Alnwick residents have their say on the future development of the town

Alnwick Town Council organised the drop-in in the Northumberland Hall where the public were asked to give their views for the second consultation stage of the review.

Planning consultant Peter Biggers, who is overseeing the review was pleased with the reaction from the public.

He said: “There was a lot of interest about where we had got to with the review and the options we have put forward generated a lot of discussion.

“I should stress these are not hard and fast proposals at this stage but rather ideas and therefore it is crucial we hear what the residents of Alnwick and Denwick think about them so that we can decide what goes forward.”

Mayor Geoff Watson added: “It is essential that our local residents and business community are given the opportunity to voice their concerns and proposals for the future development of Alnwick. The views of local people really do matter and the feedback from the consultation will influence the redrafting of the plan.”

In order to tap into the ideas from our young folk on the review a double session was held at Duchess’s Community High School on Tuesday with two different age groups and teacher Rosie Bush.

The students got involved in looking at the different options and were really engaged in thinking about the future of their town. Environment and the climate emergency as well as the town centre and facilities for young folk were topics of greatest concern.

In the coming weeks there will also be the opportunity for businesses in the town to get on board and express their views on the options for the review at the next meeting of the Business Forum.

If you were not able to attend the Northumberland Hall event there is still time to read the information panels and leave your comments. They can be accessed on Alnwick Town Council website at alnwick-tc.gov.uk/alnwick-denwick-neighbourhood-plan/

The deadline for leaving comments is April 30.