Wearside stories you might have missed

The artwork depicts half of Winston Churchill's face and half the face of an unknown soldier. It is black and white and made up entirely of screw heads, giving a dot matrix impression to the image.

Veterans have helped make an artwork using 14,000 screws

An artwork made by veterans, the reopening of a Grade II listed miners' hall and a promised housing boost are among the stories to make headlines in Wearside over the last week.

Miners' hall reopens after £14m restoration

Rob Guest smiling into the camera. He has short, brown hair and is wearing a black t-shirt with the Redhills logo in red letters. He is standing in a large room which is filled with brown wooden chairs. Brown wood lines the walls and there is a balcony.BBC/Luke Walton

Rob Guest said the aim was to work with more communities at Redhills

The doors of a Grade II listed miners' hall have reopened after a £14m restoration lasting three years.

Durham Miners' Hall- also known as Redhills - had served as the headquarters of the Durham Miners Association since 1915 but fell into disrepair after the decline of the coal industry.

It has now reopened as a heritage and cultural centre after with a small cinema and facilities to allow the building to host concerts, conferences and community events.

Redhills' head of operations Rob Guest said the hall was a "really revered building, quite often referred to as Durham's other cathedral".

Veteran groups help create WW2 screw head artwork

David Bygate-Pittiglio has a beard which is slightly graying. He is wearing a black top with an RAF symbol on the right hand side. It has an open collar and his hair is short.

David Bygate-Pittiglio said he appreciated the "thought" behind the artwork

An artwork made up of more than 14,000 screws has been put together with help from veterans to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the end of World War Two.

Artist Darren Timby, from Sunderland, designed the piece which depicts half of Winston Churchill's face and half the face of an unknown soldier.

It is made up entirely of black, gold and silver screw heads.

David Bygate-Pittiglio, from the SAFC Armed Forces and Veterans Supporters Association, said: "The thought behind it is really important - that's the thing that's really appreciated by everybody."

New social housing in North East to get £1.1bn

A CGI of how Forth Yards could look once redeveloped. There is a large stoned courtyard with fountains in the paved area which people can walk on. There is a green space nearby with trees. Behind them is a seven-storey apartment building with retail outlets on the ground floor. To the right a brick wall, covered in green plants, has the name Forth Yards written on it in white lettering.Newcastle City Council

Brownfield site Forth Yards in Newcastle is already set to be redeveloped

The government has promised £1.1bn to the north-east of England to build new social housing.

Amid questions over whether Labour can hit a target of 1.5 million new homes by 2029, ministers have allocated the the money to the region, as part of the £39bn Social and Affordable Homes Programme (SAHP).

Among the potential "priority areas" for new housing are land around the planned Washington Metro extension and the Sunnyside area of Sunderland.

However critics say there is a lack of detail on when the cash will be available.

'Inadequate' medical centre in special measures

Lanchester Medical Centre is a single-storey brown-brick building with a large pointed roof. There are some small hedges outside and a parking area. Its name is written in grey metal letters vertically on the building. Its glass entrance door is open. Google

Lanchester Medical Centre was inspected from 6 July until 9 August after concerns from whistleblowers

A medical centre has been placed in special measures after concerns were raised by whistleblowers.

Lanchester Medical Centre in County Durham was rated "inadequate" after a Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspection between July and August.

Inspectors found "serious leadership failings" which the CQC said put people at risk.

North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board (ICB) said "urgent and immediate steps" had been taken to stabilise the practice.

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