Council hails 'important step' for Culture Hub and Market Place project in Blyth

Pre-construction enabling works have been underway at the site for months by Kier Group, which will now be officially chosen as the contractor to complete the Market Place revamp. Plans include performance spaces and a three-screen cinema.

Northumberland County Council’s cabinet gave council officers the nod to appoint the contractor at a meeting on Tuesday, February 13 as well as approving an increase in the project’s budget to cover the full cost of the contract.

Cabinet member for business and opportunities, Cllr Wojciech Ploszaj, labelled the award of the contract a “really exciting and very important step.”

Cllr Glen Sanderson, leader of the council, added: “It is a very important step, and one of many steps we are taking, together with the government, to invest very heavily in Blyth, and of course into Ashington and other parts of the county.”

The outline business case stated the budget for the project was £14.7m, but the cost of the construction contract has come out to £16.5m.

The council is expecting a grant of £2.5m from the North East Mayoral Combined Authority will be confirmed later this year to help cover this cost, and has allocated £388,000 from the council’s Climate Change Capital Fund to cover energy efficiency measures for the building.

This will result in £1.2m of county council funding being returned to the budget for the Energising Blyth scheme, which covers a number of regeneration projects in the town.

The Culture Hub project is scheduled to be complete by August 2025.