Fate of Blyth’s Keel Row shopping centre in the balance

Northumberland Labour says all members of the council should not have found out about the sale of Blyth’s Keel Row shopping centre in the papers.

Labour group leader Scott Dickinson said: “Following six years of promises to develop and strengthen the retail experience in the town of Blyth, local people have woken to the news today that Northumberland County Council has purchased the town’s Keel Row centre from Northumberland Estates, the business arm of the Duke of Northumberland, with a view to closing it next year. The county council has purchased the site for an ‘undisclosed sum.’

“I am not against the purchase if that is what’s needed to improve the prospects of the town in the long run and I’m pleased the county council shared their decision with the town council, but to ignore the other county councillors by having no risk appraisal panel, no full council, and no cross-party discussion on the decision-making is not acceptable. They weren’t even informed before the news went public.

“This risk contained within this business deal needed to be debated cross-party. In 2016 the then Labour-led council bought Manor Walks at Cramlington. The risk was debated at a panel with all parties invited and a plan was unfurled and followed which has made Manor Walks the most successful shopping experience in the county if not the North East.

“Blyth residents who have made contact are horrified by this gamble with their cash. This comes at a time when the county council has admitted it can’t deliver on its social services mandate, expect parish and town councils to foot most of the bill to keep streets clean and tidy and your grass cut while charging householders one of the highest rates of council tax in the UK. People are right to ask if these Conservative councillors have lost the plot or are they simply playing the lottery with local people’s lives.

“Both the Max Caller report into the dreadful shortcomings of the county council and the improvement board set up to drive change insisted that all risk-related issues needed to be openly discussed and debated at regularly held risk appraisal panels. In the last six years, we’ve had two panel called and that was to discuss a parish council finance matter.

“It would be good to understand the plans moving forward. The figure the site was bought for is all very cloak-and-dagger decision-making with public funds. I get buy-in, trust and support information needs to be shared on strategic things like this; Caller said it, the challenge board said it and I’ve said it time and time again. It’s clear the county council leaders are not listening.”