A senior Northumberland politician has backed calls for a hold on plans to relocate the county council headquarters.
Northumberland Conservative Group Leader Peter Jackson said he was delighted that the county’s Economic Prosperity and Strategic Services Scrutiny Committee had recommended a deferment of any decision on the proposed move from Morpeth to Ashington until further work can be done on the options.
He said: “It is a great relief that finally some people at County Hall are seeing sense about this plan. It shows the basic deficiencies of the consultants’ reports.
“The scrutiny committee has done its job and I can’t see how the Labour-dominated Policy Board can fail to take its recommendations seriously.”
Council Lead Executive Director Steven Mason said: “We understand there are many views around these proposals and we welcome the debate around the issue. All opinions, whether from councillors or members of the public, will be taken into account, along with the recommendations agreed by the scrutiny committee, when the Policy Board meets.”