The Northern Echo : News, Sport, Business, Leisure from the North East and North Yorkshire

The North East | Archive | 2008 | January

Stories for 28 January 2008

The Northern Echo News

Police hunt sex attacker

DETECTIVES are hunting a sex attacker who pounced on a woman as she jogged in broad daylight. more...

Warning over stolen drugs

Police have issued a warning about the theft of drugs which could be fatal if taken in large enough quantities. more...

Chickens slaughtered in attack

Twenty five chickens have been decapitated in a sickening attack at a Teesside shop. more...

Power threat to rural communities

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Anger over -threat of closure to small schools'

and inevitably places in the North receive more than places in the South. I have some very small schools in my constituency and I have had no indication of any threats to them."There's nothing that says the Government has changed its policy outlined in 1998 and I am still confident that's what it is."Anne McIntosh, the Conservative MP for the Vale of York, said she was not convinced by the Government's commitment to small schools.She said: "If there's truth in this - and I'll be working closely with North Yorkshire County Council on it - it just shows that the Government has no regard for rural communities."Forest in Teesdale School, in County Durham, is one of the smallest in the country, with only 14 pupils.Kath Toward, clerk of Forest and Frith Parish Council, said: "Small schools do not need to be closed. They just need to look at how they manage their costs."They do not necessarily each need to have a headteacher - one headteacher could perhaps be in charge of three small schools. It has been used in Cumbria and has worked well there."Shadow Schools Minister Nick Gibb said: "Parents should be backed in the decisions they make about their children, and good schools should be defended."The political pressure that is leading to good and popular small schools being closed should be resisted."A spokesman for the Department for Communities, Schools and Families said: "Decisions on changes to local school provision and organisation are made locally and ministers have no role in the process."Primary pupil numbers have fallen by approximately ten per cent since 1999, due to demographic shift and a declining birth rate. This presents challenges and opportunities to local authorities. To support this they have unprecedented levels of capital funding."We are clear that there needs to be a strong case for closure of any rural primary school and it must be in the best interests of education provision in the local area." more...

Former Magpie unveils golf plans

A FORMER Newcastle United footballer has unveiled plans for a golf course.Allan Barker's company, Castle Golf, wants to build an 18-hole golf course, a clubhouse, restaurant, health club and fitness suite at the Eleven Arches golf club, in Toronto, near Bishop Auckland. Earlier this month, Wear Valley District Council's development control committee agreed to relax a condition on 24 terraced homes planned for the scheme.Councillors decided to allow the holiday homes to be occupied by one person for a maximum of ten months, which has helped secure the funding needed for the project.Mr Barker, who was born in Bishop Auckland and played more than 30 games for The Magpies in the Seventies, can barely wait for work to begin."I always used to think it would be a fantastic setting for a golf course, with the river around it and everything, and I made up my mind that if it ever became available, I would try to buy it," he said.In 2002, Mr Barker's company took over the old Flatts Farm, and built a driving range the following year. But the 51-year-old, who also played for Gillingham and Hartlepool United, and in the US, said that he quickly saw the potential for a large-scale development."What we saw when we started to get into this project is that it's not just a golf course, and that's where the holiday homes come into it," he said."There is an equestrian centre and a walker's route nearby, four fishing lakes on the site and the Roman fort and Auckland Castle on the doorstep."It's finally coming together after a lot of hard work, and it's really exciting."Architect Chris Stanton has drawn up plans and contractor W Marley has been appointed to carry out the work, which will cost more than £2m and create about 20 full-time jobs when completed.The project could take up to three years to complete, although it is hoped that between nine and 15 holes will be open by June.The 120-acre site is a haven for wildlife, including birds such as oyster catchers, red shanks and lapwings. Grass mounds have been built around nests to ensure the birds are not harmed.Castle Golf director Ray Russell said: "Allan had this vision when it was a run-down farm. It's going to bring people into the area and boost the local economy." more...

Dig at homes site uncovers skeletons of eight monks

ARCHAEOLOGISTS have discovered the complete skeletons of eight Carmelite monks.The excavation in Northallerton, North Yorkshire, also revealed that the town's priory is unique, because its layout differs from all other known Carmelite priories and monasteries in Europe.Housing developer Castle Homes owns the site and will be building a residential development there.But it has given assurances that the design of the building will ensure the preservation of the archaeological remains and some of the stonework from the excavation will be incorporated into the new building. The dig was carried out in 2006 by Durham University's archaeological services department.It found the remains of three buildings. A domestic building associated with the priory was discovered to the south and part of the cloister and a range of buildings was discovered in the centre.Another building, possibly another accommodation building or a small chapel, was found to the north of the site.David Petts, director of research, said: "This is believed to be unparalleled in European Carmelite houses. Normally it would be expected to find the church to the north of the cloister. "At other similar sites to Northallerton, such as the priories at Newcastle and Hulne, the churches were to the north, so the situation here is very unusual."The priory was demolished soon after the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1538 and the researchers are convinced that the remains of other priory buildings survive beneath buildings in the surrounding area.The discovery of the monks' skeletons has also excited historians. Dr Petts said: "Eight burials were excavated on the site, all in the cloister, and it's clear that other graves remained unexcavated. "Analysis of the bones showed that most, if not all, of these graves were of men, and it is likely this was part of the cemetery for the brothers in the priory."The team of researchers was able to establish from excavated animal bones that the friars had a diet of beef, veal and mutton and, to a lesser extent, pork. Some of these bones still had the marks made by butchers' knives.Bird bones were also discovered, including chicken and goose. Oyster and cockle shells found on the site were probably eaten by the monks on Fridays, when meat was forbidden.The archaeologists also managed to determine that one individual had been struck on the forehead but lived to tell the tale, and that another had suffered a serious break to the arm but this had healed well.Another of the monks suffered from gout, a disease usually associated with obesity, excessive alcohol consumption and high blood pressure.Other finds discovered on the site included two iron shoe buckles and pottery, some of which was made in North Yorkshire and the Tees Valley, while other fragments were from Germany. more...