Councillor would oppose plan for homes on trading estate

His concerns followed an article in the Gazette about an application for a new hotel and restaurant at the trading estate, which is owned by Arch.

The story stated: ‘Arch says that the hotel would be a catalyst for wider regeneration of the enterprise park; the aim is to create a vibrant mix of developments to increase Amble’s employment , tourism and retail offer’.

This prompted Coun Watson to write to Arch to say he was against housing at the site, if that was the plan.

He read out his letter at last week’s meeting, stating: ‘The last thing we need is more housing. It’s jobs we are short of.’

He said that a local businessman had contacted him to say that he was having difficulty in obtaining a site to relocate his business to Amble and Arch ‘were not being much help and had plans for the trading estate which restricted what could be offered to him’.

The Gazette contacted Arch after the meeting. A spokeswoman said: “Any proposals that may come forward involving housing on the site would be picked up in detail during the statutory planning process. The site is a commercial opportunity and as such we want to make sure we explore all available options.

“We’ve been working with the business concerned.

“We’ve offered a number of relocation opportunities which have been turned down. We’re keen to continue dialogue to see what can be done to help smooth any proposed relocation.”