Easington District Council's development control and licensing panel has refused planning permission for three houses at the junction of Station Street and Front Street, Haswell, because the development would be "cramped and overcrowded''.

SCHOOLS CLOSED: Pupils have been told to stay at home again today after problems with the heating systems in two schools. Springfield Comprehensive in Jarrow and Cleadon Village Junior School will re-open on Monday.

COFFEE MORNING: North Road Methodist Church, in North Road, in Durham, which is celebrating its 150th anniversary, is holding a coffee morning between 10am and noon tomorrow.

COUNCIL SURGERY: Easington district councillors Alan Napier and Alice Naylor and Durham county councillor John Maddison will hold a surgery for people in the Murton West ward on Wednesday, between 7pm and 8pm in the Community Centre, McNally House, Murton.

SALSA NIGHT: The Arts Centre, at Biddick Lane, Fatfield, Washington, is running Salsa dance classes on Fridays. The beginners class runs between 7.30pm and 8.30pm and the intermediate session from 8.30pm to 9.30pm. The classes cost £5. For more details call 0191-219 3455.

DIABETIC MEETING: Durham Diabetic Club will meet on Tuesday, November 12 at 7.30pm in the diabetic centre at Durham's University Hospital - formerly Dryburn - when health authority chief executive Ken Jarrold will give a talk called Shifting the balance of Power in the NHS. Admission is free.

EMBROIDERERS MEET: A new embroidery club will meet on Tuesday, between 1pm and 3pm in Newton Hall Community Centre, Carr House Drive, Newton Hall, Durham. Embroiderers of all ages and abilities are welcome to attend. For details call 0191-386 9006.

ABBEY TALK: Peter Busby, of English Heritage, will give a lecture called New Discoveries of Whitby Abbey to the Architectural and Archaeological Society of Durham and Northumberland next Saturday, at 2.30pm in Room 141, Elvet Riverside, New Elvet, Durham. Admission is free.

CHRISTMAS CONCERT: The Salvation Army Band and Choir will give a concert called Prelude to Christmas on Friday, November 22 at 7.30pm in Elvet Methodist Church, Old Elvet, Durham, to raise money for the Durham City Mayor's Appeals and Durham Rotary Club charities. Tickets cost £6 and are available from Durham Tourist Information Centre or call 0191-386 1419.

ALLOTMENT COURSE: Experienced vegetable grower Jill Schnabel gives a beginners' course in managing an allotment tomorrow, from 10.30am to 3.30pm. Topics include soil quality, composting, what to plant and organic growing. For more details, contact 0191-211 6217.