During 2010 David Cameron the then darling of the Tory Party felt pressured by high street retailers who were feeling the early hits from online shopping.
He brought in the retailers champion Mary Portas to take the heat away from the hue and cry of having to tax online retailers to equalise retail costs.
Following acceptance of her plan, local government in the shape of the Local Government Association saw a chink of light in slowing the effects of Cameron and Osbornes shocking austerity schemes that were strangling Council’s ability to maintain services because if the Tories would accept the changes from Mary Portas would he bring in a Local Government guru?, instead Cameron brought in Eric Pickles MP Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government from 2010 to 2015.
Will Hutton in the Observer appraised his role with regard to local government as follows: "Local government minister Eric Pickles has colluded cheerfully with George Osborne to knock local government back to being no more than rat catchers and managers of street lighting. Indeed, they scarcely give them the funds to carry out these activities"
Hutton was right, there was very little acceptance of Pickles from either the under pressure Councils or high street retailers so in order to cover matters off Cameron set up the 'distressed retail property task force during 2012 and guided Councils to the use of the Public Works Loans Board to finance the saving of our high streets
In its findings Mark Williams, director at retail asset manager Rivington Hark, who headed a government-backed distressed retail property task force between 2012 and 2015, says: “Local authorities buying assets in their own town centres makes absolute sense. They are trying to rejuvenate failing towns, and by doing it they’re looking at assets on a long-term basis” This was promoted by the Cameron Government and the growing DTI as a method of securing a better revenue stream so that Councils would better survive the austerity programs being poured out annually. Effectively the Tories in office blamed Councils for the state of the UK economy.
Northumberland County Council looked at Manor Walks at Cramlington where they had a number of assets already, such as their giant leisure centre and offices dealing with social services, admin etc either on site or stationed very close by.
The Council cleared the purchase of Manor Walks with the then Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government Sajid Javid who had just been promoted into post.
ARCH who bought the shopping centre for a meagre in trade terms £78 m in its press statement at the time gave its asset base as sitting at £216m.
“Under Arch ownership there is the potential to expand the shopping centre and to improve the surrounding infrastructure, including roads, access and parking at the centre and enabling further benefits to the local economy.”
“Manor Walks is currently managed by Workman LLP, one of the UK’s leading property management companies specialising in shopping centre management, with six staff based in Cramlington”. Arch plans to retain the current management arrangements and carry out best practice reviews. The latest acquisition diversifies Arch’s portfolio and brings the value to over £216m.
During 2017 The Conservative led Northumberland County Council changed ARCH into seven separate companies and renamed them ADVANCE Northumberland.
Beset with problems since 2017 with the Council accused of bullying its single shareholder of ADVANCE, Daljit Lally, losing its Leader Councillor Peter Jackson in a vote of no confidence, breaking a promise of delivering 8000 jobs in South East Northumberland through a well publicised debacle of losing a giant battery plant with ADVANCE spending four years on a dedicated clearance programme on the battery plant site, then giving up all democratic control of ADVANCE Northumberland by sacking councillors from its board has left ADVANCE in a parlous state.
With Northumberland Conservatives taking their eye off the ball ADVANCE is now in financial peril with its Leader trying to cover his tracks by stating in the public media that “ever since I became Leader (in 2020) I have been putting money into reserves to sort this out”..
But he has given other Councillors but a few days to absorb something he has known and kept secret for five years, how inept and disgraceful is that?
Due to the drastic nature of the arms length company ADVANCE standing it seems Councillors from all persuasions will have to help Councillor Sanderson and his hapless conservative group and really sort out this mess and ask how the £261m asset holdings in 2015 can not be used to furnish this debt and why the Council is to be palmed off with dud shares to correct the Tories limited vision which their leader admits he’s known about since 2020?
We then hope the public remember the secret dealings Northumberland Conservatives have kept from both friend and foe since 2017 and vote in a better council than this on May 1st 2025.
NOTES
https://www.hexham-courant.co.uk/news/25032830.northumberland-county-councils-advance-restructured/
https://news.sky.com/story/high-st-shops-pm-buys-mary-portas-ideas-1047999
https://www.commercialnewsmedia.com/archives/12819
https://www.drapersonline.com/news/the-great-council-retail-property-takeover