Future for Northumberland 'nothing but bright' - leader predicts staycation success once crisis dwindles

Bamburgh village green, castle and pavilion.

Coun Peter Jackson said that this is one strand of what the Conservative-led authority has been doing to try to protect the county’s economy as best as it can during the Covid-19 outbreak.

He explained that the focus in the short-term has been to distribute the business support funding provided by the Government ‘as effectively and efficiently as possible’.

“I’m pleased to say that Northumberland has been one of the leading authorities in the speed with which it has processed these government grants and so far we have paid out about £84million to 7,600 businesses right across the county,” he said.

“I’m sure that will go some way to helping many of those businesses over the hump so they can think about their long-term futures from this point.”

He added that ‘we did lobby the Government quite strongly for those businesses which fell out of the initial scheme’, which resulted in an additional £4.6million through the discretionary fund this month.

However, at what Coun Jackson describes as a ‘turning point of sorts’ – while emphasising ‘we need to stay vigilant at all times’ – council bosses are also looking to the future.

Work is taking place with partners in the North East, such as the Local Enterprise Partnership (NELEP) and the North of Tyne Combined Authority, on a package of regional measures ‘to kick-start the local economy and support key sectors’.

He continued: “We are working on the details of an economic recovery package designed specifically for our county, we are just in the process of finalising that now and will be publishing that within the next 10 days.”

This too involves key partners, including the North East England Chamber of Commerce and local businesses, Coun Jackson explained, ‘to make sure what we’re doing is effective and puts Northumberland back on the track of economic growth we’ve been on for the last few years’.

It is recognised that some sectors of the local economy have been much more affected than others, for example, tourism and hospitality.

“They’ve taken a huge hit,” he said. “They will take some time to recover, because we still have quite serious restrictions stopping a lot of businesses even from operating.

“In Northumberland, that sector is an essential part of our local economy,” he noted, but also pointed out that there is room for optimism as well.

“The buzz phrase is staycation and Northumberland was doing exceptionally well in attracting people for staycations over the last two or three years and I can only see us building on that success.

“The issue for a lot of small and micro businesses up and down our county relying on that particular sector is getting over this short-term problem of essentially missing a whole season.

“The long-term future can be nothing but bright for our county and we need to rebuild confidence and that starts with the small things, with people being confident to visit our towns and countryside in a safe way.”

Coun Scott Dickinson, deputy leader of the Northumberland Labour group, said: “As we feel our way nervously out of the Covid-19 pandemic, it is vital that rural as well as urban areas of the county receive the support they need to recover.

“Our towns and the people and businesses in them will need tailored packages of support. Just as importantly, rural areas, businesses and the people who depend on them for their livelihoods will need support.

“Rural areas with their B&Bs, pubs and independent shops and cafés contribute massively to the economy of Northumberland.

“As we look to reopen as a county, we must ensure that the support we can give locally as a county council does not forget the majority of small businesses, whether in our towns or the countryside.”

He added: “The Labour group wants to reach out to small businesses and be part of their road to recovery.

“We will be lobbying government locally and nationally to make sure Northumberland is not forgotten and we will work hard to protect people in disadvantaged communities who have been hit hardest by the Government’s brutal austerity programme in the past 10 years.”

The council leader was also bullish that economic recovery efforts won’t have a knock-on impact on other projects and spending across the county, saying that as many of the administration’s plans relate to ‘ambitious infrastructure projects’, ‘we will only accelerate them, we will not put anything off at all’.

On this front, Coun Jackson cited projects such as the Northumberland Line, the regeneration of Blyth town centre, the Maltings in Berwick (part of the Borderlands deal), and new leisure centres in Morpeth and Berwick.

“Our resolve is to be the basis of a new renaissance right throughout the county of Northumberland,” he added. “That should deliver confidence for individuals in the private sector to bring huge investment and make a great future for our county.”

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