Delayed street works to continue over Christmas

Works on a busy city centre shopping street will continue over the Christmas period, a council has confirmed.

Delays to work on Northumberland Street in Newcastle meant construction that was supposed to finish this summer has been pushed to back to early 2026.

Newcastle City Council said the work would not be halted during the holiday season this year, but pledged to "ensure these have minimal impact" festivities in the city.

Thousands of people descend on the city's main thoroughfare every day throughout the holidays, including to take in the famous Fenwick Christmas window.

Starting in December 2023, works have been causing disruption for shoppers for months as new paving is laid and street furniture installed.

The Labour-led authority said it would set out more details about the planned works over Christmas in the coming weeks.

The council said work was taking longer than planned because there had been so many unknowns under the surface.

High-voltage power lines beneath the road required "careful hand-digging" and much of the paving had been laid by hand, it said.

The project is being funded using the majority of a £20m grant from the previous government's Levelling Up Fund.

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