Local archive
Business & Openings
Durham horror director Dean Midas is releasing a downloadable Eve Valentine game in September, with £2.50 from every purchase donated to charity.
Education
Durham University will co-lead an internationally funded project to create a controlled environment for testing artificial intelligence models, with the tools intended for spinout companies, student start-ups and North East England partners.
Education
Eric Barlow, who was born in Foxes Row, Brancepeth, has become a Freeman of the City of Durham after a career spanning nearly 40 years in aluminium research and manufacturing across the UK, Switzerland and Germany.
Community
A new Durham Magazine feature explores Dan Saunders’ summer 2026 photographs of Durham Cathedral, focusing on light, Norman stonework, immense architectural scale and the details visitors can easily miss.
Education
Durham University has published a news item reporting that Professor Pippa Petts has been awarded a prestigious teaching fellowship. The supplied material does not provide further details about the fellowship, its value or its impact.
Education
Durham University has reported that school pupils helped discover promising new boosters for tuberculosis drugs, although no further details are available in the supplied material.
Education
Durham University has published a news item titled “UK first dedicated neurodiversity focused doctoral training programme”, but the supplied material does not include details about its launch, location, partners, funding or impact.
Culture Aykley Heads
The Light, a new cultural venue at Aykley Heads in Durham, will open on Saturday 22 August with a free permanent exhibition about the Durham Light Infantry, alongside a major contemporary art show featuring artists including Tracey Emin and Olafur Eliasson.
Community Framwellgate Moor
Moving On Durham has received a £2,000 Banks Community Fund grant to create a garden and outdoor activities programme for young people at its new supported accommodation facility in Croxdale.
Culture
Shortlisted works from Durham University’s Student Art Prize 2025/26 will be displayed at the Courtyard Gallery, Palace Green Library, from 2 May to 21 November 2026.
Culture
Durham Fringe Festival is set to return on 29 July 2026, featuring almost 300 performances across 130 shows.
Culture
Durham Fringe Festival will begin on 29 July 2026, bringing 130 shows and almost 300 performances to the city, with tickets capped at £15.
Education
Durham University Vice-Chancellor Karen O’Brien has criticised the UK Government’s incoming levy on international students and called for it to be withdrawn.
Education
Durham University Vice-Chancellor Karen O’Brien has described the planned £925 levy on international students as “absolute insanity” and urged the next Government to abandon it before its proposed start in August 2028.
Traffic & Construction
LNER will divert two Newcastle-to-Bedford return services through Durham on Sunday 30 August 2026, allowing passengers to connect with Thameslink trains to London St Pancras while engineering work blocks the usual route to King’s Cross.
Education
Durham Students’ Union recorded a 60.7% positive response in the 2026 National Student Survey question on representation, placing it third-lowest among Russell Group universities despite an 8.2 percentage-point annual rise.
Crime & Public Safety Langley Moor
A coroner has ruled that delays in sending an ambulance to Andrew Watson’s supported living accommodation in Langley Moor contributed to his death in October 2019. The North East Ambulance Service has apologised and said it has since invested in additional ambulances and paramedics.
Traffic & Construction Nevilles Cross
The City of Durham Trust has objected to a reserved matters application for purpose-built student accommodation on land north of Mount Oswald, South Road. The scheme could provide accommodation for up to 850 students, with public consultation due to run from 30 July to 20 August 2026.
Traffic & Construction Shincliffe
A proposal to replace timber upper-floor windows at 16–17 Silver Street, Durham, with slimline aluminium thermally broken windows has been opposed by the City of Durham Trust. The planning application remains pending consideration, with public consultation due to close on 7 August 2026.
Culture Shincliffe
An application has been submitted for 78 Gilesgate in Durham to replace defective timber windows and lintels and repair the building’s front elevation. The City of Durham Trust supports the proposal, but the case remains pending consideration while consultation is open until 7 August 2026.
Traffic & Construction Framwellgate Moor
The City of Durham Trust has objected to plans to convert 26 Newton Drive, Framwellgate Moor, from a three-bedroom home into a four-bedroom house in multiple occupation, with a decision still pending.
Education
A Durham University news item explores whether AI chatbots can be as effective as humans at providing emotional support.
Education
Durham University has reported multiple new grant awards intended to strengthen research ties with Japan, although the supplied material does not provide details of the projects or funding.
Culture
Durham Cathedral has launched Colour and Light: Stained Glass Exhibition, marking 150 years of its Rose Window with an augmented reality experience, tours, workshops and free family activities running until mid-September.
Education
Dr Tricia Scott, a public governor for the North East Ambulance Service representing Teesside, has described a career spanning mental health nursing, emergency care, healthcare regulation and academic research after gaining a PhD from Durham University.
Community Meadowfield
Friends of Addison Park has secured a £500 Banks Community Fund grant for its annual Party in the Park at Browney Lane on Saturday 1 August, with more than 1,000 people expected to attend.
Education
A Durham University research article says red tape and conflicting priorities can limit the impact of social businesses, but the supplied material does not provide further findings or local examples.
Education Elvet
Dunelm House in Durham will receive a £150,000 refurbishment package, including upgraded student spaces, a redesigned Kingsgate Café, improved accessibility and a new free student pantry.
Community
Palatinate’s Cassidy Plautz tag page lists “Puzzles 899”, featuring a word ladder, word search, logic puzzle and Connections-style cryptic.
Community
Palatinate’s Puzzles 889 page lists a Word Ladder called ‘A Night Out’, a Strands puzzle titled ‘Durham Scrands’ and a sudoku puzzle built with Amuse Labs tools.
