccine manufacturing plant in Speke, Merseyside. The decision was influenced by a reduction in government support and the timing of the final offer compared to the previous government's proposal. County Durham-based technology company Kromek has signed a £30m deal with Siemens Healthineers which it says will be “transformational” for its fortunes. HMRC has filed a winding up petition against Newcastle firm Hadrian Real Estate, the company that took control of key development schemes that once belonged to the failed High Street Group.
Back to the future
Beamish Museum is looking for seasonal workers to help them “bring history to life”. Some of the jobs involve dressing up in period clothes as engagers, who chat to visitors in places like the school, the sweet shop, miners' cottages or on the trams.
THE WIDER VIEW
‘Illegal meat highway’
A fine piece of journalism - and a disturbing one at that - could be found on the BBC’s Countryfile programme this week.
Joe Crowley investigated concerns over delays caused by new border checks and the impact they have on farmers, our animal, food and plants imports, and the higher prices we all have to pay as a result.
That part of his report from Harwich in Essex was bad enough. But he then moved on to Dover, where criminals see the port as a soft touch because the checks are carried out at a customs clearance facility 23 miles away.
Many lorries fail to turn up and the route has been dubbed an “illegal meat highway” with potentially diseased meat and banned food evading checks and ending up in our shops. This poses a serious bio-security risk, especially with recent outbreaks of deadly animal diseases in Europe.
Countryfile sent a Freedom of Information request to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) asking how many lorries did not turn up for their checks but were refused an answer. Parliament's Environment Select Committee is on the case.
Lucy Manzano, head of the Dover Port Health Authority, has already said: “Defra have continually stated that there are robust controls in place. There are not. They don’t exist.”
‘Terrifying’ prospect
A few weeks ago, investigative journalist Peter Geoghegan conducted a survey on his Democracy for Sale website. The results - from 11,000 respondents - found huge support for banning foreign funding and capping political donations. Here is a word cloud based on the responses to the question: “In one word, what do you think about the prospect of Elon Musk giving $100m to Nigel Farage?”
Welcome to the revolution
The tables were turned on me this week when I was featured in an article in Behind Local News. Eyes & Ears is part of a newsletter revolution it seems. The article says ‘Eyes & Ears boasts more than 2,000 subscribers’. Well it’s 2,233 at the time of writing to be exact - and we can double that if every one of you persuades one other person to sign up! There’s no time like the present.
You can read the Behind Local News article by clicking here.
THE QT VAULTS
This is a remarkable and little-known tragic story of Edwin Bainbridge, the heir to one of Newcastle’s most famous stores, that The QT’s Chris Jackson discovered on a trip to New Zealand.
It’s a long read so please come back to this when you have 15 minutes and are able to sit down with a cuppa. It’s well worth it.
Here is a taster:
Edwin Bainbridge witnessed an awe-inspiring natural phenomenon which would change New Zealand’s landscape and ultimately cost him his life. This Tyneside youth was the last European to see what some considered the eighth wonder of the world before it was consumed by a massive volcanic eruption. June 10 1886 was the Southern Hemisphere’s Vesuvius moment.
The fact Edwin was in the wrong place at the wrong time was itself the result of multiple tragedies within his own family. He’d escaped immense sadness at home by embarking on what was to be, literally, his trip of a lifetime.