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'I hope many more will come to appreciate this little-known gem'  Thornborough Henges
An agreement with construction firm Tarmac is the unusual starting point that has seen a massive monument known as the "Stonehenge of the North" being gifted to the nation. As YorkshireLive reports - and to the delight of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak - Historic England and English Heritage have secured the future of the Thornborough Henges complex, near Ripon, North Yorkshire, following an agreement with the construction firm Tarmac to give part of the site to the nation. The agreement dates back to 2016 when it was part of a wider planning agreement, forged after years of controversy over quarrying by the firm in the surrounding area. English Heritage will take control of the site and will be welcoming the public to the massive Neolithic monument – a move welcomed by local MP, a certain Mr Sunak. The full site consists of three giant, circular earthworks – or henges – which are each more than 200m in diameter and date from 3500 to 2500 BC. Historic England said the Thornborough Henges site is "probably the most important single ancient site between Stonehenge and the Orkney Islands in Scotland", describing it as the "Stonehenge of the North". Mr Sunak said: "The Thornborough Henges site has enormous potential to help tell the story of ancient Britain and I very much welcome this announcement about its future – its safeguarding and preservation for the nation. "Comparatively few people are aware of its significance – both locally and nationally. I hope many more will come to appreciate this little-known gem of our history and while doing so provide a welcome boost to the local visitor economy." Historic England said the Thornborough Henges sit in an ancient, ritual prehistoric landscape running from Ferrybridge to Catterick and are "unparalleled in their size, alignment and degree of preservation". Like Stonehenge, it is thought the huge amount of people power channelled into their construction is an indication of their significance to the society that created them. The two southernmost henges were added to Historic England's Heritage at Risk Register in 2009 and Historic England has been working with Tarmac to secure their future. Stuart Wykes, director of land and natural resources at Tarmac, said: "We're delighted to gift this incredibly important historical site to Historic England. With its help, the heritage of the central and southern henges at Thornborough will be protected and preserved for years to come."
Holiday park asylum seeker accomodation plan dropped  The Pontins site at Ainsdale
As the Government tries to cuts the mounting bill it pays to house people awaiting asylum decisions in hotels, it had signalled it would look instead to holiday parks, military sites and former student accommodation. But those plans have seen a setback after the Home Office has dropped plans to use the Pontins Southport resort in as a base for people awaiting asylum decisions, as revealed by LancsLive. The Government had been negotiating with Britannia, the holiday park's owner, on plans which would have seen the coastal attraction closed to the public and used as accommodation for people awaiting asylum applications or appeals. But the plans have proved unpopular with both Labour-controlled Sefton Council and Conservative MP Damien Moore. The council has now released a statement saying that "we have now been informed that the Home Office no longer wish to pursue plans to house asylum seekers at the Pontins site in Ainsdale", though it added that "we are awaiting written confirmation of this decision." Meanwhile, it has been reported that hundreds of Afghan refugees currently housed at an expensive hotel in London have been told they have to move instead to a hotel in Wetherby, West Yorkshire. Families with children say the move disrupts their education, while some of the adults there have jobs in the capital.
Levelling Up - still a mountain to climb? Stairs at Newcastle's Quayside. A year on from the Government's Levelling Up White Paper, the future of the project remains very much up for debate. Shadow Levelling Up Secretary Lisa Nandy used the anniversary of the White Paper to highlight lack of progress in key areas, though the Government would point to the long-term nature of the project. Northern Agenda has gone to two think-tanks on opposing sides of the political divide to ask for a progress report on Levelling Up - and found that right-of-centre Onward and left-leaning IPPR North are not far apart in their verdicts. Adam Hawksbee, deputy director of Onward, said: "The UK's economic imbalance has not shifted in 365 days. That is hardly surprising. What should alarm the Government is that the economic turbulence of the past year has hardened regional divides, with the cost of living crisis biting particularly hard in the Midlands and the North. "When the Chancellor comes to the dispatch box on March 15 for his Budget, the place-based lens set out in the White Paper could not be more crucial - issues like economic inactivity manifest very differently between towns, cities, and regions. The Treasury produces impact assessments for each part of the country when they conduct a fiscal event. A bold Government dedicated to levelling up would publish them. "The White Paper balanced a focus on economic regeneration with restoring pride in place. Onward's work over the past year in Oldham, South Tyneside, Walsall, and other towns brought home the centrality of this softer part of levelling up. "Residents and local leaders told us that without bringing hope and confidence to areas that had been overlooked, the roots of economic growth won't take hold as young people leave and investors look elsewhere. Antisocial behaviour has become a totemic issue undermining pride in place - and it's welcome that the Sunak Government is giving this a renewed focus." Meanwhile, IPPR North Zoë Billingham said: "The Levelling Up White Paper was a welcome statement of intent, but over the past year chaos at Westminster has undermined the agenda. Political tumult and about turns in policy decisions have prevented communities from accessing the tools they need to level up for themselves. This has left levelling up on life support at a time when it couldn't be more essential. "Some progress has been made in spite of the chaos. New northern devolution deals – in York and North Yorkshire, and the North East – have been signed in recent months, with the latter including important new commitments to tackling child poverty. "This year needs to be better than the last. The Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill is considerably lacking in ambition, accountability and prioritisation, and money still isn't following the rhetoric at the scale needed to actually turn the dial on regional inequality – this must change." Is Rishi in the market for more trouble? 
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak at Accrington Market Hall Having racked up fixed penalties for attending a lockdown party in Downing Street and failing to wear a seatbelt when in a moving vehicle, the last thing Rishi Sunak needs is to be facing a complaint for fly posting. But that is the latest problem to be heading to the Prime Minister's inbox after he marked his visit to Accrington Market Hall - one of this correspondent's favourite Northern buildings - by putting a 'Powere by Levelling Up' poster on its frontage. The PM and Chancellor Jeremy Hunt had just announced that Hyndburn Council had secured a £20m Levelling Up Fund grant that would benefit the market hall, but Hyndburn Labour councillor Kimberley Whitehead said: "This is effectively flyposting on a listed heritage building. The Prime Minster and the Chancellor should know better. There has been no regard for the sanctity of the building and a blatant disregard for the rules of which our Prime Minister has become a serial offender." Hyndburn and Haslington MP Sara Britcliffe was a little warmer towards Mr Sunak, saying that the Government had offered "historic investment" that would make a "transformative difference" to Accrington. You can read more on that story here. 
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Northern Stories  British Culture Archive - A Celebration of Life in the North during the 1970s-80s – is the title of a new exhibition at Buy Art Museum. 'Hattersley Kids - 1970s' © Thomas Blower / British Culture Archive
- Decades-old photos showing everyday life in the North will go on display at a new exhibition in Bury from this weekend. British Culture Archive - A Celebration of Life in the North during the 1970s-80s – is the title of a new exhibition at Bury Art Museum. It opens at 2pm tomorrow when people are invited to come and meet the Archive's founder and the curator of this exhibition, Paul Wright. Its aim is to give a voice to the 'man in the street' and give a platform to a diverse spectrum of society and communities from across the UK.
- A special bus tour, whose route includes three areas of the North where early diagnosis rates for cancer are among the lowest, is being launched by the NHS. From Monday to Friday next week, the blue bus will carry teams of NHS staff and Cancer Research UK nurses who will give expert advice to passersby about common cancer signs and symptoms. The first stop will be Blackburn, in Lancashire, before it moves on to Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, Barnsley in South Yorkshire and Leicester and London on February 10.
- Three Conservative councillors in North Tyneside have resigned from the party after alleging that it is a hotbed of "sustained bullying" and "toxic behaviour". St Mary's councillors Pam McIntyre, George Westwater, and Judith Wallace have announced their resignations from the Tory party and said they will serve as independent councillors. Former party colleagues have called on them to resign their seats and say they were offered the opportunity to make a formal complaint.
- Good news for the people of Manchester as millions of pounds worth of planned council cuts have been scrapped. The change of heart will mean the city's New Years' Eve fireworks display and the Christmas lights switch-on event have been saved while plans that would have affected replacement of recycling bins and opening times for the Manchester Art Gallery are also off the table for now.
- More woes for the NHS in the North East as the Sunderland and South Tyneside NHS Trust has been told it requires improvement, with problems identified in its mental health and maternity services. Meanwhile two senior members of staff at the North East Ambulance Service have stepped down after a damning report by the Care Quality Commission.
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