Published at 07:35, Wednesday, 07 November 2012

NEXT, we hear, is to arrive to a fanfare in Hexham (Courant, October 26). It has been trying for long enough. And, no doubt, its store will ‘add to the retail mix in our out of town cluster of supermarkets’.

I say that in this very precise way since its representative, a corporate man I am sure, was cued to say they offered an addition to the ‘town centre’.

The last time I looked, the town centre was around the Abbey – not at the town’s perimeter or entrance/exit to the Tyne Valley.

However, the county council appears to be suggesting that the town centre is to move?

Does this mean the old unused redundant town centres rates are set to drop?

Does this mean that Next and the other big guys will clean the streets around them and provide Christmas lights for the rest of the town centre as do independent traders currently?

Does this mean we can up stumps and quit doing business in the old town centre?

With another large store with ‘in store cafe’ out of town, will Beales be pleased?

By the way there are in excess of 50 places to get coffee in and around town centre and perimeter already!

The real hardy traders in this town, I am sure, have a hundred questions about this truly out of town development to put to a council committed to regeneration of market town ‘centres’.

KEITH BELMONT,

Hexham

Published by http://www.hexhamcourant.co.uk