Life in Blyth: Multi-million pound regeneration projects divide former coal mining town; Millions of pounds have been spent on revamping the town's quayside and market place - but not everyone is a fan.

Byline: Michael Muncaster

In its heyday Blyth was a thriving coal mining and shipbuilding town.

During the 1960s, it was exporting six million tonnes of coal per year, making it one of the biggest exporters of coal in Europe.

But nearly six decades later, the town once famous for having one of the busiest ports in England is dividing a community.

For some, the [pounds sterling]12m revamp of the quayside, which helped attractthe Tall Ships regatta last summer, has given it a new lease of life.

But others claim it is fast becoming a ghost town as it faces a decline in footfall.

In 2009, the market place was given a [pounds sterling]3m facelift, which included new paving and seating as well as a stainless steel column designed to represent the town's coal mining heritage.

But Graham Atkinson, who runs Crowe and Atkinson Butchers, said: "We've seen a lot of change and more recently there doesn't seem to be the amount of people coming intoBlythas there used to be.

"There's been an awful lot of money spent on the market which people would say has been a waste of money.

"The length of time it took to turn it around meant that people just decided to go elsewhere to Morpeth or Cramlington."

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Collette Brown, who owns neighbouring Lauren Daniel Cakes, agreed the revamp stagnated business for traders.

"The town has had its ups and downs but it has taken a bit of a down turn in the last five or six years, and has gone downhill quite rapidly," she said.

"The regeneration didn't go down too well and we lost a lot of market trade, which brought a lot of people in the town centre. That has not picked back up."

But for business owners on the town's quayside, the mood over the town's prospects is a stark contrast.

The [pounds sterling]12m regeneration scheme created the Blyth Workspace development, which houses 100 jobs, and The Commissioners Quay Inn.

And the eyes of the world were on the Port of Blyth last summer as it hosted the four-day Tall Ships regatta, attracting tens of thousands of visitors.

The Commissioners Quay Inn general manager Dan Evans said: "It was an amazing event and it was the best weekend we've ever had.

"The regeneration of the quayside has been a success as it has created jobs and has given people somewhere to go. It's been a positive for Blyth."

How the Blyth Tall Ships Regatta proved a triumph of long term planning

Lesley Davie, of the Blyth Development...

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