20/03/2017 Look North (North East and Cumbria)

Hello, good evening. me to find out more now

Head teachers in all the state schools in Darlington

have taken the unprecedented step of writing a joint letter to parents

warning of the funding crisis they face.

They are urging parents to lobby the Government after the

town's schools learned they will lose ?7 million from their

Some heads claim staff could lose their jobs, meaning

But the Government says school funding

across the country has reached record levels.

Peter King says he and the town's other head

The big government departments were unaware of the financial

Schools, he says, are now being asked to do a lot more

Across the whole of Darlington we think over the next few years it

Darlington is not a big place so that means some quite big cuts

Unless the government does some kind of a U-turn,

or a change of heart, yes I do think not just here

at our school but across Darlington and around the country it will lead

to some staffing reductions over time, for sure.

More children are now in education so the government is putting more

money in schools but head teachers say they now have to pay increased

pension and national insurance contributions for their staff.

That means some schools in Darlington will see their actual

The schools in this town cannot afford to lose one

You are looking at one in five teachers, potentially.

One in five classrooms, or even one in five schools closing.

Head teachers say school costs continue to rise while their budget

has remained the same for the last seven years.

Ministers say they realise schools are facing cost pressures

which is why they are helping them to use their funding

The government says funding is at its highest level on record

and this year schools received ?40 billion but it says the system

for distributing that money across the country

That's why it says it's introducing a new formula that will see more

than half the schools in England receive a cash boost.

But that's not the situation here and at many of the other

If the cuts to their budgets continue, head teachers say staff

will lose their jobs and it'll be the pupils who suffer.

Stuart Whincup, BBC Look North, Darlington.

A man who shot a 15-year-old boy in the head as he was riding past on a

motorbike in Sunderland has pleaded guilty to carrying out the shooting.

Steven Thompson admitted firing the shot as the teenager was riding

pillion along Hewitt Avenue in Sunderland last October.

It left the victim in a critical condition.

Thompson pleaded guilty to causing grievous bodily harm with intent and

possession of a powerful .25 calibre air rifle without a certificate.

Almost three months after it was announced the chief executive

of the Newcastle Hospitals Trust is taking extended leave,

the BBC has learned that a group of senior doctors has expressed

concern about the leadership of Sir Len Fenwick.

The Inside Out programme has seen minutes of a meeting

in which the doctors criticised the organisational culture saying

they felt unwilling or unable to speak out of fear

They also called for a closer working relationship

with the neighbouring trust, Northumbria.

Sir Len is barred from public comment while an investigation

into what the trust described as serious allegations

are investigated but sources close to the Chief Executive told the BBC

that he categorically denies the allegations.

And if you missed the Inside Out programme tonight, you can see it

via the BBC iPlayer for the next 30 days.

An investigation is under way to find out what caused a fire

which killed 16,000 free range hens in Carlisle.

A large shed on Orton Road was well alight when the firefighters

Six engines were needed to bring it under control.

A campaign has begun to try to save Newcastle's

The City Council's cutting all but two of its 55 crossing

But one pressure group is hopeful it can save all the crossing

Soon to be a rare sight on the streets of Newcastle.

The majority of the city's school crossing patrols,

are being got rid of as the council tries to save millions

Jim's worked on this busy crossing in Gosforth for more than 15 years.

But when the summer term ends, so does his contract.

A kid being hit by a car, or bus, or wagon.

Whatever it is that comes around the corner.

There was a van coming through and the wing

That's while I was standing in the middle of the road.

Children from four schools use this crossing here in Gosforth.

That means that Jim sees across the road around 200 children

The council gets all of that for about ?5,000 a year.

Today, parents and children showed their support for a campaign,

started by a local Facebook group, to save Jim.

All lollipop men and women across the city need saving.

How would you feel about crossing the road if Jim wasn't there?

We don't have a light, we don't have have a zebra crossing.

We have no means of slowing down traffic around our corner.

It feels the children will get safely across the road.

Especially children not accompanied by adults.

In a statement, Newcastle City Council blamed Government

funding cuts for the move, adding there'll be free

training for volunteers who want to monitor crossing points.

But campaigners say they'll keep trying to change councillors' minds.

Alison Freeman, BBC Look North, Gosforth.

The country's first heritage action zones have been announced.

And two of our areas are in the first ten.

It means Sunderland and Appleby in Cumbria will receive money

In Appleby money will be used to repair crumbling

properties and more could come from local councils.

Our business correspondent, Ian Reeve, reports from Appleby.

Daffodil time in Appleby, a town of some charm.

Yet visitor numbers are declining, there are empty shops, so this

The heritage body, Historic England, has decided Appleby will be one

of ten areas in the country to get cash over ?750,000

and expertise to try and improve the local economy.

It really suffered in the floods of last winter and there

are still some properties that are closed as a result of that.

And we think that we can work together and help

boost visitor numbers, which in turn will help

Crumbling buildings such as the Moot Hall and this long empty

The hope then is that new businesses will come here, create jobs.

The money coming will really make it into a very nice tourist town,

We do need the business infrastructure to be livened up

and then we will see results within five years, I'm sure.

For Stephen, in his two-year-old butchery and delicatessen

business, regeneration can't come quickly enough.

A lot of small, independent shops are closing down.

There are quite a few buildings in Appleby are in a bad

Flooding did affect the town a lot, the town was split in half

for a week and a half because the main bridge was shut,

Flood damage is still being repaired, but this latest scheme

could go some way to making the town whole again.

Now time for our regular Monday night look at the weather

So spring arrives Paul, and winter returns.

Pretty much, Spring Equinox today, winter in the forecast as we head

through the week ahead. We will see some sleet and snow showers over the

next couple of days and nights. Things should become quieter by the

time we get to the weekend but still on the cold side. Tonight we have a

mix of clear spells, scattered showers and some have some sleet and

snow. There is some Snow settled on high ground. There could be a light

covering on lower levels. Temperatures just above freezing.

Add-in that westerly wind and it will feel for tomorrow morning. Some

icy patches in between and it leads us into a cold day tomorrow. There

will be some sunshine around in the morning but then showers coming. Any

snow tomorrow to the day will restrict to the hills. Seven Celsius

at best. Again, a gusty south-westerly wind making it feel

cold indeed. Tomorrow night, we are watching another frontal system, an

area of Cloud, rain, sleet and hill snow from the south-west and that

could produce some snow at the lower levels as we head into Wednesday

morning and temperatures close to freezing. They could be some icy

stretches to watch out for. Wednesday, but the rain, sleet and

snow, perhaps a tricky rush hour. Through the day it turns to rain and

it starts to become fragmented, gradually through the day.

Temperatures seven, parts eight at best though the wind is coming from

the east or South Wiest -- South East. It is a messy weather chart

the middle part of the week. As it goes away, we start to see a ridge

of high pressure building through Thursday and Friday and into the

weekend and that is what will quieten the weather down. It will

kill off the showers. Things will stay on the chilly side towards the

weekend. Thursday, a cold weekend. Thursday, a cold

north-easterly wind. It will be generally dry by the end of the day

and temperatures making double figures. Friday looks quieter with

lighter winds. Some sunshine and temperatures making 12 Celsius. That

is the way it is looking towards the weekend. I will

outlook for Saturday and Sunday is for something dry and settled, sunny

spells but a bit on the cool side. This week we are starting off with a

taste of winter. This is Paul and maritime air, it has come from a

long way north and will push in lots of showers. The last of any mild air

gets swept away with the cloud. Tonight we have showers mostly

across the northern half of the UK, which will turn wintry and that

means more snow, particularly across Scotland and Northern Ireland,

perhaps northern England. With those temperatures it is not just snow

that is a concern, it is icy roads. Quite a few wintry showers still

packing in across the north and west of Northern Ireland, west of

Scotland by this stage. Eastern Scotland much more sheltered so it

should be drier and we may have early sunshine here as well.