Northumberland County Council's cabinet met on 8 April 2025, and approved an updated risk management strategy, adopted the Northumberland Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plans (LCWIPs), and endorsed the Outline Business Case (OBC) for the Richard Stannard House Conversion. The cabinet also approved a number of amendments to the capital programme.

Capital Programme Amendments

The cabinet approved several amendments to the capital programme, including:

• Great Northumberland Forest: Approval of £1.761 million in 2025-26 for an additional bespoke planting offer, funded by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA). The Great Northumberland Forest initiative aims to plant millions of trees across the county by 2030.
• Waterworld Boiler Replacement: Approval of £0.180 million in 2025-26 to replace the boiler plant at Waterworld Leisure Centre, Prudhoe, funded from the existing Leisure Remedial project.
• Wentworth Sport Hall Roof: Approval of £0.500 million in 2025-26 to replace the sports hall roof at Wentworth Leisure Centre, Hexham, funded from the existing Wentworth Capital Improvement project.
• Willowburn Refurbishment: Approval of £0.100 million in 2025-26 for poolside electrical upgrades and £0.500 million for air handling unit replacement at Willowburn Leisure Centre, Alnwick, funded from the existing Willowburn Capital Improvement project.
• Ashington Learner Pool Tiles Replacement: Approval of £0.050 million in 2025-26 to replace tiles in the learner pool at Ashington Leisure Centre, funded from the existing Leisure Remedial project.
• Borderlands Place Programme: Inclusion of £1.094 million for the Penrith Playhouse (£0.118 million), Penrith Station (£0.476 million) and the Roxy (Ulverston) (£0.500 million) projects, funded by Borderlands Funding.
• Bus Service Improvement Plan: Approval of £0.182 million in 2025-26 for development of the Alnwick Bus Station Safety and Accessibility project, funded by North East Combined Authority funding. Councillor Renner Thompson, Cabinet Member for Inspiring Young People had welcomed the planned work at the Alnwick bus station at a previous meeting.
• Simpler Recycling Food Waste Bay: Approval of £0.058 million in 2025-26 for construction of a new food waste bay at West Sleekburn waste transfer station, funded from the existing Phase 1 Food Service Roll Out project.

Northumberland Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plans (LCWIPs)

The cabinet formally adopted the Northumberland Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plans (LCWIPs). These plans aim to improve walking and cycling infrastructure across the county's main towns. The LCWIPs were developed based on five key principles:

1. Ensuring residents and visitors can enjoy walking and cycling for commuting, school journeys or leisure.
2. Adopting an evidence-led approach to developing walking and cycling networks.
3. Focusing on the main towns in the county to maximise the potential for growing cycling and walking trips.
4. Proposing infrastructure improvements designed to optimise usability and safety, adhering to national design guidelines.
5. Prioritising walking and cycling 'corridors' in each of the main towns.

The LCWIPs have been subject to extensive public consultation, with feedback incorporated into the final drafts. The LCWIPs for each town are:

• Alnwick
• Amble
• Ashington
• Bedlington
• Berwick
• Blyth
• Haltwhistle
• Hexham
• Morpeth
• Ponteland
• Prudhoe

The cabinet also noted progress on infrastructure schemes to date, and the pipeline of funding opportunities for delivering further infrastructure.

Risk Management Strategy

The cabinet approved the updated Risk Management Strategy, which consolidates previous policy, strategy and framework documents into one comprehensive document. The strategy applies to all of the council’s activities and reflects a risk management hierarchy, with risks identified, monitored and managed at three key levels: corporate, service strategic and service operational. The updated strategy codifies the council's arrangements, providing an updated framework to enable a consistent and effective approach to risk management throughout all aspects of the council’s activities.

The council’s outcomes in relation to risk management are for:

• risk management to be integrated into the culture of the council, helping to inform decision making.
• risk to be managed in accordance with best practice.
• the cost of risk to be reduced and for assets, people and the council’s reputation to be protected.
• risk registers to be up to date, regularly maintained and challenged.

Richard Stannard House Conversion

The cabinet endorsed the principles of the Outline Business Case (OBC) for the Richard Stannard House Conversion, and delegated approval of the OBC to the Executive Director of Place and Regeneration following consideration of the detail at Regeneration Programme Board.

Richard Stannard House, owned by ANCL¹, is a three-storey building located on Bridge Street in Blyth, currently used as commercial office space. The project aims to convert the building into 16 residential units, comprising a mix of one and two-bedroom apartments, including three wheelchair-accessible ground floor apartments.

The project is part of the £95m Energising Blyth Programme, supported by UK Government, Northumberland County Council and North East Combined Authority. The project delivers a BCR² of 1.8 at UK level/2.1 at local level, demonstrating a medium to high value for money.

The external appraisal concludes that the project has been found to be generally a well constructed and evidenced business case, demonstrating good value for money.