Pedestrians can once again reach the shops at Hallstile Bank in Hexham, but drivers face an ongoing road closure after work linked to the collapse of a chimney at the Hexham Ex-Servicemen's Club.
Scaffolding has now been removed from the site, allowing the footpath to reopen. The road itself remains closed to traffic, with no immediate reopening date given.
What happened at Hallstile Bank
Hallstile Bank has been shut to vehicles since July 2025, when the club chimney collapsed. The incident damaged neighbouring businesses, including Bob's Barbers and Project Escape.
The closure has affected access to the commercial area while repair work has taken place. The removal of the scaffolding marks the latest stage of the project, but it does not yet mean that traffic can return to the road.
Road reopening still months away
Councillor Trevor Cessford said the work had reached this stage ahead of schedule and welcomed the reopening of the pedestrian route. However, he said internal work was still outstanding.
“I’m delighted to see the scaffolding is now down at the top of Hallstile Bank, and the path to the shops fully open, even more so as the work to this point has been ahead of schedule.”
He added that a skip and work vans were expected to remain at the site for a couple of months before reopening the road would be possible.
“There is still some internal work to be done though, so the skip and the work vans will remain for a couple of more months yet before it will be possible for the road to reopen.”
Northumberland County Council has been approached for comment. Until the remaining work is completed, pedestrians can use the reopened footpath, while motorists must continue to avoid Hallstile Bank.