One of Northumberland's most deprived towns is set to get a shot in the arm after a major investment was approved by leading councillors.
Ashington is set to benefit from £30 million as part of the Ashington Regeneration Programme, following a similar bid for improvement in Blyth.
The funding includes cash injections from the North of Tyne Combined Authority, the council and the Government, as Northumberland County Council looks to reverse a long period of decline in the town following the collapse of the coal mining industry in the 1980s.
Read more: Mysterious bones found in Morpeth identified as remains of man missing for more than 30 years
According to census data, as of 2021 the Ashington Hirst ward had the second-highest level of deprivation in Northumberland, with 64.9% of households deprived in at least one dimension. This was down from 70% in 2011.
Speaking at Tuesday's meeting of the council's cabinet, portfolio holder for supporting business and opportunities Coun Wojciech Ploszaj explained the "comprehensive" scheme.
He said: "Following the successful town regeneration scheme Energising Blyth we thought we needed to move to another town. We wanted to do the same type of scheme in Ashington.
"Over the past several years, the town has been declining, economic vitality has been declining. This programme is a comprehensive £30 million scheme aimed at revitalising Ashington, it is designed to stimulate economic growth and breathe new life into the area.
"It will deliver a new cinema in Portland Park and new infrastructure around it. It will redevelop Wansbeck Square and the Grand Corner."
Pedestrian movement and the town's cultural offering will also be improved, in a bid to attract visitors.
The council's deputy leader, Coun Richard Wearmouth, said the scheme would add to existing schemes like the £45 million Department for Education-funded new Northumberland College building in the town centre and the new station for the long-awaited Northumberland Line.
Coun Colin Horncastle added: "This is a town that has suffered so much from deprivation with the change to the industrial landscape. We as an administration are well aware of the problems in Ashington.
"We will do, and are doing, the best we can to improve the lives of the people of Ashington. I just know that this administration is doing its level best for Ashington and other areas in the south east.
"A regeneration scheme of this scale is not something done overnight. It takes many years to pull it together."
Council leader Glen Sanderson added that it was an "exceptionally major" announcement.
But Labour's Coun Caroline Ball, who represents the Ashington Central ward and had asked to speak at the meeting, said she wanted more for her town.
She said: "I welcome £30 million for Ashington, but inflation is going through the roof and this should haver started a long time ago. The new leisure centre in Morpeth was £21 million, so £30 million to transform Ashington is a drop in the ocean.
"I am so proud to come from Ashington, I'm a proud 'Ash lass' and I will be until the day I die. I want more money for Ashington."
Coun Wearmouth refuted this by pointing out that, alongside the investment in the college and the Northumberland Line, the town was looking at an investment of more like £100 million. He also pointed out that the town had received a brand new leisure centre, which opened in 2016 under the council's previous Labour administration.
Coun Sanderson added: "The proof will be in the pudding. I'm quite sure that by March 2025 there will be a significant difference."
Read next:
