Woman that opened Keel Row in 1991 locks up on the Blyth shopping centre's last day

The shopping centre was locked up for good on the evening of Tuesday, February 20 after its final tenant, Bonmarché, had its last day trading in the town.

Northumberland County Council now plans to demolish Keel Row and redevelop the site.

Ivy Lear, now 74, was one of two centre managers in post when Keel Row opened its doors in 1991, alongside her colleague Norman Johnson. She was there to turn the key for the final time and look back on the role it played in her life.

She said: “It was very sad. A lot of memories. When I first started there, Norman introduced me to the head of operations for the security company and, a year later, he and I were married.

“I was his third wife. He must be fond of wedding cake. And we were together 20 years before he died.”

Ivy’s memories of the centre’s early years include a mishap with the regular testing of the fire alarms, wherein she once forgot to press the button to disconnect the alarms before testing them, resulting in the fire brigade being dispatched.

A notice was put up as a reminder to press the button before beginning the test, only for Norman to make the same mistake the following week.

Ivy said: “[The firefighters] were very good. They said at least the system works. So from then on we never made a mistake.”

Ivy’s memories of Keel Row’s opening include an Elvis impersonator performing and a radio station broadcasting from the bustling Market Place outside.

She said: “It was really busy. We were going to get dressed up in fancy dress, but we literally did not have time to.”

She also recalls the mayor at the time, Eric Tolhurst, describing Keel Row as “the jewel in the crown of Blyth.”

In her time working at the centre, which lasted a year and a half before relocating to her new husband Geroge’s hometown of Darlington, Ivy recalls there being a Wimpy, originally intended to be a McDonald’s before the fast food chain opted to open in Cramlington instead.

She also remembers long lost brands such as Radio Rentals, Adams Kids, and John Menzies newsagents, as well as New Look, Superdrug, and Bonmarché, which stayed at the centre until its last days.

Ivy said: “Norman and I used to laugh because, especially on a Saturday, we used to brace ourselves to try and get out the office door because there were so many people going backwards and forwards. It was unbelievably busy.”

Now, however, Ivy is less optimistic for the town than she was in Keel Row’s heyday, and worries about the lack of options for buying clothes. Only Card Factory has so far relocated elsewhere in Blyth after leaving the centre.

Ivy said: “The place is absolutely dead. It was not too busy to start with, but the fact that the Keel Row Shopping Centre has closed, the place is dying.”

She added: “It is just so sad that something so big and so central to Blyth is just gone.”

In July, the county council announced it had purchased the centre from Northumberland Estates, the Duke of Northumberland’s property company, and that only 25% of available floor space was providing rent.

The council also announced it would be demolished, and that their takeover had prolonged the life of the centre for a few more months. Vacant buildings 3-5 and 7-9 Bridge Street have also been acquired by the council and will be demolished alongside the centre.

Demolition is expected to begin as early as May. The site will then be redeveloped as part of the £90m Energising Blyth programme.

The preeminent proposal for the site involves building a higher education centre, to be named the Energy Central Institute, which will be focused on skills training and research in support of the renewable energy sector.

The council currently forecasts that planning permission for this will be secured by November 2024 and that the building will be ready for the academic year starting in September 2026.

Other suggestions for the site have included a hotel.

Councillor Kath Nisbet, who represents Croft Ward, said: “This is a very sad day for me but also an important one to mark because the centre has been a vital part of the life of the town for many years.

“I would like to thank all the businesses that have traded from the centre over the years and I know many residents will have fond memories of it in its heyday.

“I would also like to thank Trevor Gyllenspetz and the management team at the centre who have kept the centre going in tough times over recent years.

“I am looking forward to seeing positive development of the town centre in the coming years as part of Energising Blyth and with building work now underway on a new and exciting offer for the town.

"Blyth continues to have a range of excellent businesses so please keep visiting and spending time in our town, which has lots to offer and even more to come as new investment delivers improvements to the area.”

Work is also underway on a three screen cinema and cultural venue opposite the Keel Row site, as well as improvements to the Market Place, under the Energising Blyth programme.

The regeneration scheme is funded by central government, the county council, and North of Tyne Combined Authority.