Northumberland Council set to unveil new economic strategy

According to the council, the plan outlines a vision to create up to 11,000 new jobs by 2035 and generate up to £850 million in additional productivity per year across the county.

The council says the strategy targets growth across five priority sectors, with a focus on job creation, business development, and improving living standards.

Glen Sanderson, leader of Northumberland County Council, said: "This is an exciting time for Northumberland.

"Recent years have been marked by significant and accelerating changes in the global, national, and local landscapes, marked both by major policy changes and economic challenges.

"That’s why it’s the right time to bring forward this very ambitious, renewed strategy that reflects these structural shifts and sets a clear, long-term direction for growth.

"Delivery against the strategy has the potential to be transformative – not just in terms of job numbers and productivity, but also the wider benefits that flow from a stronger, more resilient local economy."

According to the council, analysis undertaken as part of the strategy development forecasts that Northumberland’s economy could grow by up to 42 per cent over the next ten years. 

The strategy is backed by the Northumberland Growth Fund (NGF), a proposed £110 million investment supported by part of a wider £10 billion project from QTS Blackstone to build a data centre campus in Cambois.

The council says the investment will fund new jobs, infrastructure, and long-term economic development across the county.

A council spokesperson said: "It is focused not just on economic performance, but on creating opportunity - supporting residents into good, secure and better-paid jobs, strengthening our businesses, and investing in our places."

Cllr Sanderson said: "The evidence is clear – good quality work, skills and income are directly linked to healthy life expectancy.

"By increasing access to secure, well-paid employment – particularly in our more deprived communities – we can materially narrow the gap in healthy life expectancy across Northumberland.

"This strategy places inclusive growth at its heart, ensuring that investment delivers not only higher productivity, but tangible reductions in inequality and lasting improvements in people’s lives."