PLANS for a 69-bed hotel and a new supermarket for Hexham were given full planning permission this week.

While planning permission for a Travelodge hotel, Lidl supermarket and 250 public car parking spaces at the former Bunker site on Hexham’s Alemouth Road was approved by Northumberland County Council’s strategic planning committee in November, it was subject to completion of a Section 106 legal agreement.
A Section 106 is an agreement between a developer and the local planning authority, which is used to mitigate the impact of the development on the local community and infrastructure, and usually means the applicant will provide facilities for the local area.

The Section 106 agreement between Northumberland County Council and the developers Union Property Development was completed this week, meaning the plans secured full planning permission.

The development is expected to cost £20m and create 60 new permanent jobs to the area, and an estimated £2.16m visitor spending into the town.

Northumberland county councillor for Hexham Central with Acomb, Trevor Cessford, said: “I’m really pleased that this site, which has been abandoned for so many years, is finally going to be redeveloped.

“This is a really important project for Hexham, creating jobs and additional hotel capacity for our town. Just as importantly it will deliver on a pledge we made to create additional parking space in the town.”