24/04/2017 Look North (North East and Cumbria)

Hello, welcome to Monday's Look North.

Tonight, could it be Newcastle's night?

If they win this evening, they'll return to the Premier League,

bouncing back at the first time of asking.

Also tonight, cut red tape and speed up planning -

one community's answer to the shortage of affordable homes.

The teenage musician performing with some of the biggest

MIMA is a gallery in Middlesbrough but what does it stand for?

We've been quizzing the candidates for Tees Valley mayor on how much

they know about the area they want to serve.

It's a crucial 72 hours for north-east football.

In just over three hours, Newcastle United could be promoted

If they beat Preston tonight, they'll automatically go up -

just a year after their relegation to the Championship.

And then on Wednesday, both Middlesbrough and Sunderland

will fight for their survival in the top flight

Well, Jeff's outside St James' Park now.

It certainly is. We expect things to be a bit more clear by late on

Wednesday night and I expect one issue to be sorted later this

evening here at Saint James's Park, just short of a year since Newcastle

were relegated, 340 days since they knew they were slipping out of the

Premier League into the championship, but now is the brink

of a return, and what would that mean by the city itself?

Could, just could Newcastle United's heartbreak of 12 months ago

turn into celebrations in the next few hours?

Promotion to the Premier League tonight would lead to plenty of very

happy football fans, but more's riding on it than that,

because if the club goes straight back up, there could be

a substantial boost to the local economy.

Swansea City, when they first went up in 2013, there was a study done

and they found that the economic benefits for that city

What the Premier League does is get a platform for global exposure.

Newcastle United in the Premier League, it's going to be seen...

People are going to see games at St James' Park

and the Newcastle area in China, America, which are everywhere

For other business leaders, it's not so much about football but footfall,

because if Newcastle United make it into the top flight,

visitors will spend longer in the city and spend more.

The most tangible impact will be on Newcastle's hotels.

We'll tend to get more overnight visits...

And, of course, beneficiaries of that are Newcastle's

But beyond that, I think what is perhaps immeasurable

is actually the profile it will give this city in these

But, for Sunderland and Middlesbrough, it seems

an awful long way since those scenes of relief and triumph 12 months ago.

Survival's still a possibility, of course, but it's looking

increasingly unlikely for both teams.

Relegation would have an economic impact too.

The Premier League offers a massive opportunity for the local economy,

and the small businesses but also the wider regions of those clubs.

I think not having Premier League football is going to have a little

Light at the end of the tunnel or cloud's on the horizon -

we'll find out what it's to be for all our teams very soon.

He joins me now. Good times ahead for Newcastle? Sunderland and

Middlesbrough facing relegation and Hartlepool and York City and Berwick

Rangers, Carlisle trying to get out of League 2. What impact and the

football club's fortunes have? A lot, because it is a time of year

where not only that bands get nervous but also businesses, because

this matters in terms of the fate of the local economy. Carlisle United,

personable, still not out of the picture for the league to... If they

go up to League 1, they could face big teams who have come down from

the championship, the likes of Birmingham City, Blackburn Rovers

and Wigan, all possible big-game receipts for Carlisle United. Also

the wage bill, Deloitte, but came out last year saw the wage bill for

a League 1 team on average is 50% higher than that in League 2, so

that is more money swanning around. Very different story for some teams,

Hartlepool, and dicing with relegation and out of the Football

League into the National League... It is true they said that most teams

in that league are full-time but playing smaller teams and smaller

games with less money, spare a thought for York and Berwick as

well, you're in the League 2 at the moment, National League, relegation

would mean it would definitely be a team of part-timers.

Thank you for that. Join me later on for Team Talk.

Thank you, Jeff. For thousands of people living

in rural parts of the region, buying their own house has become

an unobtainable dream. Today, though, a pilot scheme's been

launched in North Yorkshire Hambleton District Council wants

to see more affordable houses built and has promised to help by cutting

red tape and speeding up Rural north Yorkshire has long been

a desirable place to live, but buying a house here

is not that simple. There's not many for sale,

and those that are are often Dan Scatchard and his partner,

Caroline Nelson, are a first-time buyers who are keen to live in rural

North Yorkshire. Affordable options, though,

are few and far between. The only option would be to go

into a count or city. Yeah, week after move further away

to get the cheaper houses, but we don't want to move away

from our area, because all In Hambleton, though, a large rural

district in north Yorkshire, a pilot scheme has been launched

to build more housing The scheme is being

led by the council. In the market towns like Easingwold,

it aims to speed up the planning process by matching potential buyers

with landowners, small builders The council has also promised a more

flexible approach to planning. That's good news for the Jacksons,

whose plan to build their own home There's been lots of ideas

and lots of words have been put into my head that we can possibly

use to help the planning forwards. We feel that this is a way,

by developing small sites, and it is something

that is appropriate for village development,

rather than large scale. By this time next year,

it is hoped the pilot scheme will have made a difference,

allowing people like Dan and Caroline to stay

and live in these rural communities. Phil Connell, BBC Look

North, North Yorkshire. The police are continuing

to question a woman, after a man was found dead

in a house in Sunderland. Officers were called

to Kemble Square in the Downhill area of the city on Saturday night,

where a man in his 40s was discovered with

"significant injuries". Detectives are treating

the death as unexplained. Three other people have

been released on bail. More than ?1.5 million

is being spent to try to reduce The lottery-funded project,

called "Choices", is intended to support 450 people who face

extreme employment challenges An attempt's being made to fund

a legal challenge to stop Scarborough's former futurist

theatre being bulldozed. Preparations are under way

for the controversial demolition A new attraction's planned

for the site, but campaigners are trying to raise ?10,000 to pay

for a judicial review. A 48 hour strike by RMT union staff

working for virgin east coast has been suspended following talks, it

was scheduled for Friday and Saturday, the same weekend as the

Tour de Yorkshire. The company says many journeys were

made during the 12 months to the end of March.

Now, he's played at music festivals, including Glastonbury

and T in the Park, and he's said no thanks to Simon Cowell

Tom Smith is a musician from East Rainton in County Durham

who has performed with James Bay, Catfish And The Bottlemen

It's an impressive musical CV, yet Tom is just 13.

A songwriter at home in the studio, this is what makes

Tom's just become a teenager, and already he's played on big

Before I get on to the stage, I'm obviously nervous,

but the second I get onto the stage all of the nerves go

This year Tom will play at Kendal Calling,

Deep South Festival, Liverpool Sound City and a few

others he's not allowed to mention yet.

It's really amazing because you can see all of the crowd singing along

with you when you can see how happy they are, and it makes

Born with a heart condition, Tom's early hopes of becoming

a footballer couldn't happen - instead, he swapped

the pitch for the stage and found a new passion.

In early life, walking up to school became

quite difficult, but once I found music I have completely forgotten

I obviously can't go and play football

with my friends at the park because I get tired easily,

but it doesn't really matter any more.

HE SINGS Don't Look Back In Anger by Oasis

He was invited to appear on Britain's Got Talent,

Instead, Tom's been making an impression on the music circuit

He's just got such a natural talent for

I think that's the main thing about him,

that he is, kind of, got the

There is nobody saying, you need to be doing this,

He just really wants to do it himself.

And it's that determination that's got Tom almost fully booked

with gigs this summer - not a bad way to spend

Plenty more coming up in Monday's Look North.

We'll be heading back to St James' Park shortly for tonight's TeamTalk

Plus: Past, present and future all together -

four legends line up for a unique railway event.

And wet wintry April showers featuring, there will be a cold feel

to things of the next couple of days, join me shortly for your full

Monday forecast. We are in the final fortnight now

of campaigning in the race to be Voters will decide on May the 4th

who they trust in a role which will cover Teesside,

Hartlepool and Darlington. But what do the candidates know

about the area they want to oversee? Our political editor Richard Moss

decided to test their local knowledge to find

a Mayoral Mastermind. The black chair, the slick

studio, John Humphrys - all the things that make

Mastermind special. But why would you want all that

when you can base yourself Over the next four evenings,

Tees Valley mayoral candidates questions will be joining diners

here to be grilled So let's welcome our first

contestant in Mayoral Mastermind. I am Chris Foote Wood,

Lib Dem candidate OK, Chris Foote Wood,

your 90 seconds of... What is the name of the voting

system being used to elect Yes, or supplementary vote.

I'll accept that. MIMA is a gallery in Middlesbrough,

what does MIMA stand for? Which Teessider had

the X Factor, winning in 2013? Teesside dialect, if I have got

a keggy, what is wrong with me? Well, I've actually walked the whole

length of the River Tees, but as I remember it was about

70 miles long. Where in Teesside was

explorer Captain Cook born? The opening shot of which film

directed by the director from Teesside, Ridley Scott,

was reportedly based on the skyline What Teesside landmark

could have been known as Lemon-Topped Tower or Mo's

Lookout? And StrongArm is

a product associated OK, Chris, well, you passed on six,

so the gallery in Middlesbrough is Middlesbrough Institute of modern

Art. The picture you passed on,

that's Olympic rower Kat Copeland, who is from Teesside,

gold medallist in 2012. You passed on which Teesside person

had the X Factor in 2013... The Teesside dialect question,

if you've got a keggy, It's a lump on the head or a black

eye, I would have accepted, And the other one you passed

on was the opening shot to which film directed

by Ridley Scott, based reportedly on the skyline

of ICI's Wilton complex, and it is Blade Runner,

the sequel of which is coming I will give you a half

mark for Hartlepool MP. And the Teesside landmark

which could have been known as LemonTopped Tower

or Mo's Lookout, names suggested by the public,

it is the Redcar Beacon at the pier. You scored in the end three and a

half points, with six passes. Thank you.

With the heat off time for post-match analysis.

That was awful. What a low score. I thoroughly enjoyed it but I am

ashamed of the fact that I don't know some of the local words, and

perhaps I should do. But I don't think it is necessary, in any case,

but if necessary I can always have a translator.

I'm not sure we have a winning score yet but remember this is just for

fun and it might not be essential for a Tees Valley man to have

encyclopaedic knowledge of 2013's X factor, but it won't stop splitting

the other candidate, another candidate, the conservative, through

the mayoral mastermind tomorrow. Time to go back to St James' Park

now to rejoin Jeff - this time with Steve Harper

for "TeamTalk" with a difference! We've been allowed out

for the night, Carol, because it is a big occasion -

the night when Newcastle United should confirm their place back

in the Premier League. All they have to do is beat Preston

North End, here at St James'. It's the one ray of light in what,

otherwise, has been a pretty desperate season for the region,

Steve? It has been. Middlesbrough and

Sunderland struggling and Hartlepool and York, and even Berwick Rangers,

so not good. And Carlisle as well, struggling for

the play-offs. All doom and gloom with a bit of sunshine on May 15, at

your minds back. Newcastle finishing off the season with a 5-1 win over

Spurs, already relegated, but that hope that if they could keep hold of

that it would get back up. 12 months on, every Newcastle ban

would have taken that position at the title would have been the icing

on the cake, promotion tonight... They need to get the job done.

What happens next FA Cup? Do they get money to spend?

Hopefully he backs him... Top manager, they have a top manager and

he needs the money to be able to go back into the Premier League and

compete, no one knows that more than him. Element will they finish the

job tonight? I hope so. We can't take any more,

can we? Looks like Brighton and former

Magpies boss Chris Houston will pip Newcastle to the title.

The first thing that I said was congratulations to them,

to Chris and the team, because they did really well.

And my target always was trying to go up,

and trying to go up, and it doesn't matter

for me the position, but the main thing is just to be

Let's hope they can finish that job tonight.

Chances are they won't be playing Middlesbrough next season!

Boro winger Stewart Downing apologised to fans who made

the 700-mile round trip to see them hammered 4-0 at Bournemouth.

Boro now nine points from safety with five games left.

They could be relegated as early as next Sunday.

And it didn't help that they had to play most of the game

Not good. 2-0 down after 16 minutes, Ramirez... It was dire, at 20

minutes leaving the team-mates high and dry.

16 games without a win and only one for all season, can you see a way

out? If they beat Sunderland on Wednesday

it gives them a better hope. Steve Agnew tried three centre halves,

left them vulnerable in wide areas and it did not happen. They may

change but it did not work on them sadly.

Six games, two points from a possible 18... I just a shame it

took Boro so long to get out of the place and they look like they're

going back into the championship. Knocking on the door for many years

and heading back down, but hopefully Sunderland can bounce back if they

are to go in. Disappointment for Middlesbrough and

again on Wednesday against Sunderland. Not an awful lot that

might four or six weeks ago, one of the game is going to be, looked like

a huge game, burning now looks like a dead runner.

As we said, away from Tyneside, there hasn't been too much to smile

about for any of our full-time clubs, especially Hartlepool United.

Today they sacked manager Dave Jones, with Pools

in danger of dropping out of the Football League for the first

His surprise appointment was enough to capture the attention

of national football writers, but could ex-Premier League boss

Dave Jones prevent Hartlepool United dropping out of the Football League

Saturday's home defeat by Barnet, which saw Pools drop

into the bottom two, after winning just four games out

David Jones, for God's sake, for the good of the club, walk now.

If it means me retiring and resigning as president,

After Jones "parted company with Pools by mutual consent",

the club announced that ex-Boro defender Matthew Bates

Assisting him for the final two games will be fitness

coach Stuart Parnaby, head physio Ian Gallagher

Carlisle United came from 2-0 down to lead 3-2 at Crawley.

Victory would have hugely boosted the Cumbrians' play-off hopes,

but a stoppage-time equaliser puts them back in the balance.

In the National League relegation zone, York's draw at Woking leaves

the Minstermen probably needing to win their final game and hope

At the other end, Gateshead's 4-0 win at Boreham Wood

So Carlisle look like they're missing out on the play-offs -

and can a change of manager this late in the season

You hope for a balance to happen quickly. Charlton away at the

weekend, needing a point... It will be tough for them.

Could be a defining moment in their history.

They always say the football season is a marathon, not a sprint.

But let's talk real marathons now, and two of the region's great

athletes were centre stage in London yesterday, as Dawn Thewlis reports.

In a race where Kenya's Mary Keitany set a new world record

in the women's marathon, it was also a day to remember for

Not only was the 38-year-old the first British woman to cross

the line but, she smashed her personal best and sealed her

place in Great Britain's squad for this summer's

And a memorable day too for Tyneside's athletics legend

The 69-year-old Olympic European and Commonwealth medallist

was presented with the John Disley Lifetime Achievement Award

by Prince Harry after announcing his retirement

The Great North Run founder has been the voice of the London Marathon

One more award winner, Lucy Bronze from Northumberland who won the

Footballer of the Year award. Well done to her.

Good luck to Workington Reds, in their Evo-Stick Premier Division

I'll be back in our late bulletin, hopefully with good news

Let's hope so. I think we can expect a flurry of snow, can't we?

Something cold, that's for sure. Springtime but the weather taking a

bit of convincing at the minute. Look at today's weather pictures,

lovely spring sunshine in Cumbria. Margaret's photograph, but further

ease the showery clouds looked gloomy over this beach. Thank you,

Neil. Over the next couple of days, most of us catching wintry April

showers, and it will feel bitterly cold. You could hear the wind

blowing when Jeff and Steve Waugh outdoors. Frosty nights as well. A

fair few showers around today, and more to come through the evening and

night. Most in eastern areas, some sleet and so are amongst them, could

give a light covering in places. By the West, drier and clearer and

colder. Temperatures around freezing for many of us to the night. And in

the north to north-westerly wind, it will feel bitterly cold or feel way

colder than those numbers might suggest. Tomorrow, some sunshine,

yes, some rashers of showers. Probably most widespread in eastern

areas. Rain and sleet and hells no, and some hail and thunder amongst

them. The showers scattered further west, and hanging onto more

brightness and you will see the higher afternoon temperatures there.

Height in the West, 10 Celsius, and further ease making them six or

seven Celsius lucky. And with that cold northerly wind, it will feel

raw if you're out and about. There will be some sunshine and clear

spells of the night, another cold night to come tomorrow night, and

showers continuing on and off, even though we have high pressure into

the West. Through the next few days... The weather system coming

round the high, beats them up later in the week. It will start to lose

the northerly wind by the end of the week, interpreters will slowly start

to recover as we head towards the weekend. Wintry and sleety showers

for many of us tomorrow, Wednesday the showers fewer and further

between, but still one or two. Thursday and Friday, you will notice

those temperatures slowly start to pick up, and western areas picking

up to 12 or 13 Celsius. Just about making it into double figures

further east, with showers staying widespread. That is the way it looks

as we head towards the weekend. On Monday night, so we will have a

cause a look at the weather for the week ahead on tonight's late Look

North. Thank you. Now you join me to share

this introduction. Now, thousands of people lined

the East Coast Main Line yesterday Four generations of trains

spanning the past, present and future of rail travel,

running in parallel It was to celebrate the heritage

of the line, and included We will leave you tonight with those

absolutely empathic scenes and get your week off to a great start. Good

night. You've got four trains running

together in parallel, and they represent the history

of the East Coast Mainline That's very significant,

and I don't think you've had four trains running together like this

since probably before the war. I've come in from

Stoke Newington Hackney. On Friday evening I was listening

to BBC London, and they said they were going to be sending

all of these four trains to do York train station,

so I shot up and thought, this Sunday I'm going

to be dowm here. It's an absolutely

fantastic turnout, and there's been people around

since six o'clock this morning, and it just shows how, you know,

the enthusiasm that people have got There are times in the life

of a nation when the choices we make define

the character of our country, times when people stand up

and demand real, significant change. we have the chance to shape

a brighter future for Britain