Case for the North East

New research has recommended the creation of a £20m social impact investment vehicle to tackle child poverty and inequality in the North East.

This would build on the success of the North East Social Investment Fund, which closed in December 2024, with the authors calling on the North East Combined Authority and other regional leaders to work with the sector to co-design it.

Around 31% of children in the North East live in poverty and the report, funded by Community Foundation North East and Northstar Foundation, argues that the region should now use its devolved powers and growing leadership to attract greater levels of impact investment to drive opportunity and inclusion.

Building Bridges: A Review of Place-Based Social Impact Investment in North East England, written by social impact advisors AchieveGood, recommends establishing a new social investment initiative harnessing philanthropic, public and private capital, starting with a £10-£20m pilot.

Community Foundation chief executive Rob Williamson said: “The need for bold, joined-up action has never been greater.

“Community Foundation North East stands ready to help and work alongside the combined authority, mayor, and partners across philanthropy, business and government to make the case for a new social investment vehicle. That could unlock millions of pounds for the issues that matter most — tackling child poverty, creating better jobs, fairer opportunities, and stronger communities across the North East.”

Rapid test trial

A 15-minute rapid blood test to help detect life-threatening conditions in children – such as sepsis or meningitis – is being trialled by NHS England in three emergency departments including the Great North Children’s Hospital in Newcastle.

Dr Emma Lim, consultant paediatrician at the Newcastle hospital, said: “Every year, thousands of worried parents bring their children with fever to hospital. Often, it turns out to be nothing serious - but it’s hard to know in the moment.

“A quick and reliable test like this can help doctors make faster decisions, and reduce the need for unnecessary antibiotics, which is better for patients, parents and the NHS.” The study will run until March.

Sir David backs bid

Naturalist and broadcaster Sir David Attenborough has launched a video appeal to help raise the £30m needed to buy the Rothbury Estate, the largest area of land to be put on sale in England in decades.

The estate was owned by the Duke of Northumberland’s youngest son, Lord Max Percy, and had been in the family for about 700 years. The partnership between Northumberland Wildlife Trust and the Wildlife Trusts was given two years in October 2024 to raise the £30m needed to buy all of the estate.

The fund stood at more than £8m but within 24 hours of Sir David’s appeal a further £580,000 had been added taking the total to over £9m.

Doctor suspended

A Durham doctor who headbutted a waiter in a drunken rage after arriving three hours late for a table booking at a Newcastle restaurant has been suspended for a year.

Nganjo Endeley, 42, fractured the worker’s eye socket in the incident which happened at 2.30 in the morning. He had previously received a suspended prison sentence after being found guilty of assault causing actual bodily harm.

Keith’s an inspiration

Keith Wilson met Angela Rippon at Par-Con. She was running a session to promote the physical and mental benefits of dancing. Image: Parkinson’s UK

A campaigning North East grandad has been presented with a national award for “revolutionising” the approach to fighting the effects of Parkinson’s Disease.

Keith Wilson, 74, of Middleton St George, near Darlington, was presented with a Community Award at Par-Con – a national convention staged in Birmingham by Parkinson’s UK.

Keith, a former director of higher education at Darlington College, was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in February, 2020, but has gone on to become nationally recognised for his determination to fight the disease and inspire others, writes Peter Barron.

After his diagnosis, Keith, a regular parkrunner, embarked on a vigorous programme of running, rock climbing, cycling and singing in choirs to produce adrenaline and dopamine to help hold back the effects of Parkinson’s.

He also launched a pioneering project promoting the benefits of virtual reality headsets in helping people with Parkinson’s to exercise and have exhilarating experiences.

Rail concern

This has been raised before, and it’s only seven weeks before the biggest timetable change on the East Coast Main Line in over a decade, but…

A cross-party group of MPs and councillors from North Northumberland and the Scottish Borders have written to rail minister Lord Hendy expressing concern over cuts to services from Berwick.

In response, LNER said there will be an additional 18 trains a day from Newcastle to London, and 16 the other way. There will also be more local connections from Berwick to Alnmouth and Morpeth thanks to additional Trans Pennine Express services.

Mind the gap

The National Trust has added a protective cage of wire mesh netting to the fenced-off stump of the Sycamore Gap tree to protect it… from well-wishers leaving tributes. People have been asked to enjoy the site from the designated path and share their memories through “photographs and stories” rather than physical tributes.

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Mayors’ wage call

Northern mayors Kim McGuinness and Andy Burnham have written an open letter to health secretary Wes Streeting calling on him to guarantee all care workers in England are paid at least the real living wage - something their colleagues in Scotland and Wales already get.

Published by Citizens UK and the Living Wage Foundation, the mayors wrote: “Analysis by IPPR (the Institute for Public Policy Research) found that it would cost the Government £330 million to guarantee care workers the real Living Wage. To put this into perspective, that is less than 2% of last year’s social care budget – a modest investment to make sure those who care for others are paid enough to take care of themselves.”

Streeting made a £500m commitment last month to give care workers a pay increase from 2028, but the North East and Greater Manchester leaders said action was needed now to help struggling workers and improve staff retention.

Three into one

The city’s three professional sports clubs have begun collaborating through an organisation called Newcastle Coaches Network.

It’s about getting together to swap ideas, build contacts, share experiences, listen and learn, says The Athletic’s George Caulkin who attended the most recent session at St James’ Park along with 20 coaches from Newcastle United, Newcastle Red Bull and Newcastle Eagles.

“Not too long ago, a meaningful relationship like this would not, could not, have existed,” he said.

“Four years on from Mike Ashley’s departure as owner, the football club have a renewed determination to be good citizens, both in specific examples like this, but also in general, reaching out to other institutions and businesses in ways which may prove to be mutually beneficial but also because it is the right thing to do.

“It may not grab the headlines, but it is a huge shift in culture. It feels profound, and quietly enthusing.”

Advice has been sought from Sir Brendan Foster, Fenwick will be asked about managing departments and communicating across a large organisation, and the head trainer of air traffic control at Heathrow Airport is coming to talk about how they deal with crisis events when you have to make decisions quickly.

“We have to think outside the box,” Neil Winskill, Newcastle United’s head of technical development told The Athletic.

Their previous coaching get-together was a practical session with Newcastle Eagles, the most successful club in the history of British men’s basketball. “One of the things that came out of it was about footwork when you’re defending,” Winskill says. “We ended up having an hour’s conversation about the best way to move sideways.

“You start to question things you’ve been taught all your life as a coach. Maybe another sport could have taught us this10 years ago and saved us a lot of time and wasted time. That’s been the beauty of this.”

Reiver Trails open

The Reiver Trails project has launched nine recreational routes across rural Northumberland which are expected to attract thousands of visitors each year. Spanning more than 200 miles and connecting Hadrian’s Wall with Kielder Forest, the trails range from six to 57 miles and cater to walkers, cyclists and horse riders.

A quick word

Junk food adverts are being banned across the Tyne and Wear Metro network from December 1. North East Mayor Kim McGuinness said: “I want parents to know their children will be protected from adverts for burgers, sweets and fizzy drinks.” Northumberland chief fire officer Graeme Binning, who was suspended in March, has left the service following a review into the organisation’s culture. Northumberland County Council also confirmed that deputy Jim McNeill, who was suspended at the same time, has retired from the service. Durham County Council have insisted that talks remain ‘ongoing’ to determine whether it will still be involved in the much-delayed Milburngate development in the city centre. Bird flu measures requiring owners to keep their poultry under a mandatory lockdown came into effect yesterday. The areas where the rules apply include Northumberland, Tyne & Wear and Durham. North Tyneside Conservatives have elected Councillor John Johnsson to replace Liam Bones who is going to Westminster to work for a Tory MP. Options to rebuild the causeway to St Mary’s island at Whitley Bay are to be explored following last year’s £900,000 restoration of the lighthouse. It’s been confirmed that Yarm will get a banking hub two years after the last high street bank closed its doors in the town. Weardale Railway’s 2025 Santa Express services have had to be cancelled. Restoration works on one of its locomotives have been delayed and the back up engine has suffered a major fault. Hartlepool MP Jonathan Brash called the current system of fining parents for taking children out of school during term time “immoral” and urged ministers to scrap it. He argued that families are being priced out by steep price hikes during school holidays and that punishing parents with fines does nothing to improve attendance. A planning inquiry into a proposal to build a solar farm at Burnhope, County Durham has been rescheduled until next year after campaigners complained about the lack of notice. Newcastle has been named Star UK Airport at the Travel Bulletin Star Awards for the fourth consecutive year.

270 laid off

More than 270 workers at chemicals company Venator Materials, which operates from three sites in the North East, have been made redundant after administrators were brought in. Its site at Greatham is set to be acquired by a Chinese company and 232 staff have been retained to assist in the administration process and keep the plant in an idle state.

Grounded

Regional airline Eastern Airways has stopped all scheduled services after filing a notice of intention to appoint administrators.

One of the routes affected is Teesside-Aberdeen. Tees Valley mayor Ben Houchen said: “Keeping Teesside, Darlington and Hartlepool connected to Aberdeen is vital for our North Sea workforce. We’re exploring all options to get this crucial route back up and running.”

Now showing…

It began life as a cinema in the 1930s and was a welfare centre for manufacturing workers during World War II. Now The Picture House on Team Valley is up for sale or rent as contemporary office space.

Kevin Carrick of JK Property Consultants said: “The Picture House is a truly unique property that marries a rich heritage with modern office demands. Its history as a cinema and welfare facility gives it character that is simply unmatched in today’s commercial market.”

Business bites

The former Cleveland Bridge site in Darlington is set to become the UK’s first large‑scale plastic film recycling facility, following a £120m investment by Endolys Ltd. The project is expected to create up to 120 skilled jobs, with operations planned to begin in late 2026. Law firm Muckle has reported record-breaking financial results for the fourth year in a row, with turnover up 12% to over £19m and pre-tax profit exceeding £5m. The success means the 200 plus Muckle staff will benefit from a £300k payment under its employee profit share scheme. The Materials Processing Institute in Middlesbrough has secured £1.86m from Innovate UK to expand its PRISM programme, which supports industrial decarbonisation across the UK’s steel and metals sector. Restructuring and cost savings at Teesside-based Quorn Foods appear to be paying off with sales decline slowing, losses narrowing, and market share growing. Glacier Energy, which took over long-established Stockton fabrication business Francis Brown just 14 months ago, has made the “difficult decision” to shut the facility after falling into administration. US-owned cybersecurity firm Arctic Wolf says it has recruited more than 100 staff and added 500 clients since opening its base for Europe, the Middle East and Africa in Newcastle three years ago. In news that will surprise no one who has been monitoring business announcements in the past few months, detection technology company Kromek has said it expects to turn a profit for the first half of its financial year, with forecast revenue of £14.5m, up from £3.7m a year earlier. Turner & Townsend has been appointed a key delivery partner for Net Zero Teesside Power (NZT Power) and the Northern Endurance Partnership (NEP), which aim to capture, transport and store carbon emissions from across Teesside and the Humber. Homes England has launched a search to find a private sector development partner to deliver the £330m Forth Yards scheme on the edge of Newcastle city centre. Newcastle-based The Inn Collection Group is planning to grow its portfolio of ‘pubs with rooms’ from 31 to more than 40 after securing funding of £125m from HSBC UK.

1998 ad break

Yellow Pages produced some brilliant ads (for the benefit of younger readers, Yellow Pages was a big thick book full of local business listings and phone numbers - like Google Maps and search results rolled into one, but on paper and delivered to your doorstep as it wouldn’t fit through a letterbox).

J.R. Hartley is probably their most famous creation but I like this ad - maybe because I still have a son at university.

A lad gets back to his flat and is pleasantly surprised to see an attractive young lady is waiting for him. Only she tells him that she found his door open and that a burglar has trashed the place.

He quickly realises that he needs to look up Cleaners in the alphabetical directory - and is mortified when the helpful lass delivers the final sentence…

THE WIDER VIEW

Don’t take the bait

We’re being taken for mugs. Goodbye to retiring at 67 - UK Government officially announces new state pension age. Or there’s Driving licence update: New rules for over-62s.

Just two of the fake headlines and news stories that have been viewed tens of millions of times this week on Google’s Discover news aggregation platform. They also appear on Google’s AI Overviews at the top of search results.

Google promoted the fake stories despite the fact they came from publishers who had emerged from nowhere overnight, said a Press Gazette article

The US search giant will still have made money from the articles (every sixth article on the Discover feed is a sponsored post with all revenue going to Google). And the posts will have made tens of thousands in revenue for the creators of the fraudulent websites promoted by Google, which are packed with advertising.

Malcolm Coles, a consultant who helps publishers with their audience growth, told Press Gazette that he looked at the top-ranking stories on Discover and realised: “This is absolutely stuffed full of headlines that are alarming but aren’t factually accurate.

“It’s directly related to people’s lives – pension age, driving licence renewal. They gain ad revenue from it: millions of page views works out to a fair chunk of ad money.

“If Google’s going to recommend content to people, it has a responsibility to make sure that what it’s recommending is correct and trustworthy and authoritative and all the words Google uses. This is a massive fail.”

Cover clash

I loved The Clash. Their gig at the Glasgow Apollo remains the best concert I’ve seen. So I’m amazed I didn’t know that the cover design for London Calling was a deliberate pastiche of Elvis Presley’s debut album - The Clash’s nod to the man who also broke the rules of rock ‘n’ roll.

I made the discovery while scrolling through the “definitive” list of the Top 50 albums of all time (as decided by The Telegraph’s chief music critic Neil McCormick).

There at No. 30 was Elvis, with a cover I thought was familiar. Four places later came The Clash at No. 26 with the picture of Paul Simonon smashing his bass guitar on stage at The Palladium in New York in 1979. You live and learn.

Oasis never made the list. Only one David Bowie album did (Aladdin Sane at No. 12) while there were three from the Beatles - Sgt Pepper (No.20), Revolver (No. 11), and Abbey Road in the No.1 spot.

You can see the Top 50 here. The others to make the top five were, in reverse order, Pink Floyd Dark Side of the Moon, Fleetwood Mac Rumours, Marvin Gaye What’s Going On with Bob Dylan’s Blood on the Tracks at No.2.

She doesn’t get it

Judging by the retweet, I think it safe to assume that Lady Mone does not realise that ‘Sir Michael’ is better known as Mickey.

The Source NE

Eyes & Ears 31.10.25