Cautious welcome for "business Budget"
Business leaders have given George Osborne's Budget a cautious thumbs up, but it's still unclear how far the North East will benefit
Apprentices to get careers on track
Nexus, the company which runs The Tyne and Wear Metro, today revealed it will recruit 30 new apprentices over the next 3 years.
Revamped cars revealed at Geneva Motor Show
Production of new Nissan model to begin this month
Live updates
History of industrial Teesside
The history of the heavy engineering company Head Wrightson on Teesside has been charted in a new book and DVD.
Head Wrightson was renowned for its fine workmanship around the world and employed generations of families for more than 100 years.
Some of those have people have recounted their memories in the book and on the DVD.
Greggs reports lower than expected profits
Greggs the Baker has reported much lower profits than expected - as a result, the company's share-price took a nose-dive this morning.
The Newcastle-based sandwich chain is blaming the bleak winter for a 4.4 per cent drop in sales in the last 17 weeks.
It has triggered a fall of more than seven per cent in the company's share price.
A spokesman says they do not expect any significant improvements in the short-term.
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Appeal for crisis-hit farmers after freezing winter
An appeal has been started to help farmers struggling to pay bills and running out of animal feed after the long winter.
You can watch Frances Read's report below, with one family who said the help is vital.
For more details of the appeal and how to donate, see here.
Cry for help from farmers in crisis
An appeal has been launched to help farmers who are in crisis after the hard winter. In some areas the snow, which stayed for months, means there is not enough feed for the animals.A fund set up by Upper Teesdale Agricultural Support Services will pay for extra support on farms.
Thousands of jobs to be created in Newcastle with new development
Newcastle City Council have announced that funding has been secured for a 200 million pound development that could create more than 2000 jobs in the city.
Developers Silverlink are understood to have agreed a deal with Aviva and Royal Bank of Scotland to regenerate the historic Stephenson Quarter around Central Station.
The project had been due to start in March 2011 but was shelved because of the economic climate.
However, the council now says that work will begin immediately.
The 10-acre site will include a new hotel, office space and an art gallery.
Catterick Garrison to get £25 million makeover
Members of the public are being invited to have their say on a possible 25 million pound makeover for the town centre of Catterick Garrison which could create up to 700 new jobs.
The full plans will be unveiled to the public at the beginning of May - including turning the former sports ground on Gough Road into several shops, a five-screen cinema and a number of restaurants, cafes and bars.
The plans could also see a 60-bed hotel with 400 car parking spaces built on the site.
We’re looking forward to liaising and having a constructive dialogue with local people about what they think of our proposals to bring retail and leisure facilities to the heart of Catterick Garrison’s town centre.
"We believe our proposals will play a vital part in supporting local businesses and adding to the prosperity of the wider area.
“These are exciting times for Catterick Garrison with the Army naming it as one of five major UK bases in which it will concentrate its resources.
– Jonathan Hart, chief executive at Lingfield Securities"In addition, the upgrade to the A1 and new junction close to the new town centre will greatly improve accessibility.
“We have taken great care to ensure our proposals will complement the local area and are in line with Richmondshire District Council’s Core Strategy of establishing shopping and leisure facilities in the principle towns to retain expenditure in the district.
"This, in turn, will reduce the need for long and expensive journeys to shopping centres outside the district.”
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Hartlepool oil rig site transformed
A North East oil rig has been transformed into a working platform on land after 20 years in the North Sea.
The North West Hutton platform now accommodates 300 workers at Able UK's Seaton Port in Hartlepool.
Neil Etherington, the Group Development Director at Able UK, told ITV News that whilst the transformation was out of the ordinary for former oil rigs - it suited the needs of the current site very well.
Oil platform starts new lease of life
A massive structure which used to accommodate oil rig staff has started a new lease of life on dry land in the North East.
The 3000 square metre former North West Hutton oil platform has been transformed into a Mobile Accommodation Unit providing office and welfare facilities for workers at Able UK's Seaton Port.
It spent 20 years installed North East of the Shetland Islands and is the largest structure to be removed from the North Sea.
The 250 thousand pound project has been nominated for a Green Apple award - a national prize which celebrates environmental good practice.
Airline axes flights over strike action
German airline Lufthansa has cancelled dozens of flights to and from the UK and Ireland, including to and from Newcastle, due to strike action.
Around 100 flights have been cancelled at airports in London, Manchester, Birmingham, Newcastle, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Dublin.
The German airports affected by the strike are Frankfurt, Munich, Dusseldorf and Hamburg.
The one-day strike, which is due to a pay dispute, will result in only about 20 of more than 1,650 scheduled short-haul flights operating.
The airline said many long-haul services will also be hit , with only six of 50 planned flights operating at its main Frankfurt hub, and only three of 17 in Munich.
Passengers affected by the cancellations can re-book for free, Lufthansa said.
Thousands attend food festival
Thousands of people attended this year's Bishop Auckland Food Festival over the weekend.
The event aims to boost tourism and the economy in County Durham. Organisers were hoping for crowds of thirty thousand. Suppliers and producers from across the North were involved.
