PROPOSALS to redevelop a prominent industrial site in Haltwhistle could create 100 new jobs and 79 new homes.

Plans to revive the dilapidated Hadrian Enterprise Park, were unveiled at the town’s library on Tuesday.

Owners MCR Property Group purchased the former paintworks site in 2016. Due to a long period of under-investment, many commercial units on the site are unoccupied and the units are in poor condition.

Residents had the opportunity to view MCR’s designs, which included a residential area, a hotel, petrol station, HGV parking and two drive-through restaurants, while also retaining the buildings currently occupied by businesses.

Speaking at the consultation, MCR’s planning manager, Tony Dodds, said that residents had generally reacted well to the plans.

“People have been very supportive of doing something with the site, and we’ve had some good suggestions,” said Mr Dodds. “We’ve had 50 or 60 people come through, and I would say it’s been 90-95 per cent positive comments.

“We’re going for outlying consent to attract businesses to the area, so we don’t know how many beds in the hotel or anything.

“This site was never supposed to be a frontage to Haltwhistle, but because of the bypass it now is.

“The idea would be submission of an application in late spring. We would then get a consent in three to six months.”

MCR will review the responses received during the consultation, and use the feedback to develop the proposals further before submitting a full planning application to Northumberland County Council.

Coun. Ian Hutchinson, who represents Haltwhistle, was pleased that something was finally being done with the site.

However, he said he did have some concerns about the plans in their current state.

Coun. Hutchinson said: “Everybody in the town thinks it’s great to get the place tidied up, because it’s the front window of Haltwhistle and it looks terrible.

“I raised concerns about the wagon parking and the access for Kilfrost lorries close to the housing development.

“Also I can’t see the two drive through restaurants going down well in Haltwhistle, but they say that’s just an idea.

“There’s little things, but we will have to see what they come up with.

“Overall, it looks like a good improvement.”