THE demolition of Prudhoe’s historic drill hall has sparked interest in the town.

The Territorial Army Drill Hall, which dates back to 1914, has stood empty for years and was last used as a gymnasium.

While speculation has been rife about what is to become of the site, its fate was decided two years ago when a planning application was approved to replace it with housing.

The application outlines plans for six three-storey terraced houses on the site.

And over the past few weeks work has begun on the project with machinery spotted on the site on Swalwell Close to knock down the building.

It was submitted a Mr Miller of MGM House in Newburn, the home of MGM Precision Engineering.

The houses would each have four bedrooms, with access for vehicles and pedestrians off Swalwell Close, which is surrounded by residential streets such as St Cuthbert’s Close and Fair View.

Meanwhile, there will be one off-road parking space allocated for each house off the road.

Parking was one of the issues raised at the planning stage, with one of the objections put forward coming from Prudhoe Town Council, which said the development provided inadequate car parking provision for four-bedroom properties. However, the application was approved by Northumberland County Council in October 2016.