AMBITIOUS PLANS TO ‘BREATHE NEW LIFE’ INTO ALNWICK TOWN CENTRE THROUGH ‘MARKET TOWN INITIATIVE

‘As services and jobs return to Alnwick, we want to create the conditions for significant investment in the town’ – Grant Davey, leader of County Council and county Labour group

Labour’s Market Town Initiative (MTI) which will see over thirty services and hundreds of jobs return to Alnwick will also mean new investment opportunities in the physical infrastructure of the town, Grant Davey today revealed. At least 4 locations in the town will see investment and services return and the Labour leader promised an ‘ongoing conversation’ with local communities to create the best possible opportunities to maximise the twin aim of ‘making services more accessible and investing economically to create thriving town centre’s across the county’.

The council will be unveiling plans to develop existing facilities like the Lionheart Depot coupled with significant investment in specific buildings to deliver council services and house new council jobs. As part of the initiative designed to bring services and jobs back into convenient locations for residents, the authority is looking at least 4 locations in Alnwick including the Playhouse, the Lionheart depot for street scene services, Northumberland House and the council is in negotiations for at least one other location for a currently unused building. The move out of County Hall and the so called ‘jobs bonanza’ for Alnwick closely follows news that Arch, the Development company has picked up to complete, 37 luxury apartments on the Western outskirts of the town centre for completion after a stalled housing development.

Grant Davey, Leader of the Council and leader of the Labour group said

“Our Market Towns Initiative will see significant investment in locating services in town centre’s across the county and we’re seeking to use that investment to create the conditions to lever in more investment. In Alnwick, we see ways to work in partnership with the community to develop the best value for money services that will support and sustain our market towns as an absolute must. We’ll be starting our local conversations with communities like Alnwick very soon and we want this to be very much a two way dialogue”.

“We want to work with anyone who is serious about developing economic opportunities for our market towns. We promised to devolve services and jobs out of County Hall in 2013 elections and we intend to keep that promise”.