£2m drive to make us proud of our region
March 20, 2002 A £2m advertising drive to promote pride in the North-East was launched yesterday.
Regional development agency One NorthEast and the North-East Assembly launched Here. Now. - a marketing initiative aimed at updating the region's image.
The promotional campaign, which will include advertising and public relations, will be kick-started with around £2m over the next three years.
Over the next 12 months the campaign will be inward-looking and aimed at improving North-Easterners' perception of their region.
Only then will the ‘positive messages’ be pushed in other parts of the UK and abroad, to encourage investment in business and tourism.
Another £700m will be used to develop a booming business infrastructure for the region.
March 20, 2002 Drivers on the Tyneside Metro rail system have been accused of ‘snubbing’ the Queen after they voted to strike on the day she is due to make an official visit.
The drivers' union, Aslef, said its members on the Tyne and Wear system would stage a series of six one-day strikes during April and May in a dispute over pay.
The action will end on 7 May - the day the Queen is due to open an extension on the line from Newcastle to Sunderland.
Councillor Danny Marshall, chairman of the Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Authority, said it was a deliberate move.
‘To strike deliberately on the day we are being honoured by the Queen is a snub to our monarch and to the people of Sunderland,’ he said.
Aslef, which has rejected a 3.8% pay offer, complained that a senior executive at the company which runs the Metro had been given a 10% pay rise.
An Aslef spokesman said: ‘It is long overdue that the management makes a sensible offer to end this dispute.
‘Tyne and Wear Metro drivers are fed up with being among the lowest paid in the country and are angry at the inflated rises paid to management.
Nexus, which runs the Metro, said it would be seeking the help of the conciliation service Acas to try to settle the dispute.
‘A strike is not beneficial to our passengers or our staff and is the last thing we want especially with the forthcoming opening of the Metro extension to Sunderland,’ said a spokesman.
The strikes will be held on 2, 8, 15, 22 April and 3 and 7 May.
March 20, 2002 Doctors have told Baroness Thatcher to cancel her engagements for the next few days after the former prime minister felt ill yesterday morning.
Lady Thatcher's office said the Conservative peer had been advised to ‘take things easy’ but there was no question of her needing to go to hospital.
The news comes in the week the ex-premier stirred political controversy by urging a British retreat from the European Union.
Lady Thatcher suffered a minor stroke late last year while on holiday in Madeira with husband Sir Denis to celebrate their golden wedding anniversary.
Now 76-years-old, she fell from power in 1990 after being the UK's prime minister for 11 years.
She recently turned down an invitation to go to the Falklands to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Falklands War because she did not think her husband, Sir Denis, was fit up to the long trip.
March 20, 2002 Newcastle United has released interim financial results which show an operating profit of £1.8m.
Non-executive Chairman John Fender said that with the continued commitment of everyone at St James' Park and the support of loyal fans the club was looking forward to the future with confidence.
The new figures represent an 11% increase in turnover, and an operating profit - before player trading - of £7.9m. After taking into account the cost of new players such as Jermaine Jenas that figure comes down to £1.8m.
A rise in the amount of money earned from television rights is cited as the main reason for the rise in turnover and profits.
Stylish makeover for an ancestral home
March 20, 2002 A former ancestral home linked to the Beamish Museum complex until recent years is opening its own public restaurant.
Beamish Hall, a Grade II-listed stately home set in 23-acres of parkland in north-west Durham, is undergoing a transformation to convert it into a country house hotel.
The finishing stages are being made to convert the drawing room into the Monboucher Restaurant, complete with first class service, a modern menu and stylish decor.
Taking its name from a former owner of the hall, it is hoped that the Monboucher will become the place to eat in County Durham.
March 20, 2002 A special party this Friday hosted by Health Minister Alan Milburn will celebrate the success of a five-year plan to transform a once notorious Darlington council estate.
The multi-million pound project at Skerne Park was set up to tackle high levels of crime, debt, unemployment and poor educational performance. Mr Milburn is the town’s MP.
Travellers ordered to head for the road
March 20, 2002 A group of travellers camped at an industrial estate in Blyth have been issued with a writ from the private owners of the land ordering them to leave the site by Monday 25 March.
Bailiffs acting on behalf of One North East told the 30-strong group at the Coopen industrial site that their cars and caravans could be impounded if they breach the order.
It follows complaints from businesses in the area that bin bags were piling up and creating an eyesore.
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News Review 2001
A month-by-month look back at the headlines from last year
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