At the first birthday meeting of Aycliffe Business Park Durham County Council Business Director, Simon Goon, said he favoured a retail presence on the industrial estate but was not proposing something as big as Teesside Park.
Newton News would beg to differ on that point as we believe that is exactly what Newton Aycliffe needs and we are sure our readers would agree.
Do we want residents to continue to travel out of town to get the facilities offered at other Retail Parks outside our area?
Is it not a fact that Aycliffe Town Centre is restricted in size and cannot accommodate large retail outlets such as B&Q or Currys?
Surely a mulitplex Cinema cum Concert Hall could also be viable. Already we see the success of Planet Leisure and other service and Fitness Centres on the Park proving they attract support.
Our shopping centre, owned by a London landlord, charges rents and service charges which are too high and competition on the Business Park would effectively bring reductions to these overheads and allow local shopkeepers to flourish.
As more houses are built and we attract more families to live here, along with new industry, the retail demand will increase and it will become more evident that we need a full blown Retail Park at Aycliffe.
Durham City has one so why not at this end of the County? Our County Council is forcing us to use Retail Parks in other authority areas Teesside, Darlington and Wear Valley. when we should be supporting our own local economy.
Extra land has been acquired so let’s use it, not only for industry but also for essential services to bring added benefit and convenience to the population of Aycliffe as a whole.