A five-week course in Holiday French will be held at the Park View Community Association, Chester-le-Street. It will be held on Monday nights between 6.30 and 8.30pm starting on February 24. The cost is £30. For further details and booking call the community association on 0191-388 1043.

Extension refused: Durham County Council planners have refused planning permission for a first floor extension to be built at the back of a house in Picktree Lodge, Chester-le-Street.

Compound bid: Cestria Community Housing has won planning permission to temporarily use open space at Primrose Crescent, Bournmoor, near Chester-le-Street, as a building compound.

Jewellery class: A jewellery-making class is held at the Brockwell Centre in Pelton Fell, near Chester-le-Street, on Thursdays between 1 and 3pm. For further details call the centre on 0191-389 3399.