A £5.5m development will provide elderly residents with state-of-the-art living quarters.

This was the opinion of Derek Kennedy, Northumberland county councillor for Hexham West, after he was recently invited to visit the soon-to-be-opened St Cuthbert’s Close complex in Hexham.

Housing association Karbon Homes, working alongside contractor Tolent, has demolished outdated bedsit flats on site and replaced them with 38 high specification apartments for older residents. Of the apartments, 20 are available for shared ownership and the other 18 for rent.

Ahead of the complex opening in the new year, Coun. Kennedy was treated to a special tour of the building, and he was amazed at what has been provided.

Speaking at the latest meeting of Hexham Town Council, he said: “I was invited to a tour of St Cuthbert’s Close and I was so impressed at what a quality building has been built there.

“I do recall being in the old building some 10 to 15 years ago, so I wasn’t really shocked about how poor the state of the building was in recently and it was in need of a desperate state of repair.

“During the tour, I was absolutely flabbergasted about the building of that quality in Hexham. The living standards look impressive and it’s great for the older folk as the corridors are really wide.

“It is a very impressive replacement of a not very good building there beforehand.”

While town councillors agreed the complex was good for the residents, there were concerns raised about the lighting around the accommodation.

Hexham resident Wendy Breach complained about how bright the lights on site were, and that the lights were not very energy efficient.