Bids for key site in Morpeth to be assessed by county council now that the deadline has passed

There has been much discussion about what will happen to the site in Newmarket since a new leisure centre opened on Gas House Lane.

A spokesperson for the council said: “The closing date for tenders for the former Riverside Leisure Centre was Friday, April 11.

“The next stage in the process will be to review the tenders, which will inform the decision on next steps.”

The former leisure centre has previously been mentioned by the Greater Morpeth Development Trust as one of the potential sites for an arts and cultural centre and other suggested uses include a hotel and a care home.

If it ends up being the latter, it could have a knock-on effect on another key site in the town where Roseville (Hillgate) Ltd has a project in place.

When asked for his reaction to the news, David Nicholson of Roseville (Hillgate) Ltd said: “I would be surprised if a care home operator would be interested in bidding for the old leisure centre given the well-known flood issues associated with the site and what we are doing in Morpeth.

“We were given the official planning permission to develop the former Benfield Motors site on 8th March of this year for the construction of a care home and apartment development and are currently in the process of arranging the demolition of the existing buildings on the site prior to construction.

“But this may now have to wait until the decision is made on the successful bidder for the derelict leisure centre.”