Hartlepool Borough Council has been shortlisted for the Local Government Chronicle's Council of the Year award.

Judges will tour the town today and talk to council representatives. The authority is competing against Derbyshire County Council, Hammersmith and Fulham London Borough Council, Hertfordshire County Council and Westminster City Council. The winner is expected to be announced in March.

CHILDCARE CENTRE: Stockton Borough Council has received a planning application from Sure Start to change an advice centre in Bath Lane, Stockton, into a childcare centre.

TEMPORARY ROOMS: Whinstone Primary School, Ingleby Barwick, has applied to Stockton Borough Council for renewed consent for temporary classroom units on the site.

NEW GATE: The Rotary Club of Guisborough and Great Ayton plans to replace a broken gate with a metal kissing gate near the waterfall in Great Ayton. The news follows a quiz night at the Royal Oak in the village, which raised £320 for the club.

SCHOOL CONCERT: Pianist Eduardo Monteiro will play at Highcliffe School, Guisborough, and in the chapel of the Sir William Turner's Almshouses, Kirkleatham, today.

COINS WANTED: Hartlepool and District Hospice is appealing for unwanted foreign currency to generate much-needed funds. Foreign coins or notes can be donated at the reception at Alice House, in Hutton Avenue, Hartlepool, or at any of the hospice's shops.

MUSIC CONTEST: The closing date for entries in the Middlesbrough Competitive Music Festival has been extended until tomorrow. The main base for the contest will be the Baptist church on Cambridge Road, Middlesbrough.

HELPING HANDS: People are needed to help blind and partially sighted people with daily tasks. For details, call the Teesside and District Society for the Blind, on (01642) 247518.

NEW PUB: Hartlepool Borough Council has received a planning application from JD Wetherspoon to extend the former Barclays Bank in Church Street for use as a pub. The chain has also applied for permission to alter the car park and provide landscaping.