Further information about all the following is available on my blog at: bit.ly/CNB157

It was all going very well until last weekend, but since then Coronavirus has changed everything, and my email inbox has been full of cancellations (most notably the Bishop Auckland Food Festival, as well as every County Council and Labour Party meeting).

This may therefore be the last County Newsbits for some time. Since my election as a County Councillor I have been proud to be ‘the councillor who keeps you informed’ about Council matters … but, for the foreseeable future, I fear that there will be little to tell you.

COUNCIL

All Council meetings this week were cancelled apart from the DCC Cabinet meeting, which dealt with a number of issues including: council performance and partnership work; designating a list of 96 local parks & heritage assets; and a scheme to start building council houses again.

LOCAL SUCCESSES

Last week started really well:

• The Weardale Railway has been bought (and saved) by the Auckland Project which plans to re-connect the line with the S&DR line to Darlington.

• The ‘Pitman’s Parliament’ at Redhills Durham Miners’ Hall was last week successful in winning a Lottery Heritage Fund grant which will renovate it.

• And the famous Cornish mural at County Hall is being moved to Bishop Auckland Town Hall ahead of County Hall’s demolition.

PROGRESS ON

THE ECONOMY

• In the area of the economy, the North East Business Awards (Durham, Sunderland & Tyneside) on Thursday 12 March saw shortlisting (though not victory) for Aycliffe Business Park’s Excelpoint (Small Business Award) and Crafter’s Companion (Company of the Year).

• And there was good news this week also for ABP’s Roman, Logico, and BTS Facades & Fabrications.

CLIMATE CHANGE

Although Coronavirus had already scuppered my big moment this week speaking at an international conference in Florence, I was able to attend last week a very successful APSE conference in Warwick, at which I was honoured to chair one of the sessions. I have reported in detail on this conference in my blog.

CORONAVIRUS

• Coronavirus is all over the news, of course, but:

– you can keep up with the official government site.

– the Anything Aycliffe facebook forum seems a good focal point for local news.

– and of course, your wonderful Newton News will be with you each week.