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6th August, 2025
The perfunctory approval of the application to build a stark, out of place and domineering Maltings building in the historic centre of Berwick is a decision that will haunt and shame our town for decades.
Far from taking into account its unique and sensitive context, this bland lump of a building has been designed to shout above its ancient neighbours and to push itself arrogantly into much-loved views. Its supposedly “careful choice of materials” is merely lipstick on an ugly pig.
This decision ignores serious warnings from the Victorian Society and the Georgian Group. It ignores the more than 160 objectors – a record for Berwick – and over 1,000 people who signed the petition to improve the design. It casts aside many of the guidelines of the National Planning Policy Framework on heritage, using that ultimate loophole: “public interest”.
Our local heritage bodies have failed to do their duty and insist on a less harmful outcome. Historic England have not only reneged on their stated remit to protect historic settings, they have made the situation far worse by advising the architect to give up on the well-received 2024 pitched-roof plan in favour of what they consider a “more modern design”.
In recent months, the beautiful views of Berwick from the old bridge have featured in at least two national newspapers. They might be said to depict the soul of Berwick. And yet these very views will now be despoiled by a massive block compared variously with a power station, a prison, and a retail shed.
What an utter failure of imagination, of process, of courage, of architecture, and of the will of our own town’s institutions to protect what’s most important and different about it. We had a generous pot of money with which to create something worthy of our amazing town – and instead we chose to inflict permanent harm. This is a dark day for lovers of Berwick’s heritage.
Julian Smart, Berwick Heritage