Real Northumberland Murky: Residents, Arts, Leisure and Community Organisations Unhappy with flawed Consultations on Blyth Town Centre

The untold damage to Blyth town centre and the loss of confidence for businesses, community groups and shoppers was NOT consulted on correctly by Northumberland County Council say local residents and
councillors.

Throughout the Covid period 2019-2022 Northumberland County Council (NCC) consulted online over their improvement scheme labelled ‘levelling up’ on the siting of a culture centre and cinema on Blyth’s marketplace. It is believed that 2000 responses were received but currently, at the time of writing, the information from those consultations (link below) is not currently available for public viewing.

The whole project is premised on a ‘business plan’ referred to in a number of NCC’s one party cabinet minutes. Then on 19th July 2023 the consulted on business plan changed completely and an unannounced and secretly managed addendum appeared, the purchase of Blyth’s shopping mall, the Keel Row from the estates department of the Duke of Northumberland for an undisclosed sum and a quick under the counter announcement of an energy institute to be built on Blyth’s prime shopping site following its demolition, heartbreaking for the residents of the Town.

This decision leaves Northumberland’s largest Town even in its surrounding retail parks without a shoe shop, older people fashion store Bon Marche has gone, Blyth’s only art, craft and book supplies store ‘the works’ has disappeared, Superdrug gone, New Look also left and in a time when BT has decided to hand its domestic business of digitalisation, home phone and TV over to its satellite company EE the loss of the Keel Row mall has led to their closure leaving Blyth’s public ‘lost in digital space’ as it were, all of Blyth much needed retail, forced out through ‘Levelling up’.

Many vocal residents have stood by the Towns group of Labour Councillors who have attempted to get NCC to re-site stores in vacant shops within the town but the administration of the County Council is spent up, has blown its former huge cash reserves and the Town Team has only been able to persuade the Card Factory to open up at another centre.

The siting of an energy institute in Blyth certainly isn’t popular with older residents of the Town who believe it should be placed in Cambois where the energy industry is planned to sit in the County Councils medium term plan. Some commented that it would be a positive to ensure the station that's not being developed yet on the Northumberland rail line Bedlington Station a project Council Taxpayers are funding at great cost, which should be used to ferry students to the North's planned energy centre that the MP for Blyth Valley told the world 8000 jobs would be created that would be the panacea for growth and revive Blyth Town Centre. Those jobs have failed to arrive.

Three strands of activity seems to be hotting up on social media with a question on Open Democracy site ‘what do the know’ northumberland county council seeking risk appraisal information regarding its policies and procedures and the testing of what's going on in the centre of the Counties largest town and conspiracy theorists who were incensed at the Government minister Claire Coutinho announced on 8th February 2024 that “Blyth is Buzzing” and references to a video clip where the Local MP stated that the residents of Blyth “aspired to move to Cramlington” a town 7 miles from Blyth with a mall and shopping precinct owned by the Council and ram jammed full of retail offers. Many stated they completed the consultations based on the expectation that levelling up would deliver what it says in its title and Blyth Town Centre would become the equal of its Council owned neighbours centre Manor Walks.

Feeling they have been conned, Blyth residents are now opening up lines of improvement with many believing that the reopening to through traffic on regent street now that the Keel Row is being demolished would benefit the town greatly and safeguard the few businesses that are left.

Yet we hear from local adminsitive politicians from County Hall that the new highway they are developing from South Beach to Cramlington leading to easier travel to its Town Centre (manor walks) is the panacea for Blyth shoppers and just like the words from their MP for Blyth Valley people should aspire to shop in another town. With families in Blyth having the lowest access to private vehicles in the whole of Northumberland the gloom that this offer has brought is certainly closing the curtains on their needs as equality rots in hell!