SHOCKING figures show there is a gap of more than £62m in the amount spent in the last six years on two of Northumberland’s largest towns.
Data obtained by the Local Democracy Reporting Service via a freedom of information (FOI) request showed that Northumberland County Council had a capital expenditure of £66.1m in Ponteland since 2017 – the highest of Northumberland’s ten largest towns.
In comparison, just £3.9m had been spent in Prudhoe over that same period.
Capital expenditure at local authorities is defined as money used to build infrastructure such as schools, housing and roads. The FOI request asked for all capital spend in Blyth, Cramlington, Ashington, Bedlington, Morpeth, Berwick, Hexham, Prudhoe, Ponteland and Alnwick since 2017.
These are the ten largest towns in the county according to data from the 2021 census. We’ve rounded up the expenditure in all of these towns – and the most expensive projects in each of them.
Blyth
The largest town in Northumberland with a population of 39, 732, Blyth has seen a capital spend of £39.4m since 2017. The most expensive project was the Newsham Railway Station for the new Northumberland Line, which came in at £6.83m.
There were also large outlays for the Blyth Bebside Railway station (£4m) and the railway bridge at Newsham, which came in at £5.1m. A project to revamp the town’s leisure centre, which ended in 2021, cost just under £6m.
The figure for Blyth does not include more than £110m allocated to the town as part of the Government’s levelling up fund.
Cramlington
Cramlington is Northumberland’s second-largest town, with a population of 28,843. However, it has seen just over £8m in capital investment since 2017 – the second lowest of the ten largest towns.
The most expensive project in the town was a £1.2m investment to create a new roundabout at the junction of Westmorland Way, Forum Way and Mellimg Road. No other projects in the town cost more than £500,000.
Ashington
The county’s third largest town with a population of 28,278, Ashington has seen a capital spend of £23.23m since 2017. That figure is the seventh highest of all the towns in the top ten.
Like Blyth, it is seeing significant investment as part of the Northumberland Line project. The town’s new railway station has cost £2.6m to date.
The most expensive project was phase 2 of the North East Quarter development, aimed at revitalising the town centre. As with nearby Blyth, the figure does not include the £30m pledged by central Government as part of the levelling up agenda.
Bedlington
Neighbouring Bedlington is the county’s fourth largest town with a population of 16,193. However, its capital spend of just over £13m is the third lowest in the county.
Among the most expensive projects include the Bedlington Railway Station for the Northumberland Line, which has seen £1.1m spent by the council to date.
A total of £1.3m has been spent on mobile classrooms for Bedlington Station Primary School, while £1.35m has been spent improving Bedlington West End First School.
More money was put into schools at St Benet Biscop Catholic school, which received £1.5m to expand after it agreed to switch to an 11-18 age-range.
Bedlington’s most expensive project was the £1.8m put into the Bedlington Enterprise Zone in 2022/23.
Morpeth
The final town in the urbanised southeast part of Northumberland and the fifth largest town overall, Morpeth has the fifth highest population but has seen the second largest capital expenditure at £57.1m.
A large chunk of this was spent on the town’s brand new leisure centre, which opened earlier this year at a cost of £20.4m.
The refurbishment of the council’s headquarters at County Hall were also included in the figure.
This included IT infrastructure (£1.46m), the refurbishment of the exterior (£1.76m) and the recently opened solar car park (£1.9m), an internal refurbishment (£4.6m) and the front of house refurbishment (£6.1m).
The town’s Goose Hill Car Park, which opened in 2022, came at a cost of £2.5m, while the new Morpeth First School cost £6.5m.
Berwick
Standing at the far north of the county on the Scottish border, Berwick-Upon-Tweed is Northumberland’s sixth largest town with a population of 13,170. It had a capital spend of £31.23m, putting it fifth overall.
Like Morpeth, a large chunk of the funding went towards the town’s new leisure centre, which cost £21m. Significant investment has also been put towards the Berwick Old Bridge, at £1.05m.
No other projects were higher than the £1m mark.
Hexham
The Tyne Valley town of Hexham is the county’s seventh-largest town and has a population of 10,941. Since 2017, it has seen a capital spend of £52.46m – the third-highest in the county.
The bulk of that money went into the town’s new Queen Elizabeth High School and Hexham Middle School site, which cost £40.1m. The new car park at the so-called Bunker Site development cost £2.4m.
Prudhoe
Just ten miles from Hexham, Prudhoe is Northumberland’s eighth-largest town, with 10,288 people. It has seen by far the lowest capital investment since 2017, at just £3.9m.
No single project has cost more than £1m, with the most expensive being a pavilion at Eastwoods Park coming in at £769,854. The town’s new high school opened in 2016 at a reported cost of £12.5m, while the council has also pledged to spend £1.5m improving facilities at Prudhoe Waterworld swimming pool and gym.
Ponteland
Nearby Ponteland has a similar population to Prudhoe and Hexham – its 10,148 inhabitants make it Northumberland’s ninth-largest town. However, it has seen the highest capital expenditure since 2017, at £66.14m - just over £62m more than neighbouring Prudhoe.
Like Hexham, the vast majority is due to the town’s new high school. The development, which also includes the town’s new leisure centre complete with spa, gym and swimming pool, cost the council £50.4m and opened in late 2020. An additional £1.39m was also included in the figures described as “Ponteland Schools and Leisure Works”.
Darras Hall Primary School was also rebuilt in 2018, at a cost of £6.5m. The relocation of Atkinson House special school from its former home in Seghill to the Richard Coates Primary School’s buildings came at a cost of £5.4m.
Alnwick
Home to Alnwick Castle – the Seat of the Duke of Northumberland – Alnwick is Northumberland’s 10th-largest town, with a population of 8,430. It has seen a capital spend of £24.5m – the sixth-highest in the county.
The biggest expenditure was an extension to the Duchess High School, costing £7.8m. The figures also included the Borderlands project of Lilidorei at the Alnwick Garden – the so-called “elf village” – costing £4.5m.
A further £3.1m was spent on the Alnwick Playhouse, as well as £1.6m on the Willowburn Leisure Centre. Lindisfarne Middle School received £1.39m.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel