:00:00. > :00:00.In the headlines this Friday lunchtime:
:00:00. > :00:08.More strike action by teachers protesting at the sponsors of this
:00:09. > :00:13.And we've the latest on the redevelopment
:00:14. > :00:26.of Whitley Bay's iconic Spanish City.
:00:27. > :00:29.Teachers at a troubled school in West Cumbria have again been out
:00:30. > :00:32.on strike today in protest at the actions of its sponsor,
:00:33. > :00:37.Staff at the Whitehaven Academy say the Trust has led the school
:00:38. > :00:39.into special measures and is failing pupils' education.
:00:40. > :00:47.This is the second day of strike action this week involving
:00:48. > :00:51.three trade unions - teachers here fulfilling a threat
:00:52. > :00:54.first made before Christmas to use industrial action to force changes.
:00:55. > :00:57.I think it's a massive decision and particularly for the ATL,
:00:58. > :01:00.this is the first strike we've had in Cumbria, a local strike.
:01:01. > :01:03.ATL has only ever had two strikes in its 125-year history nationally.
:01:04. > :01:12.Staff say the Bright Tribe Trust has broken its promises
:01:13. > :01:16.to improve the school, has left buildings to decay
:01:17. > :01:18.and allowed it to drift into special measures.
:01:19. > :01:20.The teachers here don't want to go on strike.
:01:21. > :01:23.We recognise that it can be inconvenient for some people,
:01:24. > :01:32.but we do need to see progress here, because actually, you know, one day,
:01:33. > :01:34.if we see sustained and substantial improvements in this
:01:35. > :01:40.The Bright Tribe trust told us they didn't have anyone available
:01:41. > :01:42.for interview but they did provide a statement.
:01:43. > :01:45.It said, Bright Tribe is fully committed to working with all staff
:01:46. > :01:48.and trade unions in order to improve standards and provide a good level
:01:49. > :01:50.of education for students at the Whitehaven academy.
:01:51. > :01:54.Some parents too have joined in, trying to increase
:01:55. > :01:59.We've collected over 1000 signatures from the community,
:02:00. > :02:01.showing support for the teachers and what we're doing at the school,
:02:02. > :02:05.the action that they are taking, because a lot of the parents feel
:02:06. > :02:07.very strongly about what's been happening in the school.
:02:08. > :02:09.We want to show our support for the teachers.
:02:10. > :02:16.Mark McAlindon BBC Look North, Whitehaven.
:02:17. > :02:19.Another of the region's secondary schools has been placed in special
:02:20. > :02:21.measures after being judged inadequate by Ofsted.
:02:22. > :02:24.Heaton Manor, which is Newcastle's largest school, was found
:02:25. > :02:29.by inspectors to suffer "weak leadership, behaviour problems and
:02:30. > :02:33.In a statement, the governors said they were disappointed
:02:34. > :02:37.but would ensure pupils taking exams this summer would receive
:02:38. > :02:41.The Government has the power to force local authority schools
:02:42. > :02:45.rated as "failing" to become academies.
:02:46. > :02:48.The deadline for public consultation over a controversial housing,
:02:49. > :02:51.school and shopping development in Morpeth runs out on Monday.
:02:52. > :02:54.The scheme would be built on the existing site
:02:55. > :02:57.of Northumberland County Council's headquarters, with a new county hall
:02:58. > :03:02.However, it has attracted criticism, with more than 1,000 objections -
:03:03. > :03:05.including claims the retail park on the edge of town would harm
:03:06. > :03:12.The town has got a fantastic functioning town centre
:03:13. > :03:14.and for the last 30 years, up and down the country,
:03:15. > :03:19.towns have been really hit hard by out-of-town retailing and we just
:03:20. > :03:22.feel that this is a wrong proposal for Morpeth.
:03:23. > :03:26.In our own county, Berwick and Blyth have had their towns hit really hard
:03:27. > :03:33.Morpeth's town council also has concerns about the 200 homes
:03:34. > :03:36.that the development would bring, but claims the County Council
:03:37. > :03:42.They have refused repeatedly to come and talk to us.
:03:43. > :03:45.We have a forum where we're supposed to be talking to the County Council
:03:46. > :03:50.We have specifically invited them again just before Christmas
:03:51. > :03:56.Northumberland County Council said that it isn't able
:03:57. > :03:58.to comment as the planning applications are active.
:03:59. > :04:02.We'll have more on this in tonight's Look North.
:04:03. > :04:04.Just two days after the National Television Awards named them Best TV
:04:05. > :04:07.Presenters for the 16th year running, Ant and Dec
:04:08. > :04:11.were at Buckingham Palace this morning to collect
:04:12. > :04:15.For once they appeared separately, with Dec going first,
:04:16. > :04:18.to receive their OBEs from the Prince of Wales.
:04:19. > :04:21.The Newcastle pair, who met as young actors on the children's
:04:22. > :04:23.TV show Byker Grove, were each given the honour
:04:24. > :04:34.for services to entertainment and broadcasting.
:04:35. > :04:41.It's an iconic seaside building that fallen on hard times. Spanish city
:04:42. > :04:44.in Brittany bay called in thousand and since then, numerous schemes
:04:45. > :04:50.have been put forward is to revive it. Work is finally under way to
:04:51. > :04:54.restore its famous dome. When you come inside here, you get a sense of
:04:55. > :04:58.the grand year that this building once had. There's a lot of work
:04:59. > :05:02.already been done, which means it's probably not that familiar to people
:05:03. > :05:07.in recent years although much of the worst -- work has been about taking
:05:08. > :05:12.it back to what it was when it was first opened in 1910. Chris is the
:05:13. > :05:18.operations manager. That's right, isn't it? You've been restoring it
:05:19. > :05:22.to what it was. What you see now is the building back in its original
:05:23. > :05:31.1910 formation. It would be a restaurant when it will become? A
:05:32. > :05:35.restaurant, bars, wedding venue, conference facilities. It must be
:05:36. > :05:39.fantastic to work on something like an iconic building. It is. This is
:05:40. > :05:45.probably the most iconic project that I've worked on. I'm loco, North
:05:46. > :05:50.Tyneside born and bred and to work on the Dome is a fantastic
:05:51. > :05:56.opportunity. Thanks very much. We've got some local people here. What you
:05:57. > :05:59.think? It's really good to see it back in this condition. We've been
:06:00. > :06:03.watching the building, watching what they've been doing. Willing them on
:06:04. > :06:09.to get it finished. We want to use this. It's a great idea. Thanks very
:06:10. > :06:13.much for joining us. The work is under way here. The public if there
:06:14. > :06:17.are invited, getting a chance to look around today and the idea is,
:06:18. > :06:23.this dome on the Spanish city will be done back to its original state
:06:24. > :06:25.by the summer of next year. Peter Harris, BBC look North, Whitley Bay.
:06:26. > :06:27.Peter Harris, BBC look North, Whitley Bay.
:06:28. > :06:29.In football, Sunderland defender Patrick van Aanholt is set to link
:06:30. > :06:32.up with his old Black Cats boss Sam Allardyce at Crystal Palace.
:06:33. > :06:34.The Dutchman is currently in London undergoing a medical,
:06:35. > :06:37.ahead of a deal which could be worth up to ?14 million.
:06:38. > :06:39.And centre-back Papy Djilobodji will serve a four-match ban,
:06:40. > :06:41.having lost his appeal against a charge
:06:42. > :06:48.Staying in Sunderland, a blue plaque has been unveiled
:06:49. > :06:51.in the city this morning to mark Holocaust Memorial Day.
:06:52. > :06:53.It's in honour of two Wearside sisters who helped Jewish people
:06:54. > :06:57.Ida and Louise Cook used their love of opera to travel to Germany
:06:58. > :07:00.and smuggle goods out in the 1930s, raising funds for Jews hoping
:07:01. > :07:05.The plaque was unveiled at their childhood home
:07:06. > :07:07.in Croft Avenue, and their nephew said his aunts were simply
:07:08. > :07:18.Their motives, and I'm often asked and my cousins are often asked,
:07:19. > :07:27.They saw people who they perceived as being in trouble and they did
:07:28. > :07:32.That they were Jews didn't enter into it.
:07:33. > :07:35.Now for a look at the weekend weather forecast.
:07:36. > :07:42.A very chilly start this morning as low as minus five degrees,
:07:43. > :07:45.still some pockets of frost around here and there but a bit
:07:46. > :07:47.of sunshine as well, especially out towards the West.
:07:48. > :07:52.The cloud, though, for all of us will start to thicken up as this
:07:53. > :07:55.frontal system out towards the West starts to push its way in,
:07:56. > :07:58.trying to introduce something a little bit milder as well
:07:59. > :08:01.but its slow progress, so through the rest
:08:02. > :08:04.of the afternoon, it will continue to feel really rather quite chilly.
:08:05. > :08:07.But the best of any sunshine really out towards the north
:08:08. > :08:10.and west, that cloud, though, trying to push on later.
:08:11. > :08:13.The temperature struggling through the afternoon,
:08:14. > :08:15.particularly out towards the eastern side of the Pennines.
:08:16. > :08:19.We've done a bit better towards Cumbria.
:08:20. > :08:22.Watch what happens throughout this evening and overnight,
:08:23. > :08:26.that rain starts pushing, potentially transitory,
:08:27. > :08:29.a little bit wintry in the nature of the higher ground as it pushes
:08:30. > :08:32.in but actually, as that rain continues to pump them, overnight,
:08:33. > :08:35.to all parts of the region, it is bringing with it some milder
:08:36. > :08:37.air, so the temperature is actually should hold up largely just
:08:38. > :08:41.above freezing as we head towards the start of your Saturday.
:08:42. > :08:44.But as you can see, it is a wet start to the weekend.
:08:45. > :08:49.That's rain will continue to track off towards the north and east,
:08:50. > :08:51.so an improving picture throughout the morning into the afternoon.
:08:52. > :08:54.A lot of dry weather, save for some showers potentially
:08:55. > :08:56.just coming in behind and again, over higher ground, you can see
:08:57. > :08:58.a little bit wintry, but temperatures have recovered
:08:59. > :09:04.We'll continue to see a trend towards something a little
:09:05. > :09:07.bit milder into Sunday although there will be some later
:09:08. > :09:14.rain and then on Monday, back to double figures.
:09:15. > :09:23.Looks like a chilly weekend. That said Friday lunchtime. I be back in
:09:24. > :09:30.look North at 6:30pm tonight. Bye-bye.