Council leader promises money amid park row
Significant further money is allocated to Prudhoe in the coming year Glen Sanderson
THE leader of Northumberland County Council has promised that “significant money” will be spent in Prudhoe this year.
It comes after the local authority was criticised for the state of the town’s riverside car park, which is blighted by potholes.
Labour’s Coun Angie Scott has said the surface of the road is so bad that drivers avoid using it for fear of damaging their vehicles.
Coun Scott also took issue with a lack of spending in Prudhoe in recent years.
Data obtained by The Journal showed £3.9 million was spent by the council on capital projects in Prudhoe since 2017, compared with £66.1m in Ponteland in that same time period.
The capital spend in Prudhoe since the Conservatives took office was the lowest in the county’s ten largest towns, while Ponteland’s was the highest.
Speaking to The Journal, Conservative council leader Glen Sanderson reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to repairing the car park.
He said: “Repairs to the car park at Prudhoe Riverside are in the programme of work, and that decision was made some time ago. Likewise, we are finding significant new spending for the town.
“Disappointingly, Labour members voted against the budget at last week’s meeting. Despite this, the Conservative administration and local member Coun Gordon Stewart are committed to the town, which is why significant further money is allocated to Prudhoe in the coming year.”
Labour refused to back the council’s budget at a meeting last week. Leader Coun Scott Dickinson was concerned about the 7.7% increase in social housing rent proposed as well as the impacts of unspecified savings made under the council’s “BEST” programme.
The council has recently announced a £42,000 investment in Prudhoe’s East Centre, jointly funded by the council and Prudhoe Community Partnership.
There are also plans to invest £2 million in the ageing Prudhoe Waterworld to improve the town’s leisure facilities, including the installation of a new soft play area.
There is also further capital investment proposed in the Council’s Medium Term Financial Plan to refurbish the public toilet facilities at the Tyne Riverside Country Park.