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A vision to bring passenger trains back to Ashington and Blyth by 2022 should be a government priority as it will boost opportunities for people living in some of Britain's most deprived communities, a report says.
Northumberland County Council has pledged an extra £3.5m towards a goal of restoring passenger services to 20 miles of track which links Newcastle to Ashington and Blyth . Only freight trains have operated on the Ashington, Blyth and Tyne Line since passenger stations were closed in 1964.
Today, the council has pledged an extra £3.5m to pay for design work, impact assessments and a range of engineering and ecology work, with a feasibility study nearly complete.
Northumberland County Council aims to submit a full business case and design details by the end of the year, and says the plan is to run passenger trains between Newcastle and Ashington by 2022.
Reintroducing passenger services to the current freight line could boost the local economy by up to £70m with more than 800,000 annual return journeys by 2038, the local authority says.
Council leader Peter Jackson said: "We have always supported this ambitious proposal to help secure future jobs and growth across the whole county.
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Bedlington darts ace Chris Dobey says it will be a 'dream come true' when he makes an unexpected Premier League debut at Newcastle's Utilita Arena on Thursday evening.
Each year the cream of the darts crop do battle in a 10-player league to be crowned Premier League darts champion and take home the £250,000 first prize
'Hollywood' will get his first taste of Premier League action when he takes on Mensur Suljovic in front of his home town crowd.
The news came as somewhat of a surprise on Monday, after two-time world champion Gary Anderson pulled out of the 16-week event with a back injury.
Instead of replacing Anderson with a tenth player in the league, the PDC decided to offer nine players a wildcard entry across the first nine weeks of the competition.
“First of all everyone at the PDC would like to wish Gary Anderson a speedy recovery back to full fitness as soon as possible,” said PDC Chairman Barry Hearn.

“Gary’s withdrawal has opened up an incredibly exciting opportunity for the nine contenders to go out and show what they’ve got on some of the biggest stages in world darts.

“The young players who impressed at Alexandra Palace have already shown they can cut it in darts’ biggest ever tournament.

“The local favourites have earned their chance to entertain the crowds and TV viewers, with every one of them will bringing something different to the Premier League party in 2019, and I’m sure they’ll cause a few shocks along the way.

“The PDC has always been about giving opportunities to players and we felt this was the perfect chance to do something revolutionary, as we now look forward to an exciting year of Premier League Darts ahead in 2019."
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A bid for almost 100 new homes on part of the existing course has been lodged to prevent Blyth Golf Club from folding this year.
Bellway Homes has submitted the application to Northumberland County Council , seeking to build 92 houses at the Newsham facility, off Plessey Road.
The proposals would involve the demolition of some outbuildings with the new homes to be built on the site of the 10th and 11th holes, while the clubhouse would be renovated, new outbuildings would be put up, including a Halfway House, and there would be alterations to the course.
The plans are for 24 two-bedroom homes, 41 three-bedroom houses and 27 four-bedroom properties, of which eight would be for social rent and six for sale at discount market value.
A planning statement, by consultants Lichfields, concludes: 'The golf club is in a poor financial position and without any measures to address this, it is likely that the club would be forced to close in 2019 given the current overdraft position with the bank who are providing crucial financial support.
'The proposed development would provide the funds required to improve the golf course and the clubhouse, thereby securing the future of the club.'
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Politicians say they're "devastated" at delays to a £10m development intended to revitalise a Northumberland town centre.
The scheme to regenerate the site of the former Tesco supermarket, in Bedlington, is on hold. Delays came after the much-anticipated 'well-known food retailer', said to be interested in the site, could not be locked down.
Early work to prepare the site has been completed, but has now stalled, until the key "anchor tenant" can be confirmed for development.
Estimated to cost £10m overall, it was also set to feature more shops, apartments and car parks. Work was initially meant to start in “late 2017”, but ground was eventually official broken in November last year.
Representatives of Advance Northumberland, the council company delivering the project, insist they remain "absolutely committed" to the scheme, and will begin discussions with other companies who might fill the gap.
But Bedlington Labour representatives have expressed their concerns.
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The redevelopment of Bedlington town centre has stalled while final sign-off from the key tenant is awaited, following the completion of ground works.
And a warning has been issued that if no word is received soon then other interested parties will be sounded out.
Advance Northumberland is leading in the delivery of the major regeneration project focused around the town's former Tesco site.
The Northumberland County Council-owned development company, which replaced Arch, describes the scheme as an "opportunity to reposition Bedlington as a retail destination, improving amenities and giving local people greater choice".
Tolent, Advance Northumberland's appointed contractor, has recently completed an enabling package of works to prepare the site for construction.
However, the actual development can only start once the anchor tenant formally commits to the scheme.
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Mere mention the words soft play will ramp up the excitement levels in most young ones and the North East certainly has plenty choice when it comes to places which are perfect for burning off all that energy.
Ok, so they may not be every parents' choice but a trip out to a soft play area is guaranteed to please the little tykes.
With more than 25 such facilities in and around the region, there really is a wide enough range of facilities - from climbing walls and ball pools to  slides and go-kart tracks - to please everyone and no matter how old the children are, they will be able to join in the fun.
And who knows but parents may get a chance to relax and catch up with a friend over coffee while the young ones enjoy the entertainment.
Here's our guide, with more to come, of some of the top soft play centres in and around Newcastle.
Benfield Business Park, Walkergate
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Six areas of Northumberland which have seen large numbers of new homes approved recently have been highlighted as requiring an expansion of GP and other healthcare facilities.
Northumberland County Council planning officers made a presentation to last Thursday's (January 17) meeting of the health and wellbeing board about the healthcare implications of the final draft of the Local Plan, as they did at the July meeting in relation to the first draft.
There are a number of policies in the document which deal with or touch on health and wellbeing elements, including one to limit the number of hot-food takeaways, but one of the main concerns remains around healthcare infrastructure.
The development framework is supported by an almost 200-page Infrastructure Delivery Plan, which aims to ensure new housing is supported by the necessary services.
It refers to a number of areas which 'have already seen multiple, large-scale planning applications for housing in recent years' and which 'will require increased capacity in primary-care infrastructure'.
These are: Amble/Broomhill; Ashington/Newbiggin; Bedlington/Guidepost; Cramlington; Morpeth/Pegswood; Alnwick.


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