The chief executive of training company Learning Curve has been appointed deputy lieutenant of County Durham.
Brenda McLeish’s appointment comes a few months after she was awarded an OBE for her contribution to education.
She said: “I am honoured to be appointed as deputy lieutenant of County Durham by Lord Lieutenant Sue Snowdon. I am incredibly passionate about raising aspirations for our region and people who live here. Throughout my career I have been dedicated to transforming lives through learning by promoting opportunities for all to build a career through our high-quality training programmes.
“Charity and community work is also deeply rooted in our values at Learning Curve Group, we take training to those in the community who may be in difficult or vulnerable situations and have raised over £75,000 through our LCG Charity Foundation to support charities in County Durham. I am looking forward to working closely with the other Deputy Lieutenants to ensure we continue our work to make education accessible to all in our region.”
An historic Sunderland church-turned-event-space has won a national award.
Sunderland’s Holy Trinity Church, which is overseen by the Churches Conservation Trust, has been named Restoration or Conservation Project of the Year at the 2022 Museums and Heritage Awards.
Judges said they were “ impressed by this hugely complex and challenging project” “which was sensitively executed with a big heart and deep and broad community engagement.”
Sarah Robinson, director of conservation at Churches Conservation, said: “The conservation of Sunderland’s original parish church has called on the vision, skills, and commitment of so many people through the years and was sensitivity executed. It’s particularly gratifying that the judges noted the extensive community engagement in the project. Holy Trinity was always, and is once again, a thriving resource for local people in the East End of Sunderland.”
Northumbrian Water has increased its renewable energy capacity with an array of 3,600 solar panels at its Lumley Water Treatment Works.
Work to add solar arrays to sewage treatment works at four more treatement works around the region is under way, while planning permission is being sought for panels to be installed on land near the Broken Scar Water Treatment Works, in Darlington.
The Lumley array is the second that has been installed on a Northumbrian Water site and should generate 1.9m kWh of energy, helping the company to reduce its carbon emissions.
Graham Southall, group commercial director at Northumbrian Water, said: “Between 2008 and 2020, the company’s carbon emissions were reduced from 303,000 to 56,000 tonnes. This is something we are really proud of, but we know that there is a lot of hard work still to do. Water and wastewater treatment are energy intensive, so while we are looking at innovative methods of reducing that consumption, we are also looking to make the best use of the space we have on these sites to generate green power.”
St Oswald’s Hospice is planning a third public art trail in the North East after the success of its snowdogs and Elmer trails.
The Newcastle-based hospice is working with the Wild in Art company on a project that will see around 50 sculptures placed on the streets of Newcastle and surrounding areas next July. The chosen sculpture will be revealed later this year, with the hospice now calling on local businesses and other organisations to get involved by sponsoring a sculpture.
As well as raising awareness and funds for the hospice, the trail aims to give something back to the North East communities who have been a vital source of support to the charity during a challenging period.
Jane Hogan, head of fundraising at St Oswald’s Hospice, said: “After two very difficult years when we have all been struggling, we are just so excited to announce the launch of our third art trail which we hope will be something glorious for our whole community to look forward to. It’s our way to give something back to those who have held our hand through a very challenging time, as well as an opportunity to support the revival of high streets and our creative communities.
“We think it’s time to have some fun, and what better way than unleashing giant art sculptures across our city? Our chosen sculpture remains a secret for now, but we are very confident that everyone will love it as much as we do!”
