Work begins on £4.5m leisure scheme

Construction work has begun on a new £4.5m retail and leisure development in Northumberland which could create more than 100 jobs.BRIMS Construction has been appointed to develop the 16,000 sq ft centre at Blyth’s South Beach.The development will create up to 100 jobs during the initial construction phase alongside 75 full and part time retail leisure jobs once the first phase of the development is completed in September.Phase one is part of plans by Blagdon Estate to transform the existing derelict buildings on land on the Links Road into a new 3,750 sq ft Co-op convenience store with a further six smaller units available to lease.Plans for the first-floor accommodation will also create more than 4,000 sq ft of space to accommodate a new health and fitness gym, studio or restaurant.The start of work, which will be overseen by North East construction consultants Consult North, appointed by Blagdon Estate to manage the project, comes in the wake of substantial residential development in the South Blyth area, which has seen 600 new homes built over the past 10 years. The project is viewed as an important regeneration initiative for the town and follows studies and research that revealed visitors to Northumberland spent more than £1bn when they travelled to the county in 2019.Letting agent for the development @retail has confirmed that the Co-op will be the anchor store for the site with pre-lets already agreed with a further three occupiers.Plans for the second phase of development, which includes a further two acres of adjoining land next to the South Beach car park and national cycle route, are already underway with proposals likely to be brought forward during the course of 2022.The plans could include further leisure uses and retirement living accommodation.