Coble Quay walkway now dependent on ‘complex’ land deal
Work to reopen the public walkway on Coble Quay is now dependent on finalising a land deal with Amble Marina, The Ambler has learned.
At the end of last summer, news emerged that negotiations by Northumberland County Council (NCC) to repair the walkway had progressed, but the project’s scope now included work on a car park currently owned by Amble Marina.
At the time, NCC said they hoped that all the work would be complete to allow the walkway to open in the spring. However it appears the timeline has been pushed back once again.
Land investigations and legal work to transfer part of the Turner Street car park to Amble Marina, are in progress, before repair work on the walkway can go ahead.
📷 A complex land deal between NCC and Amble Marina needs to be finalised before work on the walkway can commence
A spokesperson the NCC told The Ambler:
“The Council is continuing to progress negotiations with Amble Marina Ltd and we have recently carried out ground investigation works at Turner Street to help us better understand the ground conditions as part of a land deal negotiation taking place. This has entailed specialist contractors digging several narrow trial holes and drilling boreholes to take soil samples.
“The information collected is currently being analysed to help the Council understand what the ground conditions are at the site to ensure valuations are appropriate as part of due diligence arrangements to help finalise the land deal.
“The proposed land deal is complex and entails NCC taking ownership of land from Amble Marina formerly used for car parking so that it can be brought back into use as a public car park, transferring part of NCC’s existing car park at Turner Street to the Marina to improve the shape/operational functionality of their boat yard and concluding legal agreements to enable the Coble Quay walkway to be repaired and reopened to the public.”
📷 The Coble Quay walkway has been fenced off from the public for over four years
The spokesperson continued, “Subject to the outcome of the ground investigation works, we will conclude the land deal and associated legal documentation with Amble Marina. Once the legal documentation is finalised, we will then be able to undertake the repair and maintenance works to the railings on the Coble Quay to ensure that the route is safe for the public before it can be reopened.
“Until the legal documentation is concluded we can’t give firm dates for reopening of the Coble Quay walkway, but whilst there has been a slight delay in undertaking the ground investigation works at this stage we anticipate it being reopened by late spring/early summer 2026.”
Investigations by The Ambler showed that the closed section of the Coble Quay walkway is owned by Amble Marina. After an £87,000 government-funded makeover of the area in 2016 as part of the creation of the Harbour Village, a 20 year lease on the walkway land was taken out by NCC to allow public access along Coble Quay. However in 2021 Amble Marina closed the walkway, citing damage to the railings.
Anna Williams
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