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

Opportunities in Hexham, despite the down-turn

The opening of Marks & Spencer in Hexham shows what a strong town it is but for more development to take place there has to be a return to the good old days of retailing says Mike Birkett, director of retail Agency at BNP Paribas Real Estate's Newcastle office.

With Marks & Spencer leasing the former Co-operative store in Maidens Walk, to the south of the main Priestpopple road link with Corbridge, the general area is clearly destined for more development.

However the brakes are on until there is a more settled economy, presently, made worse by political uncertainties. This impasse is short term though how long short term turns out to be is a matter of conjecture.

Hexham has seen little development in recent years apart from the arrival of Tesco and while there is demand for representation in this affluent market town, uncertainty and costs associated with opening new outlets is making what demand there is non urgent.

But looking on the bright side this is probably a good time to focus on development opportunities. The area which I think offers most potential is the bus station. This is to be moved to the car park which is opposite to the new hospital. This will release more land around which stand buildings which, in some cases, are derelict.

With M&S standing behind this large area of real estate the area could be redeveloped either with a cleared site approach or careful redevelopment, in part, behind retained facades.

It is a very interesting opportunity for the town as the area for potential development sites opposite Robbs store and very close to prime Fore Street. With suitable traffic management and extreme care in the architectural treatment of any future development, the ‘upper’ part of Hexham could be transformed.

This may be years away but re-thinking the issue of traffic and parking as well as increasing the level of retail offer is critical for Hexham’s catchment is large, encompassing far-flung villages such as Alston, Haltwhistle and Bellingham where the only means of shopping is to travel by car.

Despite the economical over-shadow, these are interesting times for Hexham and an opportunity to get the development process working in due course for the good of the town.