Newcastle and Gateshead quaysides, River Tyne. Photo: Wilka Hudson, CC BY 2.0
Covering: October 2026 · Published: 3 November 2026 · Region: North East England · Reading time: About 20 minutes
Commercial Control · Operational Improvement · AI & Automation
IN THIS ISSUE
Contents
From the editor — Why The Forge Brief is now monthly, and the story of October
The month in numbers — Eight figures that describe the North East economy this month
North East round-up — The regional business stories that matter, and what they mean for you
Commercial Control — Cash collection, the Late Payments Bill, prices and the Budget. Feature: a 30-day credit control reset
Operational Improvement — Labour, capability and regional support. Feature: how to map a process in one hour
AI & Automation — Where automation fits once the process is right. Feature: an automation readiness check
Sector spotlight: process and manufacturing — A Teesside restart, a paused Aycliffe factory and £23.7m for innovation
Funding and support — What is open, what is coming and how to prepare
The monthly control checklist — Twelve checks an owner-manager can run in an afternoon
Diary and what to watch in November — Events across the region and the decisions to keep an eye on
01 · FROM THE EDITOR
The Forge Brief is now monthly.
From this issue, a fuller briefing arrives at the start of each month. It covers what changed in the North East over the previous month, with a focus on our two core areas: commercial control and operational improvement. Each issue also covers AI and automation as one tool for improving how a business runs, not an end in itself.
A weekly email can only point at the news. A monthly briefing has room to explain what the news means for an owner-managed business, and what to do about it. Every section ends with a practical action, and each issue includes longer features you can use as working guides.
October showed a split. North East firms are more confident than most of the UK. More people here are in work than a year ago. Mid-sized businesses nationally are growing at their fastest rate in almost two years, and the region secured new money for innovation and culture.
Underneath that, smaller firms are still not growing, compulsory liquidations are rising, and the region still has the highest share of working-age people out of the labour market in England. In County Durham, a planned £8.4m factory was paused over a tax change that has not yet come into force.
The firms that do well in that environment will be the ones that control their margins tightly, get more from the people they already have, and use automation where it actually reduces work. That is what this briefing is for.
— Craig Sewell, Founder, North Forge Consulting
02 · THE MONTH IN NUMBERS
Eight figures that defined October.
50% North East business confidence, up 5 points and the second highest of 12 UK regions and nations. The UK figure fell to 41%. (Lloyds Business Barometer, 30 Sep)
25.5% North East economic inactivity rate for ages 16 to 64, against 20.9% for the UK. (ONS, Jun to Aug 2026, via North East Evidence Hub, 20 Oct)
70.5% North East employment rate, up 1.7 points on a year ago but still below the UK's 75.3%. (ONS, Jun to Aug 2026, via North East Evidence Hub, 20 Oct)
+25% Rise in compulsory liquidations in England and Wales, September 2026 on September 2025. Total company insolvencies fell 5%. (Insolvency Service figures, reported 21 Oct)
49.8 NatWest SME activity index for September. Below 50 means activity is still shrinking, though at the slowest rate since November 2025. (NatWest Mid-market Growth Tracker, 20 Oct)
56.2 NatWest mid-market activity index for September, the highest since November 2024, with job creation at a 22-month high. (NatWest Mid-market Growth Tracker, 20 Oct)
£23.7m Awarded to four North East innovation projects from the Local Innovation Partnerships Fund, expected to bring in a further £55m of private investment. (North East Mayoral Strategic Authority, 2 Oct)
52% UK firms expecting to raise prices in the next 12 months, the first rise after three months of decline. (Lloyds Business Barometer, 30 Sep)
03 · NORTH EAST ROUND-UP
The regional stories that matter.
A selection of North East business news from the past month, chosen for what it tells owner-managers about costs, people and opportunity. Each story has a short note on why it matters.
INNOVATION · 2 October
Durham, home of two of the four funded projects. Photo: David Purchase, CC BY-SA 2.0
£23.7m for four North East innovation projects
Four projects will share £23.7m from the Local Innovation Partnerships Fund, delivered through UK Research and Innovation, with a further £55m of private investment expected. They are a clean chemicals centre led by Procter & Gamble, a materials programme led by CPI covering semiconductors, batteries and low-carbon substitutes, carbon-negative additives for concrete and asphalt from Durham University spin-out Low Carbon Materials, and a Durham University space and fusion research centre.
Why it matters: the programmes are described as working with regional SMEs and will need suppliers. Firms in materials, engineering, testing and construction products should watch how partners are recruited.
INVESTMENT · 14 October
Aycliffe Industrial Estate, Newton Aycliffe. Photo: David Dixon, CC BY-SA 2.0
£8.4m Newton Aycliffe factory paused over tax change
The Northern Echo reports that the Stiller Small Self-Administered Scheme, a pension scheme based in Newton Aycliffe, has paused plans for a 200,000 sq ft factory worth £8.4m. The trustee, Paul Stiller, cited uncertainty over plans to bring unused pension funds, including SSAS assets, into inheritance tax from April 2027. Standard employment-density estimates suggest the site could have supported about 516 manufacturing jobs.
Why it matters: many owner-managed businesses hold their premises through a SSAS or SIPP. If yours does, speak to your pension and tax advisers before April 2027.
MANUFACTURING · Restarted August, update 16 October
The Greatham works, photographed under previous owner Venator. Photo: David Robinson, CC BY-SA 2.0
Titanium dioxide production returns to Greatham
Tioxide Materials, owned by LB Group, restarted titanium dioxide pigment production at the former Venator site near Hartlepool in August, after four months of commissioning. The site has capacity for 150,000 tonnes a year and is targeting full operation by early 2027. The Source NE reports the workforce is rising to nearly 270, and to more than 300 by 2027.
Why it matters: a restart at this scale brings demand for maintenance, engineering, logistics and site services across Teesside.
CULTURE & JOBS · 16 October
The Glasshouse International Centre for Music, Gateshead. Photo: Benjamin Smith, CC BY-SA 4.0
Culture strategy targets 10,000 jobs by 2036
The North East Mayoral Strategic Authority published a culture strategy with a target of 10,000 jobs in cultural and creative sectors over ten years, underpinned by £104m. It includes the £2.2m Small Venues Fund, the £11m Events Fund and the £38m Crown Works Studios development in Sunderland.
Why it matters: hospitality, events, production and creative services firms should expect more regional event activity and more competition for skilled staff.
GROWTH · Mid October
Newcastle's Everything Managed Group plans 120 jobs
Insider Media reports that the Newcastle-headquartered business services and technology company has more than doubled revenue to £60m in three years. The Source NE reports it plans to create 120 jobs over the next three years.
Why it matters: growing service firms in Newcastle are competing for the same pool of administrative and technical staff as everyone else. It is another reason to make every role count.
BUSINESS SUPPORT · Approved 22 September
£25.9m Business North East Framework approved
The regional business support framework will run from January 2027 to March 2029, with a regional hub, seven local authority "spokes" and commissioned delivery providers. Reported focus areas include finance, mentoring and exporting.
Why it matters: this is likely to become the main front door for publicly funded business support from 2027.
PROCUREMENT · October
The North East Chamber of Commerce has launched a best practice guide on delivering social and economic benefits through procurement, employment and community engagement. It was produced by its Social Value Working Group.
Why it matters: social value is scored in many public sector tenders. Suppliers that can evidence it clearly pick up marks that others leave on the table.
04 · COMMERCIAL CONTROL
The pressure has moved to cash collection.
Total company insolvencies fell in September: 1,882 across England and Wales, down 4% on August and 5% on a year earlier. Compulsory liquidations went the other way: 341 in the month, up 6% on August and 25% on September 2025.
A compulsory liquidation usually means a creditor has gone to court to recover money it is owed. More of them means more businesses are reaching the point where an unpaid supplier forces the issue. If you trade on credit, your exposure to that risk sits on your aged debtor report.
Payment terms are about to change
The Commercial Payments Bill, which the Small Business Commissioner calls the Late Payments Bill, has reached third reading in the House of Lords, according to the Commissioner. The Bill proposes a 60-day maximum payment term when large businesses pay smaller suppliers. It would make interest on late payment mandatory, set at 8% above Bank of England base rate. It would also give the Commissioner powers to investigate and enforce. It still has to pass the Commons, and the details may change.
For North East suppliers to larger customers, this is useful protection. It only helps if your invoicing, dispute handling and credit control are organised enough to use it. A late payment claim is much harder to press if the invoice was wrong, the purchase order number was missing or the work was never formally accepted.
Prices are going up again
Lloyds reports that 52% of UK firms expect to raise prices in the next 12 months, the first rise after three months of decline. Cost pressure is coming back into supply chains. If your contracts and quotes have no mechanism to recover cost increases, your margin absorbs them.
Three questions to ask of your standard terms this month:
How long is a quote valid for, and does the validity period match how quickly your input costs move?
On contracts longer than six months, is there a price adjustment clause, and is it linked to an index your customer will accept?
Are variations priced and agreed in writing before the work is done, or after?
The Budget, 28 October
[BUDGET SECTION — TO BE WRITTEN 29 OCTOBER BEFORE SEND]
FEATURE · WORKING GUIDE
A 30-day credit control reset
Many SMEs do not have a credit control problem so much as a credit control habit, where chasing happens when someone has time. This four-week reset puts a routine in place that one person can run in a few hours a week.
Week | Focus | What to do |
|---|---|---|
1 | See the position | Run the aged debtor report by customer. Split balances into current, 30, 60 and 90+ days. Identify the ten largest overdue balances and the reason each is overdue: disputed, missing paperwork, or simply unpaid. |
2 | Clear the blockers | Resolve every disputed or incomplete invoice. Reissue anything missing a purchase order, reference or approval. Raise invoices for any completed work that has not yet been billed. |
3 | Set the routine | Agree a fixed chasing sequence: a reminder before the due date, a call on day 1 overdue, a written follow-up at day 7 and escalation at day 30. Name who owns each step. |
4 | Lock it in | Review terms for the slowest-paying customers. Decide where to tighten terms, take deposits or apply stage payments. Add debtor days to your monthly management report. |
The measure that matters is debtor days: trade debtors divided by annual credit sales, multiplied by 365. Track it monthly. Every day you take off releases cash equal to roughly one day of credit sales.
WHAT TO DO THIS MONTH
Run your aged debtor report and sort it by customer, not by invoice. Find the three customers who pay slowest. For each, check the agreed terms against what actually happens, and see whether any disputed or unbilled work sits behind the delay. Margin can be lost in payment days and unbilled work just as surely as in lost contracts.
05 · OPERATIONAL IMPROVEMENT
More work than people available to do it.
The latest regional labour figures, published on 20 October for June to August 2026, show the North East employment rate at 70.5%. That is up 1.7 points on a year earlier, but still nearly five points below the UK. Economic inactivity is 25.5%, compared with 20.9% nationally. Unemployment is 4.7%, the same as the UK.
So the issue is not mainly unemployment. A large share of the working-age population is outside the labour market altogether. In June, the North East Chamber of Commerce reported that 32.7% of economically inactive adults in the region are inactive because of long-term health conditions. For employers, every vacancy takes longer to fill, and every inefficient process uses up people the business cannot easily replace.
Capability is the main constraint nationally too
NatWest's October release shows mid-market businesses growing quickly. Its index reached 56.2 in September, the highest since November 2024, and job creation was at a 22-month high. In NatWest's accompanying research, 55% of mid-market firms named talent and leadership development as a top barrier to growth. 42% said recruitment and workforce capability was the challenge most likely to limit expansion.
Smaller firms are behind. The SME index of 49.8 means activity is still slightly shrinking, and NatWest reports that SME employment has been falling for about two years.
New regional business support is coming
On 22 September, the North East Mayoral Strategic Authority cabinet approved £25.9m for the Business North East Framework. It will run from January 2027 to March 2029, with a regional hub, seven local authority "spokes" and commissioned delivery providers. Firms planning improvement work for 2027 should follow how it is commissioned.
When labour is scarce, the cheapest new capacity usually comes from removing waiting, re-work and duplicate entry from the work you already do.
FEATURE · WORKING GUIDE
How to map a process in one hour
You do not need software or a consultant to find the waste in a process. You need the people who do the work, a wall or whiteboard, and one hour. Choose a process that runs at least weekly and that people complain about.
Define the start and end (5 minutes). For example, "enquiry received" to "quote sent", or "job complete" to "invoice paid".
List every step in order (15 minutes). Write each step on a sticky note: who does it, in which system, and roughly how long it takes. Include the steps nobody likes to admit to, such as printing, re-typing and checking.
Mark the waits (10 minutes). Between each step, note how long the work typically sits before the next person picks it up. Waiting time is often far longer than working time.
Flag the problems (15 minutes). Mark every point where information is entered twice, where work comes back for correction, and where one person is the only one who knows how to do it.
Pick one fix (15 minutes). Choose the change that removes the most waiting or re-work for the least effort. Agree who will make it and when you will check whether it worked.
Repeat the exercise on a different process each month. Over a year, that is twelve processes reviewed, using about one hour of team time each.
WHAT TO DO THIS MONTH
Choose one process that runs every week, such as quoting, job scheduling, month-end or onboarding, and run the one-hour mapping exercise above. Look for the points where the work waits: handovers, information being typed in again, or sign-offs. Those are the cheapest places to free up capacity without hiring.
06 · AI & AUTOMATION
Seen as a challenge, not yet a solution.
AI and automation is one part of what we deliver, and it comes after the commercial and operational basics. Technology only adds value once the process it supports is under control.
BDO's Mid-Market Tracker, published in early September, surveyed businesses with revenues of £10m to £500m. 38% of North East respondents named AI adoption and technological change as their top concern for the next six months, ahead of employment costs and energy. 35% plan to speed up investment in AI or automation to improve productivity. 35% report an AI skills gap among entry-level recruits, and 24% are unsure what skills their business will need in future.
So firms intend to invest in AI, but many are unsure what to automate, who will run it, or what skills they need.
The national picture: wide use, shallow impact
Research by the British Chambers of Commerce with Atos, published in March 2026, found that 54% of UK firms surveyed were actively using AI, up from 35% in 2025, 25% in 2024 and 23% in 2023. About 94% of the firms surveyed were SMEs.
The same research found that 95% of SMEs using AI reported no impact on workforce size over the past year, and 86% said job roles had not changed. Only around one in ten SMEs had adopted bespoke AI built around their own operations.
In other words, many businesses have tried AI, but few have changed how work gets done. The gains come when automation is built into a specific process, not when individuals use a chat tool on their own.
Automation is one way to ease the labour constraint
In a region with 25.5% economic inactivity, adding headcount is the slowest and most expensive way to grow. Removing the repetitive administrative work from existing roles is usually quicker and cheaper. That includes data entry, document handling, chasing, reconciliation and routine customer replies.
The order matters. Automating a broken process only makes the mistakes happen faster. Our approach always follows the same five steps:
Understand → Challenge → Simplify → Enable → Embed
Understand how the work is actually done, question whether each step is needed, simplify what remains, then bring in technology and make sure it is used.
FEATURE · SELF-ASSESSMENT
Is this task ready to automate?
Use this check on any task you are considering for automation. Score one point for each "yes". Five or six points means it is a strong candidate. Three or fewer means fix the process first.
Question | Why it matters |
|---|---|
Does it happen at least ten times a week? | Volume is what creates the return. Rare tasks rarely justify the setup effort. |
Does it follow the same steps each time? | Rules-based work automates cleanly. Work that relies on judgement needs a person in the loop. |
Is the information already digital? | If the input is paper or a phone call, that has to be solved first. |
Is the process written down or easy to describe? | If nobody can explain it, nobody can automate it. |
Is a mistake low-risk and easy to spot? | Start where errors are cheap. Move to higher-risk work once the routine is proven. |
Is there a named owner? | Automations fail quietly without someone checking them each week. |
Common first candidates in smaller businesses include enquiry logging and acknowledgement, quote and invoice generation from job data, payment reminders, supplier invoice capture, and weekly management reporting.
WHAT TO DO THIS MONTH
List the tasks that someone in your business does more than ten times a week by copying information from one system into another. Score each one using the readiness check above. Pick the one with the highest score and the lowest risk if it goes wrong, and start there.
07 · SECTOR SPOTLIGHT
Process and manufacturing: restart, pause, invest.
The Tees Transporter Bridge, Middlesbrough. Photo: Boerkevitz, CC BY-SA 3.0
The past month gave three very different signals for North East manufacturing and process industry, each worth understanding if you supply into the sector.
Restart: Greatham
Tioxide's restart at Greatham shows that heavy process capacity can return when ownership and economics line up. The site was idled in late 2025, restarted in August 2026 as a single-stream operation and is ramping up towards full capacity of 150,000 tonnes a year by early 2027. Ramp-ups like this need maintenance contractors, engineering services, logistics, recruitment and training, and buyers tend to favour suppliers who are close by and easy to approve.
Pause: Newton Aycliffe
The Stiller SSAS factory pause shows how quickly a tax change can stop investment before it starts. The project was paused about 18 months before the change is due to take effect. For owner-managers, the lesson is to test major property and capital decisions against announced future tax changes, not just today's rules.
Invest: innovation funding
Two of the four Local Innovation Partnerships projects are led by major industrial names: Procter & Gamble on clean chemicals and CPI on high-value materials. Both are described as working with regional SMEs and universities. Programmes of this kind typically run for several years and need specialist suppliers, test partners and contractors.
IF YOU SUPPLY INTO MANUFACTURING
Check whether you are registered as a supplier with the main process and manufacturing sites in your area, and whether your health and safety, quality and insurance documents are current. When a ramp-up or new programme starts, buyers go first to suppliers they can approve quickly.
08 · FUNDING AND SUPPORT
What is open, what is coming.
Public business support in the North East is in transition. Here is where things stand, based on published decisions, and what to do now.
Programme | Status | What it means for you |
|---|---|---|
Business North East Framework (£25.9m) | Approved 22 Sep 2026. Runs Jan 2027 to Mar 2029. | Expect a regional hub and seven local "spokes" as the main route to funded advice, mentoring and export support from 2027. |
Local Innovation Partnerships Fund (£23.7m, four projects) | Announced 2 Oct 2026. | Not an open grant. Opportunities will come through the four lead organisations and their partner programmes. |
Culture strategy (£104m underpinning) | Published 16 Oct 2026. | Includes the Small Venues Fund (£2.2m) and Events Fund (£11m), relevant to venues, events and creative firms. |
GOV.UK Find a grant | Live service. | The official search for government grants. Check it monthly for national competitions open to North East firms. |
Before you apply for anything
Funding applications often fail on the basics rather than the idea. Have these ready before a window opens:
The last two years of accounts and current management accounts.
A one-page summary of the project: the problem, what you will do, what it costs and what it will deliver.
Quotes from suppliers for any equipment or services.
Clear numbers on jobs created or protected, productivity gained or sales generated, with your assumptions written down.
A plan for funding your share and covering costs before any grant is paid, since many schemes pay in arrears.
09 · THE MONTHLY CONTROL CHECKLIST
Twelve checks for the first week of the month.
These are the checks we recommend every owner-manager runs at the start of each month. Together they take an afternoon. Ten of them cover cash, margin and how the work gets done. The last two check the systems that support that work. Print this page, or copy it into your own month-end routine.
Commercial control
Debtor days. Calculate them and compare with last month. Investigate any rise.
Top ten overdue balances. Check that each one has a named owner and a next action.
Unbilled work. Find any completed work or agreed variations that have not yet been invoiced.
Margin by job or customer. Compare actual and quoted margin on last month's completed work.
Quotes and terms. Check quote validity against how quickly input costs are moving, and that variations were agreed in writing before the work.
Operational improvement
Capacity. Compare booked work for the next four weeks with available hours.
Waiting time. On one regular process, note where work sits waiting between people.
Re-work. Count jobs, orders or documents that had to be redone last month, and note why.
Key-person risk. Is there any task that only one person can do? Is it written down?
One process improvement. Confirm last month's fix worked, then map the next process using the guide in section 05.
Systems that support the work
Double entry. List any information typed into more than one system. Each one is a candidate for a process fix or for automation.
Automations and tools. Check that any automations did what they should, and that staff use of AI tools matches what you have approved.
10 · DIARY
North East business events in November.
A selection of open business events across the region. Check details with the organiser before attending.
Newcastle Racecourse, Gosforth Park, venue for the North East Expo on 4 November. Photo: peter maddison, CC BY-SA 2.0
Wed 4 November: North East Expo Autumn 2026 — Newcastle Racecourse, 9am to 3pm. Free entry for delegates. Over 140 exhibitors, according to the organiser.
Tue 17 November: Unlocking New Business Opportunities with Skills for Net Zero — New College Durham, 10am to 12pm. Listed by Business Durham.
Thu 19 November: North Durham Business Network — Beamish Hall Hotel, Stanley, 8.30am to 11am. Listed by Business Durham.
What to watch in November
Budget detail — The follow-up guidance and HMRC documents, which usually explain what the headline announcements mean in practice.
Pensions and inheritance tax — Whether the Budget changes the planned April 2027 treatment of unused pension funds, which affects SSAS-held business property.
Commercial Payments Bill — When it is scheduled in the Commons.
Lloyds Business Barometer — The October reading, and whether the North East keeps its confidence lead.
NatWest Regional Growth Tracker — The next North East reading. The last published figure was 50.8 for June.
Business North East Framework — How delivery providers will be commissioned ahead of the January 2027 start.
WORK WITH US
River Wear and Durham Cathedral. Photo: Richard Cooke, CC BY-SA 2.0
Let's talk about your business.
If any of this month's issues apply to your business, whether that is slow-paying customers, margin that has slipped, or processes that depend on one person, get in touch. We will look at where your margin and capacity are being lost and what to fix first.
Commercial Control — Pricing, contracts, cash and margin protection.
Operational Improvement — Processes, capacity and the way work flows.
AI & Automation — Practical automation built into real processes.
Craig Sewell
Founder, North Forge Consulting · Durham
SOURCES
Lloyds Banking Group, Business Barometer, 30 Sep 2026. lloydsbankinggroup.com
North East Evidence Hub, Regional labour market (ONS, Jun to Aug 2026), 20 Oct 2026. evidencehub.northeast-ca.gov.uk
North East Chamber of Commerce, employment and inactivity data, 18 Jun 2026. necc.co.uk
Credit Connect, reporting Insolvency Service September 2026 figures, 21 Oct 2026. credit-connect.co.uk
NatWest Group, Mid-market Growth Tracker, 20 Oct 2026. natwestgroup.com
NatWest Group, UK Regional Growth Tracker (June 2026), 17 Jul 2026. natwestgroup.com
Small Business Commissioner, Late Payments Bill. smallbusinesscommissioner.gov.uk
North East MSA cabinet decision, Business North East Framework, 22 Sep 2026. opencouncil.network
North East MSA, Multi-million-pound innovation programme announced, 2 Oct 2026. northeast-ca.gov.uk
The Northern Echo via Yahoo News, £8.4m Newton Aycliffe factory project paused, 14 Oct 2026. uk.news.yahoo.com
Tees Business, Tioxide restarts production at Greatham, 21 Aug 2026. teesbusiness.co.uk
The Source NE, Eyes & Ears, 16 Oct 2026 (Tioxide workforce, Everything Managed Group, NECC social value guide). eyesandearsnortheast.substack.com
Insider Media, Everything Managed Group growth, Oct 2026. insidermedia.com
Cultured North East, North East sets 10,000 jobs target in new culture strategy, 16 Oct 2026. culturednortheast.co.uk
BDO Mid-Market Tracker, via Business Live, 2 Sep 2026. aol.co.uk
British Chambers of Commerce with Atos, Half of SMEs using AI, 24 Mar 2026. hwchamber.co.uk
North East Expo Autumn 2026. northeastexpo.co.uk
Business Durham, Regional business events. businessdurham.co.uk
HM Treasury, Budget date confirmed for 28 Oct 2026. gov.uk
PHOTOGRAPHY
Cover: “Newcastle Quayside with bridges” by Wilka Hudson, via Wikimedia Commons. Licensed under CC BY 2.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/).
Innovation story: “The River Wear and Durham Cathedral” by David Purchase, via Wikimedia Commons. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/).
Newton Aycliffe story: “Large Warehouse, Aycliffe Industrial Estate” by David Dixon, via Wikimedia Commons. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/).
Greatham story: “Venator works, Greatham” by David Robinson, via Wikimedia Commons. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/).
Culture story: “Gateshead - The Glasshouse International Centre for Music” by Benjamin Smith, via Wikimedia Commons. Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).
Sector spotlight: “TransportbrugMiddlesbrough” by Boerkevitz at Dutch Wikipedia, via Wikimedia Commons. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/).
Diary: “Gosforth Park racecourse” by peter maddison, via Wikimedia Commons. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/).
Work with us: “River Wear & Durham Cathedral” by Richard Cooke, via Wikimedia Commons. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/).
Photographs are used under the Creative Commons licences shown and remain the copyright of their photographers. The photographers are not associated with, and do not endorse, North Forge Consulting or this publication. Written content © 2026 North Forge Consulting.