WORK is badly needed on a grim reminder of Hexham’s stern Victorian past.

For householders whose homes overlook the former Hexham Board of Guardians workhouse in Dean Street say the property and its grounds have been allowed to deteriorate to such an extent they have become dangerous.

Residents of Dean Street and Peth Head claim the site, which is part of Hexham Conservation area, is suffering from a serious lack of maintenance, with overgrown foliage, smashed windows and trees left to grow to mammoth proportions.

And these problems are not just aesthetic, with some residents concerned they could prove dangerous.

One local resident said: “The area is appalling. Apart from it being an eyesore, the trees and plants are actually cracking up the walls and damaging the property.

“It’s overgrown and if the plants push and crack the wall they’ll have a major problem.”

Another resident complained: “There are smashed windows which haven’t been painted in 10 years and there are all sorts of things growing wild.

“The trees were much smaller 10 years ago; they have now grown taller than the buildings. Sometimes they block sun to the nearby houses entirely.

“The problem is that they are so big they could be a danger.

“We fear they could collapse and hit the houses opposite them.”

The issue has been brought to the attention of MP for Hexham, Guy Opperman, who said: “I’ve recently become aware of the problem and would urge the the owners, the HMC group, to tidy up the land and make it secure.

“They are a good employer locally and I’m sure this is a temporary blip that can be rectified.”

A spokesman from the HMC Group said that work to rectify the problems was either in the process of being completed or had already been undertaken.

The spokesman added: “HMC Group takes the concerns of our neighbours very seriously and we are happy to discuss them when they are brought to our attention directly.”

The workhouse was part of Hexham’s social history for more than 100 years, accommodating up to 300 of the town’s poverty-stricken people at a time.

The original Hexham workhouse was constructed in 1839, consisting of three parallel two-storey blocks, linked by an administration block.

It was extensively remodelled between 1880-1883, with the main west range being demolished, and replaced by a new administration block, a master’s house and two sick wards.

The admin block incorporated provision for master and matron’s rooms, a dining hall, kitchen, scullery, bakery and store rooms.

It was taken over by HMC in 2004, with much of the site used as a car park, but the buildings also accommodate a thriving local business.

The HMC Group Ltd leases the property to The Therapy Centre which moved into the site in 2013, transforming part of the property into a specialist holistic healthcare centre.

There have been complaints about the site in the past, with HMC applying to demolish a number of the empty buildings in 2010, acknowledging they were ‘a bit of an eyesore’ which attracted a number of children and undesirables.

However, the move was opposed by Hexham Civic Society, which argued that the buildings were significant to the local historic environment.