Simon Elliott from Northumberland Wildlife Trust will be the guest speaker at the next meeting of Ponteland Civic Society.

It takes place in St Mary's Church Hall at 7.30pm on Monday January 26.

A Dissington schoolgirl is taking part in national showjumping competitions less than a year after taking up the sport.

Kerstin Deakin, 11, finished fifth in her category at Olympia - an international horse show in London earlier this month.

She rode with Ben Maher, who took part in the 2008 Olympics and is ranked 9th in the country by the British Show Jumping Association.

People in Ponteland will get the chance to view and comment on plans to regenerate the town centre at a special public consultation event in February.

Two separate developers have drawn up proposals for the multi-million pound revamp of the Merton Way shopping centre and surrounding land.

Their plans will be on display for residents to look at and comment on in the Memorial Hall, Darras Road, from Thursday February 12 to Saturday 14. Times will be announced later.

A multimillion pound TV and radio studio could be built in Tynedale.

The £5m development would be part of a string of media centres nationwide.

Designs are being drawn up by Napper Architects, the firm behind The Alnwick Garden and the Law Courts on Newcastle Quayside.

Funding would come from a £55m pot from the Department for Children Schools and Families to create media centres nationwide.

Ponteland lost out to Seaton Delaval as their opponents went top of the Re/Max Northern Alliance.

This was a fourth league victory on the trot for the new leaders.

Terry Goicochea opened Delaval's account and their lead was increased by an own goal. Liam McIvor replied for Ponteland only for Stephen Howes to restore the home side's two-goal lead. In the second half Dean Gate scored a second for Pont.

Scrooge is coming to a visitor attraction near Ponteland.

English Heritage site Belsay Hall, Castle and Gardens is hosting an interpretation of the Charles Dickens classic A Christmas Carol.

Visitors will also have the opportunity to add their favourite festive memory to its 15ft Christmas memory tree.

Budget proposals - including proposed efficiency savings and likely Council Tax levels - for Northumberland's new unitary council will be discussed at a series of area committee meetings in January, which are open to the public.

The Castle Morpeth meeting will be held in Stannington Village Hall at 2pm on the 21st and the Tynedale meeting will be held in Hexham's Beaumont Hotel at 6pm on the 20th.

Ponteland Rugby Club is holding its annual Davy Reay Memorial Game on December 27.

The match allows recent players and people returning to the area to have a game with old friends over the Christmas period. Anyone interested in playing should contact Andrew Axelby 07521703606 or get to Ponteland sports centre for 10.30am. Games start at 11am.

A mother who fought a six-year compensation battle for her son is hoping to help other parents struggling to care for their disabled children with the launch of a new website.

Wendy Fisher, of Darras Hall, Ponteland in Northumberland, intends to share the expertise she has gained through looking after her son, Lewis, with other families.

In April 2002, Lewis, then six, was awarded £3.75m after he was brain damaged at birth because of a medical error.

Ponteland golfer Kenneth Ferrie has donated the proceeds from his star-studded golf day at Matfen Hall to Marie Curie Cancer Care.

It is the second year Kenneth has supported the charity, bringing the total he has donated through his foundation to more than £10,000.

Kenneth, a regular on the European and PGA Tours, held the Ferrie Foundation Golf Day in September at his home course.