Houghton ’ s historic pit site to become £ 15m new retail centre
Sunderland Council leader Graeme Miller gets to see a snapshot of what the new Houghton retail centre will look like from chief executive of Hellens
Group , Gavin Cordwell-Smith .
Houghton-le-Spring news
Houghton Feast goes online with businesses looking to 2021 return
The derelict Houghton Colliery site is set to once more become an economic centre of the community , with plans to build a regeneration-driving new £ 15m retail centre on it .
The former pit , once the centre of industry for the East Durham town , has stood empty and a blot on the landscape for 40 years .
But now , fresh life is to be breathed into the site with the construction of shops and businesses which , it is hoped , will revive an area that has been badly hit by economic decline and infrastructure failure for many decades now .
Last year , Sunderland City Council ’ s Cabinet approved the sale of the former Houghton Colliery site to Washington-based Hellens Group for the development of a £ 15m retail scheme .
Houghton company installs stateof-the-art heating systems across County Durham
A scheme to install 100 fully-funded airsource heat pumps in eligible homes in County Durham has been carried out by Houghton-based appliance repair company , 0800 Repair .
0800 Repair partnered with Durham County Council and the Warm Homes Fund to create a scheme offering eligible residents , who are not connected to the gas network a fully-installed renewable energy central heating system free of charge .
One hundred of the systems , which use air source heat pumps to extract warmth from the air to heat the home , have been made available free to County Durham homeowners who qualify .
The company ’ s ambition is to bring a number of major new retailers to the edge of Houghton town centre , enhancing the choice for local residents and drawing people back into the area from further afield .
The development – which will transform the site that has not been active since the early 1980s – is expected to create a significant number of new retail jobs , as well as opportunities for local people and businesses during the construction phase .
The site would see the development of 3,600 sq metres of new retail space , with work expected to start on the scheme as early as spring 2021 .
Houghton Colliery shaft opened in 1827 , according to local historians . It closed in September 1981 , with a workforce of around 250 people .
Pacifica on new wave of expansion
Houghton-le-Spring-based Pacifica Group has expanded its services in the south and east of England after taking over TK Garnham & Sons .
The Suffolk-based business will become part of Pacifica Appliance Services , which is already one of the UK ’ s largest appliance repair specialists .
Working closely with manufacturers such Electrolux , Sony , Hisense , Vestel , Howdens ( Lamona ) and LG along with major retailers , such as Argos and Shop Direct , and insurance providers , Pacifica completes in excess of a quarter of a million repairs each year .
Founded 40 years ago , TK Garnham completes around 25,000 jobs per year .
Houghton Feast went virtual this year , with Covid-19 depriving the town of what is one of the biggest annual business drivers .
But organisers rallied around to stage online events which maintained interest in the hope that interest in the feast will be even higher next year .
The ancient festival , celebrating the life of the community and , in particular , the memory of Tudor-era Bernard Gilpin , provides Houghton with its biggest annual influx of visitors
But despite the colour and pageantry of the event being diminished this year , there was still a virtual event with the Mayor of Sunderland , Councillor David Snowdon , counting down and switching on the Houghton Feast lights .
Bus route expansion makes Houghton more attractive to business commuters
A multi-million-pound investment on bus services serving Hettonle-Hole , Houghton-le-Spring and Shiney Row will help boost the commuter potential of the area .
Bus operator Go North East has invested £ 3m into 13 new buses for its express X1 service , which runs between Easington Lane and Newcastle , serving Hetton-le-Hole , Houghton-le-Spring , Shiney Row , Washington Galleries , Wrekenton and Gateshead .
These brand new , state-of-theart , low emission buses will see the X1 route become part of the company ’ s premium X-lines brand of interurban express services across the North-East , and will be instantly recognisable with their striking gold and red colour scheme .
Six of the new buses , which come with all the latest mod-cons , have already arrived with more to follow for the route over the next few weeks .
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