Hexham's appeal continues to grow

Jun 17 2009 by Bob Fletcher and Mike Birkett for The Journal

Hexham remains a gem in the North East retail crown, says Bob Fletcher of Sanderson Weatherall.

TO MANY, Hexham is seen as a prime example of how market towns provide an ideal recipe for modern living and indeed, it’s this type of town, whose retail sector has best been able to stave off the effects of the recession.

Thanks in part to its popularity as a tourism destination, broad offering and position overlooking the beautiful Tyne Valley, Hexham has remained a firm favourite among our North East’s market towns.

Comfortably situated on the A69 and only 20 miles west of Newcastle, it benefits from a substantial catchment area of 50,000-plus, allowing easy access to some of the region’s finest schools and serves a number of very affluent neighbouring communities.

In recent years, it achieved national acclaim, winning Britain in Bloom ‘best small town’ and voted as England’s Favourite Market Town in 2005, by national magazine Country Life.

Retail in this town has weathered the current recession rather well. Where gaps have appeared, they have been quickly taken. Its Woolworths store on Front Street has been snapped up from the administrators by Iceland.

There is strong demand from several high- profile multiple retailers. Mountain Warehouse, Costa Coffee, Starbucks, Pizza Express, Monsoon, Semichem, Pets at Home, Focus and Wickes and Majestic Wine are all actively looking for space to capitalise on Hexham’s footfall.

We’ve witnessed retail schemes all over the region being shelved because of the dramatic change in funding, rents and incentive packages. And, while retailers will still find opportunities on Hexham’s completed developments such as Maiden’s Walk Retail Park, located immediately to the south of Hexham’s prime retail core next to Marks & Spencer, stalled schemes are impacting on the potential economic growth of Hexham’s retail scene.