On 4 November 2026, full council will meet and will be asked to approve a £2.6m loan to prop up the Maltings. This is only part of the additional money NCC is having to find due to entirely predictable increases in costs for the cramped site at Eastern Lane.
If you are a Northumberland resident or visitor to Berwick, please email Julian at info@berwick-heritage.co.uk if you would like to sign this open letter to Northumberland councillors, to urge them to seriously consider refurbishment for the existing Maltings building. This has been estimated by NCC at £11m, and yet they are not presenting it to councillors as an option. For more information on the Maltings cost fiasco, see our blog.
Please put something like "Maltings letter signature" in the subject, and then in the message body, you can put your name followed by your town. If you live outside Northumberland, please add something like "Berwick visitor". We will make a short video too: please let me know if you don't want your name mentioned in the video.
The letter and video will be made publicly available on this web site and social media a week or so before the meeting on 4 November.
Please do sign as it is the last chance to stop the financial and aesthetic train wreck that is the new Maltings build.
Note: letter wording may be tweaked slightly but nothing substantive.
Dear Councillors,
We, the undersigned, respectfully urge you to take action and save your constituents from a financial black hole, at the same time saving Berwick from terrible harm to its prized skyline.
We would be grateful if you could spare a few minutes to watch our video:
(video link to be inserted)
This is the last chance to pull back from a version of cultural regeneration that damages Berwick’s existing culture severely, debasing a glorious, free-to-enjoy historic vista with a pay-to-play blight.
You have been persuaded that the damage to Berwick’s conservation area is small. This is untrue. The Victorian Society warns that the Maltings design is not a responsible one for its context, and the Georgian Group concurs. 150 objections and 1,000 petition signatures show that the project is highly divisive: “the ugliest building I’ve ever seen” as one councillor observed.
Not only will the current plan damage Berwick irrevocably, demoralising many of its inhabitants and imperilling its appeal as a historic destination, but it will inflict unacceptable costs on all of Northumberland’s hard-pressed residents. NCC’s contribution to the project has already gone from £2.8m to £7.5m, and further hikes are almost inevitable.
Subcontractors have quoted high bids because of the extremely difficult site knowingly chosen by NCC. The economic case for the spiralling capital costs and daily maintenance spend is becoming increasingly hard to justify.
The existing, award-winning Maltings building can still be brought back to life with far lower cost, risk, and disruption to businesses in the town. NCC themselves have estimated this at £11m. Borderlands has rescoped projects in the past where difficulties have arisen, and it can do the same here. A short delay will still be cheaper than ploughing ahead with the current plan.
You are not being presented with all the information you need to make a proper decision. On 4 November, please:
1. Ask for the deferral of the £2.6m loan decision.
2. Ask for the cost of subsidising the Maltings due to the construction delay, and who will pay for it.
3. Ask for details of the estimated £11m refurbishment.
4. Ask NCC officers to negotiate a Maltings refurbishment grant from Borderlands.
Thank you.
Yours sincerely,