Northumberland approves £20m projects and spend
An active travel route between Blyth Bebside Station and the town centre, Blyth Civic Centre’s refurbishment, and Cramlington’s regeneration programme were the big winners from yesterday’s cabinet meeting.
Northumberland County Council’s cabinet voted to approve the full business case of the £6.9m Bebside to Town Centre Active Travel Route and £13.6m in capital programme spend.
The active travel route
Work could start on the active travel link in January 2027 now that Northumberland County Council has agreed the project’s full business case.
The county council has been working on an active travel corridor to link Blyth Bebside Station to Blyth town centre for years, first agreeing the scheme’s outline business case in 2022. Since then, it has gone through some design changes including a realignment of the route.
The county council owns much of the land on this route, although it will need to agree two sections with third-party landowners.
Funding for the £6.9m project was agreed in 2022 and remains unchanged. It is part of the £95m Energising Blyth Regeneration Programme, which is supported by central government and the North East Combined Authority.
The scheme is lined up to complete in February 2029.
Capital programme additions
The £13.6m addition to the capital programme is well budgeted, with support coming from Section 106 agreements, Brownfield Housing Fund grants, and the City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement.
The most high-profile of the projects is Blyth Civic Centre, which comes with a £5.78 price tag. Planning permission was agreed at September’s planning committee meeting.
The scheme will see the former council office space converted into an alaternative education facility for up to 44 students and 31 staff. The pupils would be aged 16 and older. You can read more about the project by using reference 26/02211/CCD on Northumberland County Council’s planning portal.
Funding for Blyth Civic Centre had been agreed at an earlier meeting, but yesterday’s gathering gave permission for council officers to enter into a JCT contract with their preferred candidate to get work started.
Northumberland County Council also approved £1.25m to acquire and relocate two modular buildings from James Calvert Spence College and from York to The Dukes Secondary School in Ashington. This would create four classrooms for SEN students, each able to accommodate 10 students at a time.
Another £4.15m has been committed to building 16 affordable homes, comprising eight one-bed flats, four two-bed apartments, two two-bed houses, and two four-bed houses. The homes will be constructed at 41-56 Lanercost Park in Cramlington, with the county council looking to enter into a design and build contract of up to £3.95m.
Still in Cramlington, the town’s regeneration programme received a £1.4m boost, which will go towards modernising the Mayfield Community Centre, extending Coronation Park, improving traffic at Manor Walks, travel improvements to the B1505, and redeveloping the Manor Walks Town Square.
The final £1m is allocated to installing 36 electric vehicle charging points. Of these, 78% will be on land owned by the council, with the remaining 22% on third party-owned land.
