Morpeth businesses warn of big impact when Newgate Street is made one-way for 10 weeks so footpaths can be repaired and replaced

They believe that tourists in particular will be put off from going into the town centre due to 10 weeks of delays and diversions while footpaths are replaced in Newgate Street.

The works will start on Monday (April 24) and take place between 7.30am and 5pm, Monday to Friday.

A one-way southbound diversion will be in operation 24/7 and Copper Chare will also be closed to allow traffic to flow safely around the one-way system.

There will be limited access into the closed lane to allow residents to park their cars and Northumberland County Council says access for householders “will be maintained as much as possible”.

The county council also stated that it has consulted with local businesses and town councillors, but the three businesses that the Gazette spoke to said the first they heard about the project was when the council announced it publicly last Thursday (April 13).

Jo Mercer, who runs The Gift Pod in Newgate Street, said: “The last time the council dug up a town centre street to allow for works relating to the new leisure centre, the level of trade fell off a cliff.

“There doesn’t seem to be a lot of joined up thinking here – why couldn’t this project have happened during the winter?

“Doing it now will have a bigger negative impact. Hopefully, we will still get our regular customers from Morpeth coming along but this one-way system will hit visitor numbers just when we’ve noticed that tourist numbers in the town have started to increase over the last couple of weeks.”

Ken Stait, who runs Stait Photo in Morpeth and other towns and is the chairman of the town’s Chamber of Trade, said: “We’ve got to hope that the works are carried out as quickly as possible and that the people of Morpeth continue to support their local businesses whilst the one-way system is in place, especially as it is already a tough time for retail.

“As a business owner, you are hoping to get busier after Easter, so it would have been better for this project to have taken place in the first three months of the year.”

Just Taxis is a family-run taxi firm based in Morpeth. Owner Duncan Peace said: “From our perspective, we need to know how this will affect the taxi ranks and journeys in the town centre so we can prepare for the disruption.

“The one-way system in Ashington that the council put in place for town centre works had a major negative impact and unfortunately, the same will happen again in Morpeth.”

School buses and bus services will be allowed through the works, but are likely to endure delays.

During working hours, all motor vehicles will need to be parked outside the working area – ie off the carriageway – so workmen have easy access to the footpaths.

Coun John Riddle, the council’s cabinet member for local services, said: “We appreciate these essential works will be disruptive, and we want to thank people in advance for their patience and understanding while we improve the paths in the town centre.”

Full diversion information can be found at https://one.network/