Prudhoe's Borderlands Place Plan endorsed
18 Sep 2024 ARCHIVED (over 3 months old) - view latest news
Prudhoe has completed a major stage in the process of securing investment following approval of its new ‘Place Plan’ as part of the £21m Borderlands Place Programme in Northumberland.
The town’s new Place Plan to grow, renew and connect the town in the future has been endorsed by the Borderlands Partnership following a meeting of its Partnership Board this month.
It includes a pipeline of projects to improve the town including a focus on boosting Front Street, improving youth and community facilities and repurposing heritage assets, with potential funding through Borderlands and the County Council.
The plan highlights three high street-based focused projects which will now be developed further towards securing Borderlands funding as part of a ‘Town Investment Plan’ as well as a wider pipeline for the future.
This includes the East Centre project to create a new youth and community centre, revitalising the former dilapidated Victorian school. Training and business units to promote jobs and upskill residents is incorporated within the design.
Alongside the new East Centre proposals there are also plans to bolster the Front Street with a project to fill vacant retail units, improve the visual impact and connectivity of the town and revitalise event space through improvements to the Glade public square including a new performance stage.
The plan’s been developed by the Prudhoe Place Partnership Group including private, public and community partners in the town. Its submission to Borderlands follows public consultation on the plan which over 400 people contributed to indicating support for the plans vision and objectives. 40% of the respondents were young people under age of 19.
All the projects in the plan are subject to further development work and public consultation on the proposals prior to funding approvals being sought in due course.
Councillor Glen Sanderson, Leader of Northumberland County Council said: “This is a great milestone to reach for Prudhoe and would not have been possible without the valuable involvement of the local community in helping the local Place Partnership Group to shape the future of their town.
“This new plan ensures that Prudhoe is set to benefit from further investment alongside the Council’s recent commitment to the town including the £1.6m investment in leisure facilities at Prudhoe Waterworld.”
Councillor Gordon Stewart, County Councillor for Prudhoe South said: “There has been some excellent thinking already to develop the Place Plan based on community input.
“This new Plan helps us to put Prudhoe on the map and means we can work with confidence in collaboration with Prudhoe Community Partnership, Prudhoe Town Council and all stakeholders in the town to deliver even more improvements to our town in future years.
Paul Murray, Chair of the Place Partnership Group and Vice Chair of the Prudhoe Community Partnership, said: “It’s great to hear about the sign off for our collective plan for investment in the town.
“I’d like to thank all partners and community members who have helped to shape the plan. We're looking forward to developing the project proposals to secure further investment to boost our town.”
Prudhoe Town Councillor and Vice Chair of the Place Partnership Group Tracy Gilmore said: “News of the approval of the Place Plan is fantastic to hear and will help us to move to the next stage of developing projects in readiness to secure capital funding for project delivery.
“We are working closely with our partners on the pipeline and as announced earlier this year are supporting the development of town centre projects in the pipeline. We will be continuing to collaborate on this exciting new package of projects for the town during 2024 and beyond.”
The Place Programme is a central part of the Borderlands Inclusive Growth Deal and will support towns’ growth through Place and Town Investment Plans.
It brings up to £50m of funding - £20m from the Scottish Government and £30m from the UK Government - and is core to the Deal’s Improving Places theme.
In total 22 towns across the region will benefit including seven in Northumberland: Alnwick, Bedlington, Bellingham, Dalton in Furness, Egremont, Eyemouth, Galashiels, Gretna, Haltwhistle, Hawick, Jedburgh, Kirkconnel, Longtown, Newbiggin, Penrith, Prudhoe, Rothbury, Stranraer, Ulverston, Whithorn, Wigton and Wigtown.
The Borderlands Inclusive Growth Deal is a ten-year, £450m programme of investment, signed in 2021 and supported by the UK and Scottish Governments, to deliver sustainable and inclusive economic benefits across the South of Scotland and North of England. Alongside the investment in places, it is also delivering projects and programmes to support digital infrastructure, encourage green growth and energy decarbonisation, enhance business infrastructure and skills, increase tourism and make the most of our natural capital.