AYCLIFFE TODAY PEOPLE | 3
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WELCOME
CONTENTS
Hi and welcome to a special Christmas
edition of our community magazine,
Aycliffe Today People.
We think it’s been another year to
celebrate in Newton Aycliffe, with
lots of positive news for the town and
yet more fantastic developments on
Aycliffe Business Park, which is slowly
but surely growing into the biggest
industrial estate in the North-East.
I was also thrilled to learn this
month that Aycliffe Town Centre was
recognised by the British Council
of Shopping Centres (BCSE) with a
national award - it really is testament
to a lot of hard work and cash that
is going into the regeneration of our
town.
It doesn’t seem just over a year
ago that we were celebrating the reopening of the shopping centre with
a Christmas lights switch-on and the
visit of Teesside pop star Amelia Lily.
In this issue we celebrate the town
centre’s achievements - see pages 6-9.
One of, if not the longest-serving
tenants in the town is the Stephen
Russel hair salon, which celebrated 30
years in Aycliffe this year. See page 5.
We also include features with a
local Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and
Transgender (LGBT) group which
operates from Aycliffe and our
reporter Zoe Skerrett speaks to one
of our youngest local councillors, Tom
Twissell, about his ambitions for the
future.
Finally we round the magazine off
with an interesting look back at some
of the local news concerning our town
over the past 12 months.
Visitors to our popular website,
www.aycliffetoday.co.uk, have grown
sharply in the last three months we’re now averaging 40,000 visits
per month (from 25-30,000 unique
visitors) and 60-70,000 page views a
month, making us the go-to place for
news in Aycliffe.
And don’t forget our award-winning
bi-monthly business magazine can
be read online for FREE, while hard
copies are available from Jackson’s
coffee shop at the Xcel Centre on
Aycliffe Business Park.
Finally a very Merry Christmas to all
our readers, and our best wishes for a
happy and healthy 2015!
Martin
Editor
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CONTACTS - AYCLIFFE TODAY PEOPLE
Aycliffe Today: The HUB, Welbury Way,
Aycliffe Business Park, Newton Aycliffe,
County Durham, DL5 6ZE
www.aycliffetoday.co.uk
Published by: Mantis Media,
www.mantis-media.com
Designed by: NEON, www.youareneon.co.uk
Editor: Martin Walker
Tel: 01325 728024 Mobile: 07826 525907
Email: [email protected]
Contributors to this issue: Martin Walker,
Zoe Skerrett.
Photography: Martin Walker, Dave Stocks.
Disclaimer: All advertisements are accepted in good
faith and while we make every effort to ensure accuracy,
we can’t accept responsibility for incorrect information.
All views expressed within aren’t necessarily the views
of Aycliffe Today. The copying of all material is strictly
prohibited without permission.
In this special Christmas edition
of Aycliffe Today People…
4 NEWS
Mark Edwards talks about an
alarming spike in burglaries this
year...
5 STEPHEN RUSSEL
Popular hair and beauty salon
celebrates 30 years in Newton
Aycliffe...
6-7 NEWS
Newton Aycliffe town centre
redevelopment is awarded
national recognition with top
industry award...
8-9 CHRISTMAS IN AYCLIFFE!
A special Christmas feature on
Aycliffe town centre...
11 GREGG LITTLE
Award-winning garage offers
Aycliffe Today readers special
winter offer...
12 SPECIAL FEATURE
For young people dealing with
their sexuality, life can be a
lonely place. Zoe Skerrett founds
out more...
13 TOM TWISSELL
We talk to one of Great Aycliffe
Town Council’s youngest
councillors..
14-15 ANNUAL REVIEW
A special two-page feature
reviewing