Good progress is being made on constructing a new car park for Morpeth town centre. 
 

The Goosehill carpark, on the site of the former first school, will contain 128 standard parking bays, eight disabled bays and six electric vehicle charging spaces. 
 

When excavations started, a number of issues were discovered that led to delays including the need for a redesign of the proposed drainage system and electric cables found not buried to the right depth. 
 

These issues are now resolved, with the works to the existing culvert line complete and all hazardous waste now removed from the site. 
 

A retaining wall will start to be constructed later this month. Once complete the team will be moving to the final stages of construction, including surfacing the carpark and the installation of electric vehicle charging points. The work is set for completion in mid-September.   
 

Councillor John Riddle, Cabinet Member for Local Services, said: “Converting this old school site has brought us some unexpected technical challenges which the team has worked hard to resolve. 
 

“Work is now continuing at pace, with the finished carpark, including EV charging points, set to be ready in the coming months, which will provide some much-needed extra town centre parking for Morpeth.” 
 

Morpeth Stobhill councillor John Beynon added: “It's great news for the town to have 140 new and free car parking spaces coming soon, which will be a big benefit to businesses, traders and people who have to commute to work in the town and will also help relieve the parking problems in Middle Greens.”