The Changing Face Of Blyth.
The Culture Hub.
The Culture Hub in the Market Place which is currently under construction. The building will house a multi screen cinema, entertainment space and cafe as well as a space which will be used for events in the newly landscaped market place area.
If you look towards the building from Albion House (Poundstretchers) and are of an older generation, you could be reminded of the view when the Central Cinema stood in more or less the same location.
The cinema will be run by Jam Jar cinemas who also operate a highly successful cinema in Whitley Bay. The building is on track to open in the summer of 2025.
Renwick Road & Broadway
Northumberland County Council are currently carrying out work to upgrade the cycle network throughout Blyth. An ambitious scheme which will eventually link Blyth to the coastal route to the south.
Shared footpaths and dedicated crossings will be installed and the work, costing around 1.9 million pounds is scheduled to be complete in May 2025.
Energy Central Institute.
Phase two of the Energy Central project will build on the already completed facility on the quayside, adding a STEM degree level learning facility in the town centre. On the site of the now demolished Keel Row shopping centre, the facility aims to build upon the town's leading global role in renewable energy research and development.
Although final designs have not yet been made public, we do have some artists impressions of how the building will fit into the townscape.
criticised for not being a retail development in a town centre location by some, the institute is however likely to bring much needed footfall into the town centre, supporting the businesses that have remained.
Bebside Railway Station.
Bebside station, although delayed is scheduled to open in late 2025. The second of Blyth's two stations will include a pedestrian bridge over the A189 Spine Road, linking with the proposed walking and cycle route into the town centre, More on that below. More than 250k people have used the ew line since it opened!
Walking & Cycle Corridor.
In a meeting somewhere, in what can only be described as a collective state of madness, someone said - do you know what will make the decades long traffic chaos on Cowpen Road go away? Yeah, lets make it narrower and give the rest to bikes!
A proposed walking and cycling corridor from the railway station at Bebside, all the way into the town centre would have involved the removal of a number of turning pockets.
So, for example, presently where a car moves to the centre of the road when it wants to turn right into Aldi car park, allowing the traffic behind it to keep moving, would under this scheme just stop and wait for a gap in the oncoming traffic to turn into the car park, creating yet another bottleneck on a road which is already a living nightmare.
The pans also envisage he same idea at several other locations along Cowpen Road, as well as the removal of the safety barrier outside Horton Grange first school and a number of traffic islands.
You can take a look at the plan here.
Apparently the council are looking at the plans again.
Street Scene Upgrades.
A number of areas in the town centre are being refurbished, resurfaced and adding new lighting and street furniture.
Bowes Street & Market Street were completed some time ago and Bridge Street is nearing completion after a lengthy period of being closed to traffic.
Work has now begun on Quay Road.
South Beach Phase Two.
Following on from Blagdon Estates popular phase one development at South Beach. The derelict farm buildings located on the adjacent site were cleared and there are now plans to go ahead with the second phase of the scheme.
An eighty bed hotel which will take advantage of one of the towns best locations is planned, along with a family orientated pub and restaurant to compliment the hotel.
A number of retail pods are also planned and developers hope businesses such as bike and surf board hire will be amongst the new tenants.
Dementia Friendly Housing.
A housing development designed for people living with dementia is nearing completion at Lyndon Walk, just off Tynedale Drive in Cowpen.
The thirteen bungalows are being fitted with solar panels and ground source heat pumps to make them extremely energy efficient.
They will incorporate a number of features to make life easier, wide doorways, non slip level wet rooms and easy to use door handles will all be included.
Northumberland County Council hope the houses will make it easier for people with dementia or Alzheimer's to live independently or longer with assistance from family members and carers.
