Back to our main Maltings page
Welcome to our Objection Centre! Here you'll find the links and information you need to make an objection to the crass new Maltings design, helping to preserve Berwick's fragile charm.
Anyone can object, wherever they live. Objections are the most important tool we have to send a message to the decision-makers in the council. If you need help or information, don't hesitate to email us on info@berwick-heritage.co.uk or phone us on 0771 670 3490. We can help you with your objection by email, on the phone or in person if you prefer.
Some of the grounds specific to this new design revision (25/04579/VARYCO, December 2025):
Some of the general grounds you might also cite are:
Two sample objections are provided below, and you can see some of the images from the application on our main Maltings page for convenience.
There are three ways you can object.
Method 1: Online. You can object online by clicking on this link: 25/04579/VARYCO. You will need to create an account if you haven't already, and then under the Comments tab, click Make a comment. Be sure to select Objection in the drop-down box. You can find more detail about using the portal below.
Method 2: By email. You can object by emailing the case officer at PlanningComments@northumberland.gov.uk. Click on PlanningComments@northumberland.gov.uk to start writing your email. Please use a subject line similar to: "For the attention of Mr Jon Sharp, Planning Officer, application 25/04579/VARYCO". Then write to Mr Sharp stating that you object to the application, and why. For your comment to be considered, you must include (1) your name, (2) your full postal address, and (3) the reference number or site address of the application your comment is for: 25/04579/VARYCO. NOTE: you may receive a reply suggesting your email comment won't be accepted. Please wait a day or so and check the portal before trying another method, because we believe this comment is spurious, and NCC have previously confirmed to us that emailing is OK.
Method 3: By letter. You can object by writing to the case officer: Mr Jon Sharp, Planning Officer, Planning Department, County Hall, Morpeth, Northumberland, NE61 2EF. Cite case 25/04579/VARYCO and tell Mr Sharp that you object to the application, and why. Be sure to include your name and full postal address, or your comment may not be considered.
Click on 25/04579/VARYCO, and you will see a list of documents. On a computer, there will be tabs for Documents and Comments, which are the important ones. On a phone, you will need to scroll down to see the Comments link.
The list of documents shows the application plans, consultee responses, and comments that were submitted as documents. If a document you are trying to view fails to load, refresh the Documents page and click again on the document (it's related to the way documents are cached).
Click on Register here to create an account, and then you will be able to comment.
We have shared our detailed analysis of the proposal in our report, The New Berwick Maltings: A Flawed Proposal. Although this was written for the previous design from March 2025, it equally applies to the revised design of December 2025.
It includes these chapters:
1. Introduction: Unveiling the Proposal’s Shortcomings | 2. Heritage at Risk | 3. Inadequate Community Engagement | 4. Overstated Economic and Social Benefits | 5. Environmental Shortcomings | 6. Traffic and Accessibility Challenges | 7. Harm to Wellbeing and Tourism | 8. Procedural and Transparency Failures | 9. Conclusion: A Call to Protect Berwick
These are two of the most significant documents, since you may not have time to plough through all of them. Unfortunately we can't link directly to them due to the way the portal works.
HERITAGE STATEMENT ADDENDUM. Taken with the Heritage Statement from the March 2025 application, this gives the applicant's take on heritage impact. As you would expect, it minimizes the harm caused and labels the impact on the conservation area with that classic planning term "less than substantial harm".
DESIGN AND ACCESS STATEMENT. This contains visualisations, some of them thoroughly misleading. Pictures are blurry, one partially obscured by a crane, and many are unrealistically zoomed out. Some have faint red outlines denoting the new building, but you'll need to zoom in 500% just to see them and as visualisations go, these are risibly poor.
DEMOLITION NARRATIVE. This contains some details relating to how demolition will be carried out. It's a sobering read, especially the luke-warm confidence expressed in this paragraph: "The reduction in retained height means the overturning forces on the wall are greatly reduced and brought more inline with acceptable figures."
Don't feel obliged to put anything like this level of detail in your objection, but you might find the samples below a useful reference. Please use your own words, or it may not be counted as a unique objection. Make it as short or long as you like.
A short example: Example 1 as PDF | Example 1 as text
A longer example: Example 2 as PDF | Example 2 as text
You can also view all 150+ objections from the March 2025 application in a combined a PDF document.