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What is planned for the Maltings?
Why is this a £5m+ gamble with council taxpayers' money and the viability of the project?
How do I view the plans and comment?
What's the timeline for the project?
What will the effects be on historic Berwick?
How does the proposed design violate planning guidelines?
Do we object to everything in the proposal?
Just how revolted are people by the design?
Has the application been approved?
What groups and individuals are involved?
What is Historic England's role in this?
What is planned for the Maltings?The original 1990s building, designed rather well to fit into the Berwick townscape, will be demolished and a 75% bigger building constructed with facilities including:
"Build and fit out a new state of the art 400 seat theatre as an extension to the existing building, with a significantly enhanced stage and backstage area, fully equipped with industry standard digital projection, and significantly enhanced accessibility front of house and back stage. Suitable for a diverse live programme, large meetings/conferences, and film screenings.
Repurpose the existing theatre and back stage areas into a dedicated and fully soundproofed 2 screen cinema facility, potentially one ‘boutique’ 80 seat space and one larger 150–200 seat auditorium.
Reconfigure and upgrade the studio theatre, meeting rooms and public spaces to be as multi-functional and flexible as possible, countering the many ‘pinch points’ which currently exist, taking maximum advantage of the site’s spectacular and unrivalled views of the mouth of the River Tweed, and locating the venue distinctively in its location whilst maximising visitor and commercial appeal."
Although the heights of the current and new buildings differ slightly along their length, the highest segment of the new building will be about 4.45m above the current building. This can be obtained by comparing the elevations in "EXISTING N AND S ELEVATIONS" and "PROPOSED N AND S ELEVATIONS" on the portal, measuring the elevations, and comparing it with the key given (0-10m).
For more information, see the Maltings site, and the latest December 2025 application 25/04579/VARYCO. The previous, March 2025 application is 25/00792/CCD.
Why is this a £5m+ gamble with council taxpayers' money and the viability of the project?If the build is successful, the result will be an appalling eyesore that will be regretted for a generation before its inevitable early demolition. But as of Q1 2026, the project has reached a critical stage that has the potential to turn into a major scandal, a hammer blow for the Maltings' ambitions, and a disaster for Berwick. Few people realise just what a gamble NCC is taking.
If the December 2025 application is passed, the Full Business Case must be completed before the Borderlands money is awarded. And in order to complete the Full Business Case, a structural survey must be carried out to determine whether the new building can be built on the 19th century base. To do the survey, partial demolition of the existing Maltings building must be done.
There is a possibility that the structural survey will indicate the impracticality or uneconomic nature of the build. The site is a very tight and precipitous one, with a worker from the 1990 build commenting on the difficulty and expense of construction even for the smaller existing building, let alone a larger building when construction vehicles have got bigger.
If the project fails the survey or the Full Business Case, no grant will be forthcoming. Over £5m will have been wasted by NCC on pre-construction work and the existing building will have been rendered useless and at best expensive to restore. What happens after that is anyone's guess, but one thing is for sure: a furious blame game will start.
A more sensible move would be for the project to cut its losses, refurbish the award-winning Maltings building and distribute facilities across town as is currently the case with the Granary gallery, Mob Store cinema, Gymnasium and other sites.
How do I view the plans and comment?For the current application, posted on December 24th 2025, see 25/04579/VARYCO.
Comments and documents for the previous application, permitted on August 5th 2025, can still be viewed on the portal. Please see 25/00792/CCD.
How was the architect chosen?There is now a new architect, NORR, who was apparently chosen by the contractor Willmott Dixon Construction and started in June 2025. But the original architect was MICA, whose commissioning is described below.
RIBA organised a competition with no public scrutiny. Included in the brief were these paragraphs:
"Maintain the town centre position and related footfall and visibility, whilst also creating an architectural beacon overlooking the River Tweed and visible from the Royal Border railway bridge (and East Coat Mainline train route)."
"This project will provide a landmark building and high-profile visual symbol of the impact of the Borderlands Inclusive Growth Deal."
So there was an explicit goal to be highly visible, with the implication that this would override all other aesthetic considerations and be a flag-waving opportunity for the funders of the Borderlands initiative.
The panel choosing the architect consisted of: Ros Lamont (Executive Director, The Maltings Trust), Megan Mullarkey (Project Manager, Advance Northumberland), Euan Macdonald (RIBA Architect Adviser and Partner Hawkins/Brown), Andrew Mowbray (Head of Project Management Advance Northumberland), Damon Barnaby (Project Manager Northumberland County Council). There were no conservation representatives.
The shortlist comprised: Allford Hall Monaghan Morris (AHMM), Burrell Foley Fischer, Carmody Groarke, Mica Architects, Space Architects. All of these architects produce the same genre of uncompromisingly modern designs.
The competition was not public, the shortlist did not offer a sufficient variety of approach, and none of the judges had expertise in choosing a sympathetic design or represented the wider interests of Berwick.
For information, please see our timeline page.
What's the timeline for the project?The history of the project so far is detailed on our timeline page. The application was recommended for acceptance by the planning officer, Jon Sharp, as of 25th July 2025, and the decision to permit the application was made at an NCC strategic planning meeting on 5th August 2025.
However, the planning stage is by no means complete. In December 2025, we discovered there was a new architect who had been appointed in June 2025, and a new application was submitted - see this Northumberland Gazette article. The application is 25/04579/VARYCO.
If passed, partial demolition will take place and a structural survey will done, which will indicate whether the project can proceed further. This will pave the way for the Full Business Case, required for the Borderlands grant to be approved. If either of these tests fails, over £5m will have been wasted and the existing building will have been partly destroyed.
What will it cost?The original cost was put at £17.7m. On January 30th 2025, the Maltings put up a press release stating that the cost of the new Maltings and the Gymnasium refurbishment is now a staggering £28.3m. £25.5m of this will be paid for by Borderlands if the Full Business Case is approved, and NCC will pay the rest.
What will the effects be on historic Berwick?Devastating. Countless views will be ruined, and Berwick will no longer be able to claim to be 'unspoiled'. Our heritage offer will be harder to market, impacting our tourist trade. The captivating view of Berwick from the train will be dominated by a huge, blocky mass with plant on top.
Our conservation area will be substantially and irretrievably harmed, and a precedent will have been set for further inappropriate development.
There will be considerable carbon costs incurred by the new building, compared with renovating and adding to what's already there, which is much more in keeping with current conservation and ecological thinking. In addition, the larger internal space will increase the heating system's carbon footprint compared with a refurbished building. This makes a mockery of their sustainability claims.
You can find more detailed arguments in our objection page.
How does the proposed design violate planning guidelines?This is an assessment by Assistant Professor Ray Elysee of the Department of Architecture and Built Environment, Northumbria University.
Policy STP1 of the Northumberland Local Plan (NLP) sets out the spatial strategy for development in Northumberland. It is my opinion the proposal contradicts this policy and as such should be scaled down. The flat roof box shaped profile should include a more sympathetic roofline using matching or contrasting pallet of materials reflecting the vernacular architectural styles within a historical asset.
Scale, Design and Visual Impact: Policy QOP 1 of the NLP sets out a number of design principles, one of which is that development proposals should not cause unacceptable harm to the amenity of existing and future occupiers of the sites and its surroundings. Quite clearly the humongous box design fails to acknowledge the roofscape and its impact of the neighbouring buildings or how it is viewed, plus the materials specified ignore the principles of the historic values and conservation policies. One could say it’s a cut and paste job of the 1970s Sports Direct building.
Impact on Heritage Assets: Policy ENV 9 of the NLP seeks to ensure that within a conservation area ‘that development enhances and reinforces the local distinctiveness of the conservation area’. Development must respect existing architectural and historic character and cultural associations by considering ‘the design, positioning, grouping, massing, scale, features, detailing, and the use of materials in existing buildings and structures’. This has been ignored, bar the small concession to divide a large box into smaller ones and lip-service to the choice of materials (which was still not finalised in February 2025).
You can find further detail in our objection page.
Do we object to everything in the proposal?No, our complaints are mainly about the unsympathetic, bland, depressing exterior design that makes no serious attempt to reconcile itself with its surroundings. There are countless examples of interesting modern buildings, so it's baffling why this is so dire.
Just how revolted are people by the design?Support measured by NCC's own survey plummeted from 82% to 63% from the pitched-roof design to the flat-roof design that Historic England asked for.
157 people have strongly objected on the planning portal, many heartbroken by what is planned for Berwick.
Over 1,000 people have signed our petition.
The Victorian Society has objected to the proposal: "The introduction of such a disruptive building would completely unbalance this conservation area, harming significance and a key view of Berwick looking East. The design is inappropriate to the Conservation Area; it is not a responsible answer to the character and appearance of Berwick-upon-Tweed. In conclusion, the Society recognises the need for an updated and accessible community hub, but objects to the design and form of the proposal. It is both inappropriate and harmful to Berwick’s Conservation Area."
The Georgian Group have said that the proposal "has the potential to cause considerable harm to the integrity of the historic character of the Berwick upon Tweed Conservation Area".
Are we NIMBYs?No. Everyone who loves Berwick, now and in the future, will be affected. We cannot let the charms of this unique town be chipped away - more than ever, we must preserve our irreplaceable heritage. We would be amenable to a sympathetic development that properly respected the uniqueness and charm of Berwick.
Has the application been approved?The decision to permit the application was made on August 5th 2025 at Morpeth County Hall by the NCC Strategic Planning Committee, after just a few minutes of perfunctory debate. See the meeting details, our speech at the committee, and our statement.
However, the planning stage is by no means complete. In December 2025, we discovered there was a new architect who had been appointed in June 2025, and a new application was submitted - see this Northumberland Gazette article. The application is 25/04579/VARYCO.
If passed, partial demolition will take place and a structural survey will done, which will indicate whether the project can proceed further. This will pave the way for the Full Business Case, required for the Borderlands grant to be approved.
What groups and individuals are involved?The owner of the building, Northumberland County Council.
The Maltings management and trustees.
The original architects, MICA.
The new architects, NORR.
Contractor Willmott Dixon Construction.
Advance Northumberland, who are managing the project. Advance is NCC's arms-length development company.
The Borderlands fund.
The Berwick Town Council in an advisory role.
Berwick Civic Society in an advisory role. Their planning committee is in favour of the flat-roof design. The chair of their planning committee, Brian Gowthorpe, is a former property developer and modernism enthusiast who dislikes what he calls 'pastiche' (apparently dismissing any traditional design in new buildings).
Berwick Conservation Area Advisory Group (CAAG) in an advisory role, including Brian Gowthorpe.
An 'informal advisory group' to the Maltings comprising unidentified members - and Brian Gowthorpe.
Historic England as a consultant.
Conservation officer.
Members of the public.
What is Historic England's role in this?According to gov.uk: "Historic England is the government’s statutory adviser on the historic environment, championing historic places and helping people to understand, value and care for them." They are taxpayer funded.
Historic England (specifically, Martin Lowe) have been involved in pre-application discussions. The architects, MICA, have asserted that Historic England rejected the more sympathetic plan with pitched roofs, and have not objected to the current, highly intrusive design.