'A great way to showcase future development in Hexham'
29 Jan 2020 ARCHIVED (over 3 months old) - view latest news
“A great way to showcase future development in Hexham for local residents” is just one of the many positive comments made by people who attended the Hexham Hub event last Saturday (25 January).
Another said "Good to see plans for the near future. Empty buildings and spaces being rebuilt or revamped and put to good use. Change needs to happen."
Hundreds of people attended the event in the Great Hall at Hexham Abbey, where they found out more about current and future developments in the town, and had an opportunity to have their say.
The showcase event was organised by the Hexham Hub, a partnership between Northumberland County Council, Hexham Town Council and Hexham Community Partnership. The agencies are working together with other interested parties to oversee how the town develops over the coming years.
Popular stands included Northumberland County Council and Hadrian Learning Trust, who were there to talk about the rebuilding of Queen Elizabeth High School and Hexham Middle School on the high school site. The team brought a model of the new buildings along with plans and artists’ impressions of the new schools.
Officers from Northumberland County Council also presented information about the Hexham High Streets Heritage Action Zone scheme. The scheme has moved to the final stage of assessment for funding from the programme which, if secured, will see £2.4m invested in improving Hexham town centre.
Some developers took the opportunity to be there to talk about their plans for key sites including Union Properties for the Bunker on Alemouth Road; Hexham Wool Warehouse Ltd about the old Hexham Swimming Pool on Gilesgate; and charity StopGap talked about the scheme which they are working on with Karbon Homes to transform the Links building on Haugh Lane.
Other stands also provided information about the Hexham House wedding venue and luxury apartments; Queen’s Hall and the Cultural Network in Tynedale; and the current consultation and other useful information about Northumberland Library Service.
Hexham County Councillor Cath Homer said: “The turnout for the event was fantastic, and we have received a lot of very positive feedback about it.
People seemed to be extremely pleased to be able to find out more about what is going on in their town, and there were a lot of constructive views and comments made.
“I would like to thank our partner organisations and the developers who came along - giving up their time to provide some excellent information to members of the Hexham community.”
The Hexham Hub aims to bring together partner organisations to ensure that there is a cohesive approach to the development of the town; that there is a thriving retail, business and visitor economy; and that developments respect and uphold the history and heritage of Hexham.
Cllr Bob Hull from Hexham Town Council added: “This second Hexham Hub showcase event has been another great success. It was informative for the general public whilst demonstrating how all partners with an interest in the town can work effectively together towards a positive future.”
Peter Rodger from Hexham Community Partnership said: “We would like to thank everyone who came to the event for their time, interest and feedback. We will be looking closely at the comments that people made, and taking these into account in our work going forward.”
Councillor Richard Wearmouth, cabinet member for economic development at Northumberland County Council added: “The Hexham Hub is one of a series of partnerships which we have helped to initiate in towns across Northumberland. I am very pleased to see that it is proving a success and that there is so much enthusiasm from the local community to play their part in shaping the future.”
Those attending were also able to pick up information about ‘Discover our Land’, which shares and celebrates everything that is great about Northumberland, whether you live here, work here, invest in or visit the county.