The building will feature performance and event spaces, training facilities, office space, community services and a café.
Work to demolish six existing units on the prominent town centre site began in late 2024.
The new facility will be built just to the north of the town's new railway station on the £298m Northumberland Line. It is hoped the development will act as a new, attractive gateway for the town.
However, concerns were raised at Tuesday's meeting of Northumberland County Council's strategic planning committee over the impact on traffic in the surrounding area. The development would mean that the return access from the new railway station car park and Kenilworth Road would be permanently blocked off.
Speaking at the meeting, local resident Andrew Carmichael said: "There is a total disregard for the well-established return route back onto Station Road. I have used that route for a good 40 years.
"With the opening of the new railway station recently, people have realised there is a real issue."
The changes mean drivers will have to drive south on Kenilworth Road through a residential area before returning to Station Road.
Coun Malcolm Robinson shared residents' concerns and was also unconvinced by the design of the scheme.
He said: "I don't like this one. The traffic coming out of the station car park hasn't been thought through - it has to go through a housing estate. The car park has 270 spaces - we want to make this transformational but traffic is a problem.
"The main point is the aesthe...
Work to demolish six existing units on the prominent town centre site began in late 2024.
The new facility will be built just to the north of the town's new railway station on the £298m Northumberland Line. It is hoped the development will act as a new, attractive gateway for the town.
However, concerns were raised at Tuesday's meeting of Northumberland County Council's strategic planning committee over the impact on traffic in the surrounding area. The development would mean that the return access from the new railway station car park and Kenilworth Road would be permanently blocked off.
Speaking at the meeting, local resident Andrew Carmichael said: "There is a total disregard for the well-established return route back onto Station Road. I have used that route for a good 40 years.
"With the opening of the new railway station recently, people have realised there is a real issue."
The changes mean drivers will have to drive south on Kenilworth Road through a residential area before returning to Station Road.
Coun Malcolm Robinson shared residents' concerns and was also unconvinced by the design of the scheme.
He said: "I don't like this one. The traffic coming out of the station car park hasn't been thought through - it has to go through a housing estate. The car park has 270 spaces - we want to make this transformational but traffic is a problem.
"The main point is the aesthe...
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The Chronicle (Digital) - 1 Issue, March 21, 2025