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A woman has died and three men have been arrested after their car ploughed into parked cars in Bedlington.
The 19-year-old, who has not been named, died from the injuries she suffered in the crash early on Saturday, and another woman remains in hospital with “serious injuries”.
Police have arrested a 17-year-old boy and two men, both 20, on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving.
The fatal crashed happened shortly before 2am, when the car hit parked vehicles and a tree on Victoria Terrace.
Officers investigating the crash say that only one moving car was involved, adding that the three male occupants of the vehicle are still in police custody.
Northumbria Police has launched an appeal for anyone who saw the crash, or spotted anything suspicious, to report it to officers.
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Police are appealing for witnesses following a one vehicle collision in the early hours of this morning in Bedlington.
The incident took place at around 1.50am on Victoria Terrace and involved a car colliding with a number of parked vehicles.
A 19 year old woman has sadly died from her injuries. Another female has been taken to hospital with serious injuries.
Three men, two aged 20 and a 17 year old, have been arrested for causing death by dangerous driving and are currently in custody.
Police are appealing for witnesses and ask anyone who was in the area at the time and who saw anything suspicious to contact them on 101 quoting reference 125 190817 or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.
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Flying the flag for Northumberland

By Bot, in News,

Hundreds of flags will soon be flying over the streets and roads of Northumberland as the countdown continues to Britain’s biggest cycle race.

Spectators across the county will have the chance to see some of the world’s top riders during the Northumberland stage of the 2017 OVO Energy Tour of Britain on September 4 which starts  in Kielder Water & Forest Park  and finishes in Blyth.

To guide both riders and spectators, over 100 flags will line sections of the route, which passes  through 28 communities and is more than 200km long.

As well as the flags there will be over 130 boards, 36 welcome banners and 12 national Tour of Britain banners installed.

County Council Highways staff are busy installing the flags on lamp-posts in the county, with all flags expected to be up any day.

Northumberland County Council has worked with start sponsors Northumbrian Water, finish sponsors Blyth Town Council and race organisers SweetSpot to bring the race to the county - and excitement is mounting with just over a fortnight to go.

All of the top five teams in the current UCI WorldTour rankings – Quick-Step Floors; Team Sky; BMC Racing; Movistar Team and Orica Scott – will be taking part in the race.

Northumberland County Councillor Richard Wearmouth, cabinet member for economic development, said: “With just days to go the excitement is really building and it’s great to see the infrastructure starting to appear along the race route..

“In 2015 the Tour of Britain gave a real boost to the local economy - to the tune of £2m - and we’re confident this year’s stage which is entirely in the county, will be great news for businesses in Northumberland.

“With 115,000 people lining the route last time, many from outside the area, as well as live coverage of the whole stage on ITV4  it really is a fantastic opportunity for our communities  to showcase everything that is great about this county.”

David Hall, Head of Leisure, Strategy and Transformation at Northumbrian Water said: “We are counting down the days until the Tour of Britain comes to Northumberland and are busy readying Kielder Dam in preparation for the launch of Stage two.

“We are proud to have such a prestigious event here in our county and to play our part in making it happen. It’s sure to be a fantastic day for all involved and something that will live long in the memory of those who get to see and experience it.”

Councillor John Potts, Mayor of Blyth Town Council, said: “In 2015 when the cycle race came to Blyth the town was buzzing with excitement. Blyth Town Council is supporting the event again this year and hope the whole town gets involved in decorating the streets to show Blyth at its best.

“The public will have great opportunities to see the cycle racers as they speed through the town and the last kilometre from Broadway to Waterloo Road where the race will finish will be truly exciting.

“In addition, the velodrome, which will be situated at High Street car park, was very popular last time with children and adults alike.

“This international event generates a huge amount of publicity which can only be of benefit to all of us. Come to Blyth to see the race.”
Full Northumberland route details can be found at www.nlandtob.com
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Moving tributes have been paid to a Northumberland community stalwart who has died at the age of 79.
Mick Scott, of Bedlington, passed away last week after an illness.
Mr Scott, who was awarded an MBE in 1992 for political service, helped to organise the Bedlington Fair for many years and was well known in the area.
He was born in Bradford but moved to Embleton, Northumberland, where he spent his formative years.
He left school at the age of 14 to take an apprentice greensman job at Dunstanburgh Golf Club, just outside Embleton, only to be made head greensman two days later because his predecessor fell ill.
Mr Scott lived in Embleton until he was around 22 and moved to London after his parents died. He worked for the London Underground in charge of ordering supplies for various tube stations that were being created.
Malcolm Robinson
Bedlington Town Centre - Councillors Briefing, August 2017
Introduction
This report provides an update on progress on the Bedlington Town Centre, former Tesco Site and the Old School housing development.
Bedlington Town Centre
Summary
We are making good progress with development proposals for Bedlington Town Centre, a retail led scheme is emerging that will be capable of transforming the town centre, creating exciting new places to visit, dwell and shop.
Once completed, this flagship Arch development will form a pivotal focal point for the town whilst also delivering a truly mixed-use scheme with many positive economic, social and physical benefits.
Discussions with prospective tenants, in particular the food anchor, are reaching fruition and a number of corporate retailers have expressed an interest in being part of the scheme. Securing these anchor tenants forms the next stage of development now that outline planning consent is secured.
With commercial viability a core objective of the development, our immediate efforts have been concentrated on five key activities:
1. Demolition, site clearance, site investigations and remediation;
2. Design of a financially viable masterplan to demonstrate the capability of the site to the market and provide a balanced mixed-use development that will complement and add value to the existing Bedlington offer;
3. Obtain outline planning permission for the development;
4. Attract new investors into Bedlington to increase retail diversity and create the economic catalyst for commercial development; and
5. Introduce a new housing offer with a diversity of tenures to satisfy market demand for town centre living.
Planning
The pre-planning submission public consultation was held 6th December 2016 at the Salvation Army Hall. County and Town Cllrs and members of the Bedlington Delivery Group were invited to a preview. Over 150 people attended on the day with 140 providing feedback, of which 98% were generally in support of the development proposals, agreed that there is a need for more shopping and leisure facilities in Bedlington and agreed that the scheme would enhance Bedlington Town Centre.
The outline planning application was submitted 9th February 2017 and approved at Strategic Planning Committee in June 2017.
The design team meet weekly and are now working with Arch Developments in preparing the ‘reserved matters’ application and discharge of conditions. However, some of the detail is subject to retailers / other users’ requirements, which are yet to be defined.
Tenant Profile
The scheme is attracting good levels of interest in the retail market and we are confident of underpinning the development with two “anchor” stores. The primary aim is to secure a c.2,000m2 discount food supermarket and a c.1,500m2 non-food discount store, we are in direct discussions with two major retailers to fulfil these roles. Our existing tenant Greggs have expressed interest in a larger unit within the new development.
General feedback is looking positive and once the anchors are secured a number of complementary retailers are also keen to take units within the scheme.
Once an appropriate level of income/capital is accomplished from sales and lettings, a request for funding to commence the development will be brought forward for Arch Board approval, current target is an Autumn Board.
Construction
Due to the estimated build cost of the development, the construction will be subject to OJEU procurement (restricted tender). This will require a PQQ stage to shortlist interest from the market, followed by an ITT to the shortlisted contractors. We are currently targeting to commence with the PQQ this autumn with the aim of completing the procurement to enable construction to commence, subject to viability and Board approval, early 2018.
Development names
A naming competition (My Town My Vote) for the development was launched in February, led by Leading Link, nearly 2,900 votes were cast. The winning name was Pipers Place (947 votes) followed by The Forge (811 votes), Market Square (562 votes) and The Cross (481 votes).
Ballot boxes toured local schools in Bedlingtonshire and were placed in local businesses, churches and care homes. The campaign involved the design of a local mascot ‘Bedlington Ben’ and included stickers and posters, all designed by young people involved through Leading Link youth charity.
The name is yet to be adopted. Consideration needs to be given to its suitability for a retail led development and also the Council’s Street Naming and Numbering process.
Old School, Bedlington
Arch acquired the former Old School site situated on the corner of Front Street and Church Lane from a local developer in February of 2016. The site came with the benefit of a planning consent for 19 apartments – granted in 2009 through appeal.
The intention is to develop PRS/affordable apartments on the site, targeted at the over 55 market.
Arch appointed architects ID Partnership to revise the development, aligning to the PRS market, but maintaining high quality architecture. The revised development provides 18 two bed apartments, ranging from 59-65m2.
A section 73 application for the proposed variations was submitted in September 2016 and the variations were approved by Planning Committee in January 2017.
Arch Group Investment Committee approval was granted February 2017 for the development and appointment of the contractor NB Clark (Morpeth), following competitive tender.
NB Clark took site possession in March 2017. Practical completion is currently programmed for April 2018. At present, NB Clark are currently on programme and are progressing well with ground to first floor brickwork. All underpinning works to the south and west boundary walls are complete.
 
 


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