Calls for Alnwick traffic plan to be put in place should Bondgate Tower be closed in future

Calls have been made for a contingency plan to be put in place should the Bondgate Tower in Alnwick be closed to traffic.
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The 15th Century eastern gateway to the town centre has been hit by a number of vehicles over the years, most recently in June when a chunk was chipped off.

Historic England has previously warned that the building might need to be closed if further substantial damage occurred.

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Alnwick Town Council’s planning, transport and highways committee has asked for the issue of traffic flows to be discussed by the Alnwick Forum.

Hotspur Tower, AlnwickHotspur Tower, Alnwick
Hotspur Tower, Alnwick

The discussion stemmed from concerns raised by Cllr Peter Broom on behalf of local residents about the number of heavy goods vehicles using Lisburn Street.

“There are concerns about HGVs using Lisburn Street as a shortcut,” he said. “They are coming up past the police station and going up on to the Rothbury road instead of using Green Batt which is the more authorised heavy goods vehicle road.

"With all the small roads that join Lisburn Street and the parking issues there are some real dangers there.

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"The whole area needs to be reviewed. Maybe we should be looking at more of a one-way system around a lot of the streets in Alnwick?”

Chairman, Cllr Martin Swinbank said: “I think it is a very important point. I think there has been some discussion going on with residents through Cllr (Gordon) Castle.

"There are a number of concerns. This street (Lisburn) and Green Batt are the two obvious places where there are some concerns.”

He hoped a professional assessment of how traffic flows are working in the town could be carried out.

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"There’s a further issue when Bondgate Tower gets closed,” he added. “In the past few years we’ve had a couple of closures of the Bondgate Tower and we came very close to having another one this summer.

"We want to have a professional look at traffic flows around this area and having some contingency planning done should there be a temporary closure of the tower again.”

The gatehouse, also known as Hotspur Gate, was founded around 1450 by the 2nd Earl of Northumberland.

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