Investment in Prudhoe hits £4.6m as town centre funding announced
19 Mar 2025 ARCHIVED (over 3 months old) - view latest news
The package of investment to improve Prudhoe town centre has been given a further boost by the County Council - with additional projects set to get started as early as this summer.
The County Council have already backed the town with work already well underway on the £1.6m Prudhoe Waterworld improvements on track to complete in Spring 2025 and the new West Wylam Playzone progressing well in the town, one of the first of 16 new Playzones across Northumberland.
On top of this the availability of up to a further £3m for the town as part of the Borderlands Place Programme comes after millions of pounds worth of funding was agreed to improve seven towns across Northumberland.
Earlier this month the County Council’s Cabinet agreed proposals to establish a £9m Town Centre Transformation Package funded by Northumberland County Council as part of the county’s £21m Borderlands Place Programme, part of the Borderlands Inclusive Growth Deal. Each town is set to secure up to £3m from the programme in total for improvements.
All the projects are part of the Northumberland Borderlands Place Programme - a ten-year £21m investment programme focused on town regeneration and economic growth in Alnwick, Prudhoe, Bedlington, Newbiggin, Bellingham, Haltwhistle and Rothbury.
£4m of this funding is earmarked for early delivery of a number of town centre projects to drive forward culture, tourism, heritage and connectivity led improvements which will give a real boost to local communities.
The means that up to £500,000 is now available for new projects in Prudhoe such as the Glade town square project to create a revitalised event space on the High Street. This could get underway from later this year alongside the proposed investment in the new East Centre which is developing well and set to seek funding approval later this year.
Just a day after the above announcements, the County Council were out and about in Prudhoe with representatives from across the town. This included local County and Town Councillors, Prudhoe Community Partnership (PCP), Prudhoe Youth Project and Friends of Eastwood Park. At the walkabout a host of ideas were shared with a view to improving the High Street and also the wider town particularly including the Glade.
Leader of Northumberland County Council, Glen Sanderson, said: “Now we’ve agreed £9m of council funding for towns across the county we’re keen to get going on improvements and I’m pleased we have been able to meet with a range of local partners with a view to bringing some schemes forward.
“There’s a raft of improvements in the town at present pushing close to £5m of investment the majority of which is funded by the Council alongside our partners. Waterworld’s refurbishment will be finished this Spring, the new Playzone is under construction and now the County Council is backing the town as part of the £21m Borderlands Place Programme.
“Up and down the county I’m looking forward to each project making a positive impact locally as we continue to build towards delivering the Borderlands Place Programme across Northumberland.”
County Councillor Gordon Stewart, whose area includes the town centre, said: “It was great to hear the announcements confirming the County Council’s support for the town.
“It was very positive to then get straight out and about in Prudhoe the following day to explore the next stages of investing in our town. We heard about lots of exciting plans and ideas being developed locally by our partners and we will be working together to confirm some early delivery this year as well as the major projects in the pipeline for the future including the proposed new East Centre.”