News | Page 21

Durham Tees Valley Airport is funding the development of a purpose-built facility for the National Police Air Service, a news report in the local media has revealed. Under the five-year agreement, the airport authorities are supporting a hangar for the air service’s Eurocopter EC135 aircraft which is based at Durham Tees Valley. Work on the new 3,445 sq ft facility is already underway with the aim of having it ready for use as quickly as possible.

Durham Tees Valley Airport has acquired a 9.5-acre site to the north eastern edge of the airfield as part of its future development plans, a news report in the local media has revealed. For the time being, the land is currently unused and includes the steel frame of a former hangar building, last used as a sports and tennis centre, which closed some years ago.

Administrators from KPMG have decided that re-opening the 14 stores owned and operated by Blaydon-headquartered gift retailer Collectables is not a viable option, hence rendering 150 members of staff redundant. According to a news report on this matter, Jonny Marston, Mark Firmin and Howard Smith from KPMG’s restructuring practice were appointed joint administrators to Collectables Retail Ltd and related business Xystos Wholesale Ltd last week.

Newcastle-headquartered investment firm NVM Private Equity expects to have £100m available to invest in established profitable businesses across the North East and Yorkshire, a news report in the local media has revealed.

Work that will ultimately allow larger freight containers from Teesport to be transported by rail rather than road has started on a bridge in Dinsdale, as a part of a £4.7m investment in the rail line between Teesport and the East Coast Main Line. According to a news report in the local media on this issue, engineers have been on site in Dinsdale since the end of August setting up the site compound and a four month road closure begins on 27 September.

David Wilson Homes has expressed its interest to build 61 detached, four and five-bedroom homes on a 12-acre portion at the southern end of the Mount Oswald site, which represents the first phase of a £200m development in Durham City.

After securing some very lucrative contracts from a a series of companies across the North East, Scotland and the Midlands, Sunderland-based Q Laser has revealed plans to create more jobs and add an extra shift, a news report in the local media has revealed. The laser cutting business was initially started in order to deliver specialized services to its metal fabrication-focused sister company Dale Fabrications, which works with names including Nissan, Komatsu and Caterpillar.

EE seems to have some very serious expansion plans in place, since it’s just announced that it will add up to 100 new full time and part time jobs across Darlington and North Tyneside. According to a media news report on this matter, the company, which owns Orange and T-Mobile and has more than 15,000 members of staff across the UK, plans to bolster its customer service and sales staff in the region.

A new market research by Barclays has revealed that companies in the manufacturing sector are still actively investing back into their business, despite the tougher economic climate. As a media report reveals, more than half of companies participating in this research study (54 per cent) revealed plans to actually boost investment spend over the next 12 months, while only 20 per cent considered that they’re likely to actually cut back on investments.

Law firm Bond Dickinson, that was formed earlier this former following the merger of Bristol-headquartered Bond Pearce and Dickinson Dees in Newcastle, has revealed that it will have to make up to 7 percent of its staff redundant, as a result of duplication.

Darlington College is set to undergo an serious extension programme worth a few million pounds, in a bid to revamp its construction department, while also adding a new student services area with new IT facilities. Building works to Darlington College’s construction area will include a two-part redesign to sport its own dedicated entrance and advanced brick and plastering workshops, as well as green energy, electrical and plumbing workshops and new painting and decorating training suites.

A new national base for the development of manufacturing processes for biological medicines such as antibodies and vaccines is set to be established in Darlington, as an integral part of the Tees Valley Enterprise Zone.