By ANDREW DIXON ONE of the most positive statements that I have read is the ambition to make Newcastle "the best place in the UK to grow old". Maybe it was my age, but I needed to put my glasses on and read it twice to understand what it really meant.

By Barry Nelson THE family of a 20-year-old man has won a multi-million pound compensation payout for mistakes made during his birth that left him severely disabled.Wheelchair-bound Andrew Dixon, of Grangetown, Sunderland, has had cerebral palsy since his birth at Sunderland Hospital in 1987.The Dixons have been fighting for 11 years for compensation from the North East Strategic Health Authority to pay for Mr Dixon's care, arguing that his mother's labour was mismanaged and not properly monitored, resulting in his brain injury.Clinical negligence lawyers at the firm Irwin Mitchell, representing the Dixons, said that when Linda Dixon was in labour, her son's heart rate became dangerously low and she was given drugs to speed up the labour, but that made the situation worse.The compensation package from the hospital trust, details of which were finalised at the High Court in Newcastle, will be delivered in structured payments and managed by the Court of Protection.Irwin Mitchell said it

By Andrew Dixon THE NewcastleGateshead Quayside was recently named, on a shortlist of three, as the greatest place in the United Kingdom and Grainger Town is on the shortlist for the accolade of the UK's best neighbourhood.

By HAREN, Claire The proponents of the North Street overbridge say it will solve a myriad of problems -- some existing, some anticipated. The opponents say it will create a whole lot more.

The Timaru District Council's trial to reduce speed around school buses has been well received and is going nationwide. The council trialled flashing signs on the front and back of buses alerting drivers that children were hopping on and off the bus.