ENTREPRENEUR Sir John Hall has set out his hopes for how he can help restore his home town’s fortunes to its heyday in the 1950s and ’60s.

The millionaire property developer and former Newcastle United chairman says the first task in revamping Ashington town centre is to improve how it looks, and upgrade the quality of its shops.

He says garish shop window signs, and deteriorating retail facades, make parts of the former pit town look cheap, and lacking the attractiveness required to bring in more investment and business.

Sir John says Ashington currently has a “wonderful opportunity” to improve its high street because of the multi-million pound development of a new leisure centre and associated retail and commercial facilities at the former Asda supermarket site.

But he says it is vital that the development is carefully planned, integrated and linked to the main shopping street, so as not to cause further damage to the retail heart of the community.

Three months ago it was revealed that Sir John had agreed to serve as independent chairman of the recently-established Ashington Town Team, which was set up as part of the Government-commissioned Mary Portas review of high streets.

The team includes the town council, local shopkeepers, landlords and residents, and will play a key role in developing plans and proposals to revitalise the town centre.

It is now meeting regularly, and its next step will be to carry out a survey of local retailers to get their views on how the transformation can begin.

Yesterday Sir John, who was born in North Seaton, said he wants to see Ashington restored to its heyday of the 1950s and ’60s, when it was a thriving retail and social centre.

He said: “We need to have a plan and that is why we want to get the retailers involved by letting them know that the Town Team is working and has great enthusiasm.

“We are about to appoint a town centre manager and are working very closely with Arch, the development company who are working on the new leisure centre and retail scheme near Asda. It is very important that whatever they do down there doesn’t disadvantage the main street.

“It is clear that Ashington needs some better shops and to get the overall quality up. It also needs tidying up. Some of the shop facades have been allowed to get too wild with signs and things, which cheapens the shopping street.

“I would like to see alleyways, with small businesses in them, linking the shopping centre to the car parks and the new leisure and commercial development.

“We have a wonderful opportunity for the town at the moment but it needs to be thought through. The new development must act as a catalyst for the improvement of the high street.

“We’ve got to get the standards of shops and signs up and say that this is not good enough for Ashington any more. If I didn’t think we could change things for the better I wouldn’t stay on the Town Team for another five minutes.”

Town council chairman John McCormack said: “It is absolutely tremendous that Sir John is chairing the Town Team.

“It is getting talked about in the town. The process which has now started involves improving what we already have here, get the quality up, improve the shopping experience and attract better shops in.”