21/02/2012 Look North (North East and Cumbria)

Welcome to Tuesday's Look North. Tonight: Mystery surrounds the

departure of an award winning council boss.

Friends and family bid farewell and celebrate the life of a pioneer of

broadcasting. The final chapter. Roadworks are

blamed for forcing the owners of this 130 year-old bookstore to shut

up shop. And one council is making sure that

drivers are not too old for road. In sport, behind closed doors at

Newcastle's Academy. And it is good to see these Olympic hopefuls at

the revamp of a multi-million-pound sports centre.

He has won a national awards and earned praise and plaudits for his

achievements. Peter Simpson has spent the last four years as the

chief executive of Hambleton and Richmond district councils but now

he has been placed on gardening leave, still on full pay, from his

�125,000 a year job. His employers said the decision came after

concerns were raised about serious management issues.

Peter Simpson had won a national awards, merged services and

delivered millions of pounds worth of savings so reports he had yet

been escorted from his office and placed on gardening leave surprised

many. Including the leader of Richmond should District Council,

who had no idea is chief executive was leaving his job. We were rather

disappointed to say the least in Richmond Show and we would have

expected to have been involved, to have had discussions, we would have

liked to have actually contributed to whether or not we thought the

cause of action they were taking was appropriate. We were not told

until afterwards. It is not good in the shed Services Partnership.

afternoon, Mr Simpson's employers, Hambleton Council, praised his

national awards an outstanding achievements, but if they improve -

- believed he was that good, why get rid of him? The happenings of

the last few days have been very difficult. Certain management

issues have come to the for which has meant that I have needed to

take action to safeguard the well- being of this organisation and the

services that are residents receive. Some claim the problems have been

caused by politics and personality clashes. This evening, Hambleton

Council says it will now be speaking to Mr Simpson's advisers

as they tried to agree a pay-off. We are still not clear and a reason

why he left. Note that is right. There was any Mel that said that

Peter Simpson would be leaving and there was a warning not to

speculate on the reasons. -- Are there was an e-mail. He had been at

the Council for 15 years. We are hearing about CBS management issues

but nothing beyond. Hambleton Council has already appointed a

temporary executive. It is quite telling, I think, that they say

tonight they are already in talks about a financial settlement with

Mr Simpson. Thank you. A missing pension has been found

safe in Northumberland. Monica Dixon, aged four, went missing at

the weekend. She was discovered in a garden in Corbridge just before

4am this morning. Police say she has been taken to hospital with

minor injuries consistent with a fall.

The Sunderland footballer Nicklas Bendtner has been banned for

driving for 56 days and fined �666 after he was caught speeding in his

Porsche. Ben and a, a Danish international on loan from Arsenal,

was clocked at 103mph near Newcastle Airport in December.

Magistrates were told today he was on his way to the airport and late

for a flight. Nicklas Bendtner, not present in court, admitted the

offence. Police say they do not yet know how

big a find they have made of cannabis plants at Haltwhistle in

Northumberland. They say the plans are on a number of flaws in

industrial unit on the Hadrian Enterprise Park but safety issues

are preventing them from making a proper search. The plants were

found after a tip-off from a member of the public.

The mother of a missing York teenager has made a fresh appeal

for help in finding him. Jordan Sullivan, 19, it was last seen a

week ago today near the River Ouse in Naburn. Searches have been

continued but since called off. am desperately begging you,

gorgeous boy, just to get in touch. Just let me know you are safe. If

there is an issue, you know, as always, everything, everything at

all we talk about. Anything, anything and everything can be

sorted, Jordan. He was, quite simply, one of the

best-known faces in our region, and today friends and former colleagues

of television pioneer George House were reunited at his funeral in

North Yorkshire. George was the first person to appear when the BBC

launched regional news in the 1950s, and went on to form a memorable on-

screen partnership. They came to say farewell but this

was a celebration, too. A celebration of the qualities that

made George House such a popular figure. He is sense of humour. We

have the same sense of humour. The material for his stage shows, for

example. I would say, that is very funny. Or I would say, I do not

think that is very funny and he would say, I do not, either. We

would go on stage, say the line, and the audience would fall apart.

And we would think, where did we go wrong? But his humour and the fact

that he was just a great guy. George had first appeared on the

forerunner to Look North in 1959, a pioneer of regional broadcasting.

This studio equipment, small video cameras, as in to remember, no such

thing as a zoom lenses... It was exciting stuff. It was pioneering

days for television and we enjoyed ourselves thoroughly. George spent

his later life he and the village of Brompton near Northallerton, but

the Broadcasting bug never lent him -- never left him, the famous boys

appearing on talking newspapers. When George came on the television,

people got excited. A celebrity in Paris Ritz. He had a lovely voice.

He told us about his life at the BBC and how primitive the studios

were and how close the camera was and all that sort of thing. And

then he would always end his talks with some of his Geordie his beak,

which to us was like a foreign language almost. -- speak. George

was both a gentleman and a gentle man. Members of George House.

There has been an apparent U-turn over plans to build homes on green

belt land in Newcastle. Earlier this year, the city council

announced plans for thousands of homes and this led to protests over

the future of the Gosforth Nature Reserve. Now the council has

unveiled plans to spend �25 million to develop more brownfield sites.

There will be some building still on some green belt land but much

less than originally planned. Stanhope Ford in County Durham is

to permanently closed to vehicles. A public inquiry recommended the

closure last month after hearing how a vehicle needed rest ring once

every four months. The council's high-rise committee endorsed the

decision today. One of the region's last

independent bookshops is closing its doors. Appleby's has been a

fixture in Morpeth for more than 130 years but the owners are not

blaming the recession orange net shopping. They say that road works

in the town have caused greater drop -- have caused trade to drop.

The bookshop has a prime location from which to observe the roadworks

and one way system that have decimated trade. The much loved

bookshop has been run by the Wallace family for 30 years but

will close within weeks. It has been very hard in the past two

years. We were keeping our head above water until the one-way

system was introduced. Takings have reduced by approximately 70 %. I

cannot absorb that for ten weeks. Would you like not to be paid for

ten weeks? No. Nor would I, so it is the end of the line,

unfortunately. Bookshops like this are hard to come by Tara days but

customers are devastated. -- nowadays. It is tragic that Morpeth

is going to lose a shock of this kind. It is a one-off. I had been

in once it was busily on my visits and it had been virtually deserted.

It is not just bookshops, it is libraries as well at the moment. So

you have to ask, how much can you replicate the some internet? That

is what a lot of people must be thinking. Northumberland council

said that by co-ordinating roadworks for gas, water and

electricity for the new traffic lights, the roadworks would be

reduced to just ten weeks, but those roadworks have been the final

nail in the coffin for this bookshop. The first few weeks it

was bad and some shops were down about 70 %. It is very bad for Tim.

It is really sad for him and his family and I am sorry they have had

to do that. So yes, a lot of businesses are hanging on but we

are fighting back and every week -- a week that goes by There are more

people coming back to Morpeth. the message is that Morpeth is open

for business but not all the businesses will be open that much

longer. At what age do you become too old

to drive? It is a controversial issue that has come up again, with

the news that there are now more than 1 million drivers on our roads

who are over 80. One lady still holds a licence at the age of 106.

Well, figures suggest that drivers in their 80s are actually much

safer than young drivers. And one council in our region is offering

older drivers the chance to find out if they are still safe behind

the wheel, as Jon Williams discovered for tonight's Look North

Report. Jostling for space. There are now

almost 37 million unlicensed drivers on Britain's increasingly

congested roads, it in charge of a potentially deadly weapon. More

than one million of them are over 80, an age not noted for good

eyesight, peak alertness and quick reactions. There seems to be a

perception that all the drivers, to use the phrase, are a menace, but

they are no more a menace really than any other driver. Gladys

Jackson turned 80 in January. She relies on her car to get out and

about on County Durham's rural roads, and sometimes for much

longer trips. Shopping and church and dancing and perhaps 150 miles

or so when I go off on holiday. At 80 you are not old nowadays. Once

upon a time, if you got to 60 you were lucky but there are a lot of

very fit a year-old I come in contact with and we are keeping

going. And keeping them in means keeping her car. To reassure

herself she is still up to it, or Gladys applied for one of Durham

County Council's special assessment sessions for older drivers. 40

minutes out on the road with a qualified driving instructor for

just �10. So did Mike Meehan -- Mike McMinn, an active 56-year-old

-- 76-year-old with 50 years' experience behind the wheel.

would have helped to indicate to let people know you were coming off

the roundabout. He still enjoys driving, taking his grandchildren

out in the car. One of the reasons he wanted a professional opinion of

his driving skills. I like the independence of being able to jump

in the car and just go. I have developed faults which I was not

aware of but these were pointed out to me and I am now doing their best

to try to rectify these. I think sometimes people are concerned, may

be about lanes on roundabouts or maybe they are concerned about

keeping up with the traffic. Sometimes they are worried they are

maybe being a bit of a nuisance on the road. Those are the sort of

concerns that people have as they are getting older. Mike is above --

one of those who think over seventies should face a regular

compulsory driving test. I think they should and this is one of the

reasons why I did apply for the assessment, because it is a kind of

test in a way. I think there is a responsibility to make sure that

you are competent to acceptable standards. Accident statistics show

that drivers over 80 have a much better safety record than younger

drivers. Less than a third of the deaths and serious injuries than

those among the Under 20s. But as our road systems become ever

complicated, accidents among the over fifties are growing. All the

drivers do not have their crushes at rush-hour because they are not

out in rush-hour. -- colder drivers. They are at 10:00am to 4pm in the

day. They usually have crashes at junctions like this where a lot of

Krasic -- processing is required and then quick action with the

vehicle. That is where the difficulty is.

Plenty more to come tonight. The sport and we are behind the scenes

at Newcastle's Academy. World-class facilities are unveiled four

Olympic and Paralympic hopefuls. And in the middle of a mild spell,

we will be out and about with the weather.

It is loved by millions of viewers and attracts the the finest up and

coming classical musicians in the land. The BBC Young Musician Of The

Year competition has seen many of its winners and finalists go on to

have major careers. And this evening it has just been announced

that the event is to be held at the Sage Gateshead.

You could say this world-class concert hall and the BBC Young

Asian 2012 are a match made in heaven. -- Young musician. With me

is the director of the Sage Gateshead. You must be pleased to

host this event again? It is one of the world's greatest music

competitions and we are one of the main centres in Europe for music

education. What does it mean to the area? We have had all the big BBC

bans here, Antiques Roadshow, Songs of Praise, and they are really

important. They give a lift to Tyneside generally and to the

building. The woman who has the big job of putting on that massive

event is here. You on the producer of the show. I suppose it is a bit

like an upmarket X Factor, except everyone has exceptional talent and

there is no boot camp. So that makes you Simon Cowell? I hope not!

I hope it is a great experience for everyone. Yes, it is a huge pool of

talent which we managed to draw into this competition. It takes

years and years of preparation. It is not just a case of get up there

and sing and play. The how important is it in the classical

musical world? It is one of the most well-loved competitions in the

classical world for young people. It is for 18 year-olds and under so

it really can launch careers, and it has done so. It has put people

into the spotlight, whether they have been category winners,

finalists or overall winners. People like our 2010 winner, and

Nicola Benedetti... There is a whole host of them. Standing next

year is a previous winner. Peter, and you were the youngest person to

win the competition backing 2008, at 12 years old. Can you remember

what it was like? The whole week was a bit of a blur. I just

remember a great experience and having the chance to play with a

great orchestra. So the three finalists will be easier and the

Sage Gateshead on 13th May to basically batted out for the title

and I guess that leaves them about three months to get some serious

practising in. And they will be, no doubt. It is a

great venue. We are going on Saturday night in all our finery.

Yes. Usually the doors are locked and

most people are kept out. But today Newcastle United invited us in to

show us what goes on and their academy. The club spend just short

of �2 million a year on the centre, and plan to increase that

investment in a bid to attract the best young talent around.

Reserve players and under-18s playing football, hoping to become

future stars of the Premier League. Newcastle United's academy takes

boys from as young as nine and trains them up to the age of 18 and

beyond. The ethos of the club is to give young players an opportunity

and try to bring them through to the first team. The academy is a

big part of that. We are trying to develop good players but also be

one to have good young men. In the classroom today, the under 15s and

16s are learning about race, as part of the Show Racism The Red

Card initiative. Former Newcastle full-back Olivier Bernard

reinforcing the message, removing rumour and myths, teaching them

there is just one race, the human race. We are very mindful that not

every one of the players behind us will go on to make a good career in

professional football, but we have to try to give them a life in

football, hopefully somehow involved in a football, whether as

physiotherapists or as teachers. The coaches played the game at the

highest level, including former Everton star Dave Watson. Life for

these academy scholars is a long way from what he enjoyed. When I

was playing football, to see a blade of grass on the pitch was a

luxury. The academy costs �1.8 million annually. Now the club

plans to invest an extra �1 million a year to make it one of the new

"category one" academies. Instead of being restricted to taking

youngsters from within 90 minutes of Tyneside, they could take talent

from around the world. Anybody who plays in the Premier League at the

moment has to be an international player. Ideally, we produce

international players from the local area, but we have to be

conscious that there may be international players from

elsewhere. But if they do not succeed in getting that higher

status, bigger clubs could come in and take the Magpies' most

promising talent. Meanwhile, out on the pitch,

Middlesbrough are in action tonight. They are down at The New Den,

taking on Millwall, hoping to climb back into a play-off place in the

Championship. Commentary, as usual, Down in London last night, it was a

pretty grim evening for Carlisle, when they took on Brentford, the

team they beat at Wembley last year. It was only last May that these two

met in the capital. The Blues won that one and lifted the Johnstone's

Paint Trophy. But this was almost a whitewash. Goalless until the match

was almost half an hour old, Brentford scored twice within four

minutes and then grabbed another before the break. Game over, and a

real shock for a Carlisle side who had lost just one of their ten

previous outings. That was a 4-0 defeat at Hartlepool, a scoreline

repeated at Griffin Park, thanks to a superb finish by teenager Saido

Berahino. The 18 year-old, on loan from Premier League West Brom,

curled in his second of the night, early in the second half. The

Cumbrians stay seventh in League One, a point and two places outside

the play-offs, but they will not want to many more nights like this.

London 2012 is just months away now so it is a crucial time for those

athletes still hoping for a place in the Olympics. And the best

training facilities to get them into peak condition could not be

more vital. What better time, then, for the official opening of a

multi-million-pound revamped sports In an Olympic year, it is

fashionable to throw about the phase -- a phrase world class.

Getting there is a long walk and does not come cheap. This tank cost

�1 million. It can send the water passed the planes at ten feet a

second. Before, I would have to go down south to get facilities like

these which was a bit of a pain. So it definitely gives me the edge.

is half of a �6.5 million expansion of Durham University's Maiden

Castle complex. It is open to students and the rest of us, but

these then single again his world standard. The only facilities I

have seen to this degree are in Hungary. I am so glad at Durham has

it. The head basketball coach asked me if I would like to try

wheelchair fencing. I loved it. could be represented Britain at the

Olympics? Yes. It would be amazing if that happened. Back at the tank,

they were still hard at it. They were also getting official

Government blessings. For a sports minister, it is a perfect sports

photo opportunity but here who -- what does he say to the critics who

say the North will not get the dividend from London 2012? They are

wrong. There is a huge dividend, but in terms of athletes in the

North East competing and facilities that Derby upgraded on the back of

London's Olympics. This is a real driver of Britain as a sporting

nation in the North East. A lot of the activity is going to be

directly inspired by what happens in London. It is a lot of money but

it is worth it. You have to be investing to make sure they knew

what the best. -- that you are the best. However well our athletes do

this summer, this is one place to watch for the next generation of

Rugby union, finally, and Newcastle Falcons' player of the year, Tim

Swinson will leave the club at the end of the season. The 25 year-old

lock forward hopes a move to Glasgow Warriors will help his

international career with Scotland. Meanwhile, back row Mark Wilson has

signed a new three-year contract at Kingston Park.

That is your sport. Rumour has it we might be breaking

out the barbecues this week. It is It is a very mild evening. No hat,

scarf or clubs tonight. We make 13 Celsius in parts of North Yorkshire

this afternoon. Over the next couple of days, we will push that

up a degree or so. Not bad going at all when you think that the average

for our patch for this time of year is about seven Celsius. Yes, it is

going to be mild but there is always a price to pay at this time

of year and it will come in the form of their very wet and windy

day particularly for tomorrow. Let's have a look and see what is

happening tonight. We already have some patchy rain around our patch.

Nothing near Newcastle at the moment but as the night goes on

that rain will increasingly become heavy and persistent and will work

its way right the way down our region by dawn tomorrow. It will be

a very wet end to the right. Also pretty windy. The breeze getting up

already. By dawn it will be picking up quite strongly and dusty as well,

particularly for the North East. The combination of cloud and wind

from the South West will make for another mild night. Such as we head

into tomorrow morning, it would be rain in place, the Met Office has

issued a warning for that heavy rain, particularly for Cumbria. On

the hills it could be up to 100 mm of rain. Three or four inches of

rain around Cumbria tomorrow. The chart shows the rain will sink its

way southwards, pulling its way into the North East as well,

although through the afternoon it will become writer and more patchy.

Said by the end of the day, the North of the region in particular

looks a bit clearer, although Cumbria is stuck with the rain on

and off throughout the day. The wind will pick up tomorrow.

Extremely dusty, particularly on high ground. -- gusty. A horrid day

to be ad and the back. But the only saving grace is that again the air

comes from the South West, so it will be mild again. The rest of the

week. The temperatures stay up very well to Thursday and on Thursday

for the wind will be lighter and it will be drier. So much more

pleasant. Those temperatures on Friday and will then start to drift

downwards just in time for a cooler The headlines: A second massive

bail-out for Greece has been agreed but in return for 130 billion euros

Greece will have to make yet more spending cuts.

Peter Simpson, the chief executive of Hambleton and Richmond should