Spark News
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Independent cafés across the North East are facing increasing pressure as the costs to run their businesses continue to rise. Food, energy, rent, and wage bills have meant that independent hospitality businesses are having to find new ways to manage their finances, whilst also keeping prices affordable for customers. For many small businesses, rising costs […]
The debate over whether hospital parking should be free has resurfaced after new data showed that North East NHS trusts collected £5.6 million in parking charges last year. The Estates Returns Information for 2025/26 shows that South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust received £1.1 million in parking fees during the year. Newcastle’s trust also […]
A North East sporting academy is swapping County Durham for the global stage, to represent England in a world cup football competition – twice over. Park View AFC’s academy men’s and women’s sides are playing in the World Schools Football World Cup in China, which started this week, run by the International School Sport Federation […]
Areas in West Denton, Newcastle, have yet again been covered in graffiti detailing outlandish statements about celebrities. A North East graffiti group, called the ‘Mellow Birds’, have claimed responsibility. The Instagram group ‘@themellowbirds,’ has spoken to Spark Sunderland, taking full responsibility for the graffiti and elaborating on the purpose and meaning behind it. View […]
A cannabis farm has been found inside The Wheatsheaf building in Sunderland on Sunday 18th October. Northumbria Police Officers executed a warrant at a premises on Thomas Street North in the Monkwearmouth area of Sunderland, shortly after 9am on Sunday. A Northumbria Police spokesperson said: “Shortly after 9am yesterday (Sunday), officers executed a warrant at […]
Organisers of next summer’s first-ever Gateshead International Film Festival (GIFF) say North East creators and regional productions can submit their work free of charge. The inaugural GIFF is spearheaded by North Eastern filmmakers Steve Wraith and Neil Jackson, who are co-directors of the event alongside Portuguese writer and director Catarina De Cèzanne (pictured below). […]
Football is without doubt the sport which reigns supreme in the North East of England. So why is American football – certainly the lesser-known ‘football’ in the region – attracting international students here, to both play and study? Freddie Cowey reports. For Canada-born Sunderland University (SU) students Mohamed Ghanem and Kevin Hanna, the chance […]
As temperatures begin to fall a Gateshead knitting group, The Dunston Knit Wits, is doing their part to help those affected by the rise of homelessness in the North East. The Dunston Knit Wits group, created by Linda Ryan, 77, four years ago, brings local people together not only to socialise but to knit for charities […]
Football fans are being encouraged to seek help if they are struggling with their mental health after an increase in suicides in early 2025. Hartlepool was the only local authority in the Tees Valley to record an increase on suicide in the first half of 2025. The increase has caused Hartlepool United to team up […]
Council officials are investigating a former guest house in Whitley Bay which has been operating illegally as a house of multiple occupancy (HMO) for more than two years. The eight-bedroom property in South Parade, Whitley Bay, was converted from guest house to HMO at the start of 2024, but the owners didn’t apply for […]
