Section 215 served by town council on old Hexham bus station

The Hexham Wombles, backed by the town council, with Suzanne Fairless-Aitken, county councillor for Hexham East and mayor Derek Kennedy, led a visible and vocal protest at the old bus station to serve a legal notice known as Section 215 on the developers, Dysart Group, to clean up the site.

According to the Government's website, Section 215 of the Town & Country Planning Act 1990 provides a local planning authority with the power, in certain circumstances, to take steps requiring land to be cleaned up when its condition adversely affects an area.

READ MORE: Talks with Dysart on Hexham's 'eyesore' bus station redevelopment

Dysart, which purchased the bus station on Priestpopple after its closure in 2016 following the opening of the replacement station, has faced criticism from the town council and residents who feel the site is being 'neglected'.

It was then listed on Savills estate agents' website where it remains for sale after Dysart's purchase, several years later. The price is available 'on application', but has been previously listed for £1.5m.

Northumberland County Council previously stated it would purchase the site to push forward redevelopment, but claimed Dysart’s asking price is too high.

The Ropery is a listed building on the site and was proposed for demolition in 2015. Dysart said it has recently resurfaced part of the footpath to the south of the building.

Cllr Fairless-Aitken said: "This legal order was requested by myself in January at County Hall and again in February to get the backing of the town council. Chants of '215 215 215' and 'Come on Dysart' echoed down Priestpopple as The Wombles cheered and demanded action.

Rubbish collected in bags from the old Hexham bus station (Image: Suzanne Fairless-Aitken)

She said that 'unelected officers at county hall' are refusing to serve the 215 notice to Dysart, despite it having been called for by elected county council representatives including herself and Cllr Kennedy.

"I've only been in politics three years now but I am stunned at this deadlock where 'the tail is wagging the dog'. Political will is definitely behind me, but deliberate obfuscation is causing an unnecessary delay as officers in the planning department repeatedly claim that 'negotiations are happening' - even though every month I ask and prod. I'm beginning to think councillors are just seen as 'pests'.

"It's been eight years now and our beautiful new high street has a blot on the landscape - the old bus station is being disgracefully neglected with weeds growing from cracks and kerbs, peeled-off posters, rubbish and glass everywhere.

"The Wombles did their duty of care to the community and cleaned up the site on October 12 with 23 bags of rubbish cleared from the old station - only one from the new. It's the second time we've done it. Rest assured, the rubbish will all be back in another month.

"The Wombles should not have to do this - Dysart should be forced by county council lawyers to clean up what was once a smart asset to this town. It's a case of developer greed and bureaucratic ineptitude outweighing justice for residents called for by your elected representatives." 

Hexham mayor Derek Kennedy added: “We've been campaigning for several years to get the old bus station developed. But Dysart has abandoned it, with weeds growing everywhere and decay. We have asked the county council to officially serve notice on Dysart to get this area tidied up as a minimum. We have invested heavily in the high street and this is a bomb site in comparison.” 

Mike Clark, development director of Dysart Group, responded to the councillors' comments: "It is heartening to see the passion that local people have for improvements to the town and we accept that the redevelopment of the bus station area would indeed be a benefit and help to achieve the vision that local people have.

"Since purchasing the property from the council and with their encouragement other property around the bus station, we have attempted to work positively with the council to bring forward a development project that would work, be relevant to the area and help regenerate this part of Hexham.

"For example, whilst it’s good to hear people celebrating the new bus station, it should be noted that it was only developed as a result of our purchase of the old site which levered in over £300,000 in grants for the county council to use towards its cost. Dysart received no part of this grant funding. Nor has the council offered to assist us in gaining any other external funding to enable the redevelopment of the area.

"We endeavoured after purchasing the site to redevelop it in line with the council’s planning requirements and although we committed a significant amount of money to get planning permission, the development proved not to be economically viable due to the lack of demand for retail or commercial property in the centre of the town. This is probably due to the movement of the core retail offer away from the traditional town centre.

"During the term of our ownership, we have on numerous occasions made safe the buildings, cleared the site and carried out works either as a result of our inspection or when requested. For example, only recently we resurfaced part of the footpath to the south of the Ropery.

"However, we also appreciate that old buildings and vacant plots will always deteriorate and have on numerous occasions asked the council if they would support an application for us to demolish and clear the site, but to no avail.

"Due to the log jam with regard to us finding a development opportunity for the site, several years ago we offered to sell it back to the council at a price significantly below our costs. The council refused the offer as they have done numerous times since then," Mr Clark said.

Dysart then put the bus station site up for sale on the property market, however, it never received an offer from an interested party.

"I’m aware that locally, people think it is an overpriced site and this may be the case but we have simply not received any tangible interest or any offers at any value.

"More recently, we have received interest in a part of the site and plans are being drawn up for partial development, and at recent meetings with the county council, we have again raised the option for them to re-acquire the bus station and surrounding property.

"Tidying up the area is a necessity and we will continue to make safe and clear our land, but ultimately the area needs to be redeveloped to help regenerate the town centre and we continue to work with the council and others to try and achieve this."

Deputy leader of Northumberland County Council, Richard Wearmouth, has previously said the council has not allowed any development in the town that could have impacted the future development of the bus station site.

“Ultimately the council has long said that for the right price the council would take on the old bus station site however the council cannot pay over market value not just out of principle but due to the laws governing council expenditure. The site has been the subject of valuations by the council that have been provided to Dysart backing up our position," he said.

He added that the council’s duty is to the residents of Hexham.

"We urge that if Dysart do not wish to develop the site themselves that they release the land for a realistic price either to someone who will develop the site or to the council. We remain open to any talks in this regard.”