Multi-million-pound Northumberland town transformation to create new local jobs

Advance Northumberland has reached another significant milestone that once completed, will transform a high-profile site in the heart of Bedlington town centre. The scheme will improve amenities, attract new investment into the town and give local people greater choice.

Work had started on the regeneration of the Market Place, which included a new terrace of shop units and apartments above. Following the demise of the contractor Tolent, Advance Northumberland took over the project in March 2023 and work restarted in April.

The former retail units fronting the Market Place were demolished to make way for four new modern retail units, Gregg’s was the first retailer to sign up to the new retail terrace and will remain on the Market Place in one of the new retail units.

Work on this phase is now near completion and the handover to Greggs for their fit out will take place mid-August 2023, with Greggs to open their new unit at the end of September.

The upper floor of the retail units have been designed to provide six new apartments to rent in a mixture of 1 & 2 bedrooms and will be available for rental from Advance Northumberland Homes. This second phase which includes three more retail units, and the six apartments will aim to start this Autumn, along with the demolition of the current Greggs unit.

This significant project to revitalise Bedlington town centre received £2m from the government’s Getting Building Fund, which is managed in the region by the North East Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP).

The Getting Building Fund was established early in the coronavirus pandemic to kick-start the economy, create jobs and help areas realise growth opportunities coming out of the pandemic. The North East Local Enterprise Partnership is managing £47m awarded through the Getting Building Fund to support capital investment across the North East.

Helen Golightly OBE, chief executive of the North East Local Enterprise Partnership, commented: “With many of the projects supported by the Getting Building Fund reaching completion in the North East LEP area, we’re seeing the positive impact these targeted infrastructure projects are having on job creation and the economy.

“This next phase in the regeneration of Bedlington Town Centre will bring more business investment, create jobs for local people, and improve access to services, providing a boost to the local economy.

“The Getting Building Fund has been successful in enabling important infrastructure projects across the region that may have suffered delays because of the coronavirus pandemic to be realised.”

By Matthew Neville – Senior Correspondent, Bdaily

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