More than 400 people so far have signed a petition objecting to the proposed Bridge End parking plan with twenty-five objections from the public on the county’s planning portal. And the situation has even inspired a song! Campaigners plan to have a public meeting in due course.
The proposed car park, which is being applied for by Northumberland County Council, is on land belonging to Berwick Harbour Commission at the former Robertson Memorials site. The proposal will require demolition of two buildings including a sales office which once housed sculptor, John Wilson’s workshop. This history has inspired a song. Listen here.
A 41-space gravel car park on the site is envisaged between Berwick Bridge and McGregor Court and is intended to compensate for suspended parking at The Maltings car park on Eastern Lane while works on the theatre complex are underway next year.
‘Momentum is gathering to stop this crass development in one of Berwick and Tweedmouth’s most sensitive and iconic locations,’ said campaigner Dr Julian Smart. ‘Objections on the planning portal include a comprehensive take-down from Berwick Civic Society, backed up by their own surveys of parking demand. [To identify the commenters documents must be downloaded.]
‘Berwick’s Conservation Area Advisory Group have also objected on conservation, wildlife, pollution and congestion grounds, among others. Print media and radio have taken an interest.
‘Residents intend to meet near the site next week to demonstrate against the plan and distribute leaflets. We hope that the application is withdrawn before any more money and time is wasted.’
Dr Smart has posted a song about the potentially doomed workshop on his Berwick Heritage site – berwick-heritage.co.uk
Another campaigner, former Berwick Town Councillor, Clare Raybould who lives next to the site said: ‘I’m very heartened by the huge response. NCC’s Planning Portal page can be found here: Car Park planning application
‘Please, if you haven’t already done so, go onto the page and make your views known. The more of us who object on the site, the better the chance that we will succeed in stopping this development.’
Mrs Raybould added that the Planning Officer has now extended the consultation deadline, ‘having finally got round to putting up planning notices close to the site.’ The new deadline for objecting is 26th September, with a statutory ‘determination’ (ie decision) date of 16th October.
‘Cllr Georgina Hill tells us that she has asked for the decision to be taken by Councillors rather than staff, so if this is granted we will let everyone know when the Councillors’ meeting will be held and where. Anyone who has commented on the website or in writing to the Planning department will (we are told) receive a letter telling them of the committee date, and how to register to speak at the meeting. You have to register, you can’t just turn up and speak on the day!
‘We’ve also seen a fantastic response to the petition onchange.org. Please make your voice heard by signing the petition.
‘We need to demonstrate the strength of feeling in the town, so we can’t be easily dismissed. The Council need to hear us loud and clear. It’s far too easy for the Councillors and staff to say that it’s only a small group of people who object otherwise. It’s easy to lodge an objection, but if people don’t want to give their names and addresses on the planning portal, the petition offers an alternative.
‘Thank you to everyone who has got behind the campaign so far. This weekend sees the start of the hugely successful Heritage Open Days (6th to 15th September) run by a team of dedicated volunteers. Let’s hope that when 2025’s Heritage Open Days come around we’ll be celebrating the preservation of Tweedmouth’s heritage.’
‘The proposed addition of an extra 41 parking spaces in Tweedmouth will be a welcome boost for local businesses and the wider economy of the town,’ said Stephen Scott, Chair of Berwick Chamber of Trade and Commerce.
‘New car parks in town aren’t always popular, but they are necessary to provide local independent businesses a chance to succeed when they are increasingly competing with retail parks and online shopping.
‘The new car park if approved could also provide an incentive for new businesses to start up in the area of Main Street, Tweedmouth.’
Georgina Hill, Northumberland County Councillor for Berwick East, and a Berwick Harbour Commissioner, said:
‘As the local member, I have asked for this application to go to Committee and not just be decided by planning officers. Over and above the planning process, I have also asked for a wider public consultation, on the use of the land and will be having further discussions both with the Council and the Harbour Commission.’