A promotional film produced for the Northern Rock Building Society by Oak House Production begins with a history of both building societies as well as the Northern Rock from the early 19th century to today through the use of archival images and footage. In the second part of film an interview with Leo Finn, General Manager of Northern Rock who highlights several developments in Tyne & Wear and Northumberland supported by Northern Rock to help meet the needs of today's society....

A promotional film produced for the Northern Rock Building Society by Oak House Production begins with a history of both building societies as well as the Northern Rock from the early 19th century to today through the use of archival images and footage. In the second part of film an interview with Leo Finn, General Manager of Northern Rock who highlights several developments in Tyne & Wear and Northumberland supported by Northern Rock to help meet the needs of today's society. Credit: An Oak House Production On a building site for a new housing development a large fire burns and an excavator is driven through the site. A builder works on a porch roof changes to the presenter of this film Peter Hetherington wearing a suit and yellow safety-helmet walking through the site while talking to camera. Nearby a bricklayer at work on a new house and a painter decorating the doorway of another property. Houses in a recently completed development near Oldham in Greater Manchester, nearby a large sign for Lovell Partnerships and the Northern Rock Building Society. In a Yorkshire town traffic passes around a historic cross that is in the middle of the road, on the street nearby a branch of Northern Rock Building Society. In an office at the Northern Rock staff go about the business depositing paperwork onto rolling shelves while a woman uses a computer. Two men come out of the Northern Rock House at the Regent Centre in Newcastle; the company logo is erected onto the side of the high-rise building. Title Homing In Sitting at a desk Peter Hetherington gives a history of building societies. He looks through several archival books and ledgers dating back to the 1850s. Molten steel in an industrial furnace changes to the Newcastle’s Guildhall where in 1846 the radical MP Richard Cobden encouraged Tynesiders to become ’40 Shilling Freeholders’. A drawing shows people walking in front of a banner for the ‘Freehold Land Society'. More archival photographs and drawings featuring the Royal Arcade and the High-Level Bridge in Newcastle as well as a pen and ink drawing of the Temperance Hotel and the embossed letterhead of the ‘Northern Counties Permanent Building Society’. A graphic to show that in 1914 owner-occupied homes in Britain was only 10% compared to private renting. More archival photographs of the sub-standard housing in Newcastle at the turn of the 20th century. Archive footage from World War One featuring artillery guns being fired is followed by then Prime Minister David Lloyd George and people celebrating at the end of the war. Soldiers march across a bridge. More archive footage from the 1930s of men digging and working to build new houses. A second graph showing that by 1938 the owner-occupier rate had risen to 32%, private renting was at 58% while council renting was at 10%. More archive footage from World War Two of large guns being fired and burning buildings during the Blitz. More archive content featuring bombed out houses in London and men rescuing a cat from a bomb site is followed by a model of a re-developed London in the post-war years. More archive showing a building site and new homes being built followed by men in a workshop constructing wooden window frames. A third graph for 1981 showing owner occupation at 57%, council renting at 31% and private renting at 12%. An older woman walks along a road passed terraced streets changes to the back alley of a row of terraced house. Information is given for ‘Grants Available’ for the likes of new hot water systems, inside toilets, and larders. From an elevated position a housing estate of council build semi-detached houses and high-rise flats. At Killingworth Towers, the troubled Tyneside housing estate, Peter Hetherington looks out from a walkway talking to camera and the issues tenants had with this type of housing. Four of high-rise flats are demolished with explosives, the crowds cheering as plums of dust are thrown up into the air. Behind a padlocked fence two vandalised blocks of flats ready for demolition changes to show another recently modernised flats. This is followed by an empty an overgrown shopping precinct, written in paint on a fence an arrow points towards a local chip shop. A montage featuring pedestrians walking along a shopping precinct and architects and other designers working on new designs in a council office. In a branch on Northern Rock a cashier counts out cash at the counter while a manager speaks with a female customer. The exterior of several buildings owned by Northern Rock including the companies head office in Newcastle. In his office an interview with Leo Finn, General Manager of Northern Rock about the problems of repairing existing housing stock. At The Avenue in Gateshead workmen at working to repair and improve a row of terraced housing while in the offices of Gateshead Council architects work on the plans. Views of the street following completion of work. Mr Finn talks about issued of derelict houses in inner city or former industrial areas urban development and re-generation grants are available. In the Mill Dam area of South Shields, the Customs House which has been restored with support of the Northern Rock. At Berwick-upon-Tweed in Northumberland an older builder’s yard at Cleet Court has been converted into flats for older people while on the Newcastle Quayside a building next to the Tyne Bridge has been redeveloped and sold by a local housing association; North Housing. At 8th Row in Ashington a row of former miners’ cottages, many with decorative gardens. Returning to Mr Finn, the film concludes with him talking about the future of Northern Rock and improving housing stock and a montage of images featured previously in this production. Title: Our thanks to British Steel Corporation, Imperial War Museum London, Literary and Philosophical Society Newcastle Title: Our thanks to Newcastle upon Tyne City Libraries, North Coalfields Property Co. Ltd, Tyne and Wear Archives Service Newcastle Credit: Written by Peter Westgarth Presented by Peter Hetherington Production Assistants Ann Villiers, Amanda Smith, Anna Linder Lighting Paul Kendrick Camera Andy Coates, Hans Linder Sound Les Hugill Editor Colin Bone Technical Advisors Leo Finn, Eddie Castling Produced and Directed by Hans Linder An Oak House Production © 1988 End title: Produced in association with Teesside Polytechnic for Northern Rock Building Society Training Department