Just the beginning
Cambois Primary School and Ashington Colliery Band were the first to benefit directly from the £10 billion data centre being built in Northumberland by QTS.
Cheques for £10,000 and £5,000 were handed over for their performances at a celebration event to mark the start of enabling works at the massive site which is expected to support 1,200 long-term construction jobs.
Executive Vice President at QTS Stephanie Taylor said: “We have the vision and the mission to make something truly unique in Northumberland. It’s daunting, it’s one of the biggest inward investments the UK has ever seen, but this is so much more than a data centre.
“It’s an opportunity to bring employment, training, and skills to build a workforce that is local, that really represents and supports the community. We will go above and beyond.
“Our social value programme is a reflection of our commitment to the North East. We’re incredibly proud to be here and we really can’t wait to get started.”
Bank on Beamish
Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey delivered a national economic briefing at Beamish museum this week.
He told regional business leaders that the UK economy is still in a fragile recovery, with inflation easing but risks persisting. He praised Beamish as a “vital regional institution” and stressed that the North East’s innovation and enterprise are central to the national outlook.
High speed rail
MPs Ian Lavery and Emma Foody and North East mayor Kim McGuinness have sent a joint letter urging Network Rail to speed up their usual sign-off process to get the last two stations on the highly-successful Northern Line open as soon as possible.
Construction of the last three stations is almost complete and Blyth Bedside is due to open on October 19. But Bedlington and Northumberland Park are unlikely to be open until next year because the approvals process usually takes a minimum of 12 weeks.
“Given the delays our communities have already experienced we don’t think that is acceptable,” the letter said. “Our residents deserve to use the new stations as soon as construction is complete and safety inspections confirm that they are safe to use – three months is clearly far too long.”
Top 150
Newcastle University has moved into the top 150 of the world’s universities, taking 144th spot in the rankings - and 65th in the world for research quality.
Jane Robinson, pro vice-chancellor engagement & place, said on her LinkedIn: “Feeling privileged to be in Jeddah for the Times Higher Education World Academic Summit to hear the announcement that Newcastle University has moved up the THE World University Rankings and now placed firmly in top 150 globally.”
Durham slipped three places to 175 with Oxford top for the tenth year in a row.
End of an era
Award-winning designer Kate Fearnley, who has dressed celebrities such as Girls Aloud and Michelle Keegan, is to close her business after 24 years.
“Small independent businesses like mine face challenges that weren’t there so much a few years ago,” she said. “The digital pace has sped up dramatically, mass-produced brands dominate online, and algorithms decide who gets seen. Keeping up requires huge investment and resources, and for a small creative business like mine, it’s just not sustainable anymore.”
Kate, whose dad ran Alan Fearnley Records on Linthorpe Road in Middlesbrough for 43 years, said: “After a few weeks of utter heartbreak at the thought, I’m now at peace with the reality of the situation.”
Did you know?
Question: What do Andrews Liver Salts, Be-Ro and Domestos all have in common (and would it be dangerous to mix them all together?). Answer: They all began life in Newcastle.
Just three of the fascinating things I learned in the second part of High Life North magazine’s fun facts you probably didn’t know about the region.
I knew about the windscreen wipers, matches and Berghaus but I didn’t know that the desk in the US president’s Oval office began life in North Shields.
Arctic exploration ship HMS Resolute was built in 1849 at Smiths Dock in North Shields. After being abandoned during a rescue mission, the ship was recovered by the Americans, restored, and gifted back to Britain. When she was finally decommissioned, Queen Victoria had a desk made from her best timbers and sent to the White House as a gesture of friendship.
Bills to increase
Northumbrian Water are being allowed to increase bills by an extra 1% following an appeal to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). The company had argued for a 6% increase.
Welcome move
Atom Bank has officially relocated its 600 employees from Durham to the historic Pattern Shop at the Stephenson Quarter in Newcastle.
The challenger bank’s move will be a welcome one for the city council as the site is an Accelerated Development Zone (ADZ), set up as part of the Newcastle City Deal that was agreed with the Government in 2012.
Under the deal all business rate income is ring-fenced by the Government and retained by the council for 25 years.
The city deal said the Stephenson Quarter and Central Station area were primed to become a major new office district “in the next decade”. The other three areas covered by the ADZ are Science Central (new renamed Helix), East Pilgrim Street, and Gateshead Quays and Baltic Business Quarter.
A quick word
Pupils from Brighton Avenue School in Gateshead are to perform at The Glasshouse on Thursday next week after taking part in dance and music improvisation workshops with musician Corinne Bailey Rae. The big reveal before the big reveal. Sunday November 2 has been announced as the day the wraps will be taken off this year’s Christmas window display at Fenwick in Newcastle. At least they waited until after Halloween. Chef-owner Cal Byerley and head chef Ian Waller from Restaurant Pine, located at Vallum Farm in Northumberland, received a One Knife Award at the 2025 Best Chef Awards in Milan. “Achieving this recognition for the first time is mind-blowing,” they said. “We’re thrilled to be listed alongside so many brilliant chefs.” Open-access train operator Lumo is to begin a “cost-conscious” service linking Glasgow and London with advance fares between Glasgow and Newcastle starting at £10.90. Approximately 50,000 trees will be planted in an area equivalent to 46 football pitches near Blaydon. The Gateshead Council project is part of the North East Community Forest initiative. Empty shops in Stanley and Bishop Auckland could be put up for auction under a trial scheme driven by Durham County Council using new Government-backed powers to revive high streets. Stockton councillors have unanimously agreed to record and livestream full council and cabinet meetings from their new headquarters. Northumberland councillor Scott Lee has decided to join the Conservatives after hearing Kemi Badenoch’s speech at the Tory Party conference. The independent beat the Reform candidate by just six votes in the May election with the Conservatives coming last.
Renewal awards
North East Museums has been awarded £438,300 from the Government’s £20m Museums Renewal Fund, money that will help safeguard the future of their 12 cultural venues across the region.
It is one of 75 civic museum organisations to receive support from the new national fund, which aims to strengthen the UK’s museum network and secure access to culture “for generations to come.”
Other North East awards went to: The Bowes Museum - £436,181; Middlesbrough Council Cultural Services - £239,551; Sunderland City Council - £102,280; Jarrow Hall - £38,669.
Wondrous stories
Around 12,000 visitors are expected at Durham Cathedral this week for the five-night showing of The Storytellers, a light and sound show by Luxmuralis which will see texts and literature projected inside and outside the 900-year-old building.
Sunday is the final showing and Andrew Usher, chief officer for visitor experience and enterprise, described the event as “really important to us”. With tickets priced at up to £10, the money raised will be put towards the building’s overheads and allow visitors free entry the rest of the year.
More fireworks
The success of the fireworks display at the opening match of the Women’s Rugby World Cup has prompted Sunderland to hold a double fireworks celebration on New Year’s Eve instead of the Festival of Light using lights, lasers and projections.
Keep it open
Best-selling author Ann Cleeves, the creator of Vera, has added her voice to the campaign to save Langley First School in Whitley Bay. It is one of six schools in North Tyneside facing closure or merger because of falling pupil numbers.
Business bites
Redditch Medical, a specialist in cleanroom contamination control solutions based at Sedgefield’s NETPark, has been bought by German healthcare company Schülke & Mayr. The deal marks a successful exit for Leeds-based Traditum Private Equity, which invested in the business in early 2024. Sunderland-based Berghaus is growing revenues and improving efficiency but it has reported on operating loss for the seventh year in a row. The landmark office development Bank House in Newcastle, part of the Pilgrim Street redevelopment, is now full after fintech company Neptune North decided to take on additional space in the building. Space communications firm aXenic, based at NETpark in Sedgefield, has secured a £500,000 investment from Maven. A major milestone for Newcastle-based skin health innovator SkinBio Therapeutics is about to happen when Superdrug put their AxisBiotix product up for sale for the first time. Global logistics and courier company DHL are to move from Hebburn into bigger premises at Simonside Industrial Estate in South Shields that used to be occupied by Biffa. Newcastle-based holiday park firm Parkdean Resorts has reported an increase in turnover but a second year of operational losses. More than 100 workers at Sunderland-based RSA Insurance will lose their jobs by the end of the year. The company has now been rebranded Intact Insurance, the name of its Canadian buyers.
1979 ad break
Last week’s Parker Lady Pen advert from 1975 featuring Penelope Keith was directed by Alan Parker who went on to become an acclaimed film director with films as diverse as Bugsy Malone, Midnight Express and The Commitments.
He also directed this week’s classic ad. It’s from four years later and is styled on the galley slave scenes from the 1959 epic Ben Hur starring Charlton Heston.
For many years, Heineken were allowed to get away with the tagline ‘Refreshes the parts other beers cannot reach’.
This ad has quite an amusing punch line - although expected when you think about it. The chained slaves are exhausted after “taking Caesar water skiing that morning”. One side of the ship are given Heineken as a reviver and the other side are given beers “popular at the time”.
THE WIDER VIEW
Arrested - for holding up a magazine cover
This is the cover of The New World magazine. A man was arrested for holding it up outside King’s Cross station. Not for buying it though. And the publishers have not been arrested.
“The circular absurdity would thrill Kafka,” says Matt Kelly, editor of the magazine formerly known as The New European. “A protestor arrested by police for holding up a magazine cover story about police arresting protestors.
“We may assume he knew what he was doing. We certainly did when we published the cover. It was a deliberate effort to expose and test this ridiculous overreach by a Home Office that has knee-jerked its way into the most absurd attack on civil liberties and freedom of expression in living memory.
“The idea that a magazine can be on open sale in more than 10,000 newsagents up and down the country, but its purchase and open display can get you arrested, makes a mockery of this daft law.”
The Putin problem
When a politician does something wrong, you expect to hear about it. Angela Rayner is a recent case in point. I doubt there’s anyone in the country that doesn’t know about the carry on she had with her stamp duty (if only Kemi Badenoch were PM then she wouldn’t have had to pay anything).
What about Nathan Gill then? I doubt his name will resonate with so many people. Yet this senior Reform politician pleaded guilty at the Old Bailey to eight counts of taking bribes to make pro‑Russian statements in the European Parliament, on television, and in public forums.
“Not unreported, but certainly not given much spotlight,” said The Lead in their investigation. “In brief, a major figure in the Brexit movement will now go to jail for accepting bribes for acting as an agent of influence for Russian interests.”
The Reform leadership tried to distance themselves from Gill and play down his relationship with leader Nigel Farage. But everything’s on social media these days and you can’t make the words and pictures disappear.
You would expect the mainstream media to be all over this story. You worry why they’re not. It’s far more serious than underpaid tax.
In their conspicuous absence, Byline Times has stepped in and done a very thorough job with their investigation ‘Thick as Thieves’: Nathan Gill and Nigel Farage’s Putin Problem.
Snickers all round
It probably seemed like a good idea at the time. A nice little sweet treat to delegates at the Tory Party conference while having a go at Labour ahead of Kemi Badenoch’s speech - which included a direct attack on what she called rip-off degrees.
The spelling mistake made the chocolate bar a figure of fun - that’s not going to ‘Boost’ their ratings, who was the ‘Fruit and Nut’ case that came up with that, try not to ‘Snicker’ etc etc.
But even if they had spelled Britain correctly, that chocolate bar wrapper would still have offended me.
The slogan? “When Labour negotiates, Britain loses”. It’s pretty lame. Can’t imagine that inflicting any damage to the Labour ranks. But it is utterly brilliant in comparison to the design of the wrapper.
If I was scoring it out of 10 for typography, layout & design, and imagination then it would struggle to get up to zero. It looks like someone knocked it out on a Word doc in 30 seconds.