We are a group of residents who are concerned about the erosion of Berwick's historic charm.
Infirmary | Maltings | Grammar School
NEW: On 25th September 2025, Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust announced its intention to retain only the bare bell tower - not the main block and two wings that they previously committed to retaining. This broken promise is an outrageous betrayal of the commitments they made in order to get the original application through planning. This is pure tokenism and we will be campaigning against their new planning application. Our Infirmary web page has more information about the building.
NEW: Download and make a model of Berwick Infirmary! 2024 marked 150 years since the opening of John Starforth's Italianate Infirmary, with its landmark tower. The Infirmary follows the H-block scheme recommended by Florence Nightingale, but the NHS Trust has pledged in their Community Hoospital application to retain just the front, as per our model.
NEW: On 8th August, the application to renovate the old Grammar School/Community Centre at 5 Palace Street East, demolish two Grade II*-listed historic ancillary buildings, and build two large, out-of-keeping buildings by the Ramparts, was approved by the planning department. This is despite the county councillor asking the application decision to be called in and made by the local area committee. See our Grammar School web page for more information.
NEW: On 5th August, after only a few minutes of debate the NCC strategic planning committee waved through the NCC's own application (see their meeting agenda). Berwick is set to have its historic centre blighted by a huge, incongruous modernist block, for generations to come. Our statement | More information
We have shared our detailed analysis of the proposal in our report, The New Berwick Maltings: A Flawed Proposal.
As a signatory of our petition puts it: "Berwick is a unique, well-preserved historic town. This Maltings proposal is appalling and unthinkable." See more comments
Check out our song and video Spirit of Berwick, including visualisations of the proposed Maltings building.
"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." The Victorian Society, March 2025
Views from the Town Walls near Ness Gate are set to be spoiled by development in 2025, in the back yard of the Grammar School/Community Centre.
The stonemason's yard car park proposal has now been WITHDRAWN for the second time. We hope that an appropriate use can now be found for the land and the stonemason's workshop, taking advantage of the historic location and wonderful views from the land for the benefit of residents and visitors alike. Thank you to all who helped make the argument against the banality of a car park. Sense has - for now - prevailed! For more details, please click here.
These are three of what we consider to be the most important endangered sites in Berwick at present. Do contact us with information about others.
1. The Infirmary Front
This fragment of the Victorian infirmary was saved after public outcry and a petition in 2016. As many of the petitioners pointed out, this is a landmark that is part of Berwick's heritage and must not be destroyed. However, the NHS have now signalled their intention to break their promise and demolish all but the actual tower. Click here for more information.
Please also see our page about the hospital pods and how their alien presence in Berwick's historic townscape might be mitigated.
2. The historic huts and views from the Ramparts at 5 Palace Street
We are advocating for the preservation of a WWI Army hut and a 1908 Speirs corrugated iron classroom, and avoid overdevelopment in an area solely populated by buildings between 100 and 400 years old. The current views from the walls towards Ness Street are admired and loved by tourists and residents alike, and will be ruined by houses being built in the old Grammar School yard. You can see this site from the what3words location ///stump.danger.soon, near Ness Gate.
The first application was granted permission on 23rd March 2023 (see our statement), and the site sold to Michael Guthrie in 2024, who has put in similar plans. The second application was granted on 8th August 2025. Click here for more information.
3. The Stonemason's Yard, Tweedmouth
The Stonemason's Yard at the southern end of the Old Bridge is in an aesthetically crucial area, yet Northumberland County Council applied to demolish the Victorian workshop documented in the county's heritage list, and build a car park (application now withdrawn). This would have blighted some of Berwick's most beautiful views, continued the process of destroying Tweedmouth's heritage, created traffic congestion, and removed the possibility of a more imaginative solution. Click here for more information.
Find out more about us and why Berwick needs another conservation voice.
Join our mailing list and discussion group!
Check out our Berwick Heritage Instagram account, highlighting the beauty of heritage under threat. See also our Facebook page and our YouTube channel.
Fancy some model-making? Download and make Berwick's WWI Army hut and 1908 Speirs hut in 1:120 scale, or the front of Berwick Infirmary.
You can listen to our heritage songs.