A campaign which protested against the proposal to introduce a car park at the Tweedmouth Bridge End has won its fight. Northumberland County Council has withdrawn its current application for the site at the former Robertson Memorials location.
‘I am delighted that Northumberland County Council has withdrawn the application for a second time,’ said campaigner Clare Raybould, ‘and hope that the strength of opposition from residents of Berwick and the Borders, as well as further afield, will deter the Council from resubmitting for a third time.
‘I am so grateful to everyone who signed the petitions, spread the word and distributed leaflets.
‘People have been very supportive and I am happy and relieved that this has been decided before Christmas. Now we can enjoy the festivities and look forward to the Bridge reopening next year with it’s centuries old setting intact.’
The outcome is a win for Berwick Heritage which states its mission as: ‘seeking to preserve the vanishing beauty of Berwick’.
‘We hope that an appropriate use can now be found for the land and the stonemason’s workshop,’ reads a statement posted on their site ‘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!’
The campaign started up in August when Tweedmouth residents Clare Raybould and John Wilson became aware that plans were emerging to put a 40+ space car-park on the site of the former Robertson Memorials business which was vacated in 2022.
As previously reported in The Bridge, Mr Wilson had become aware of the plan only because he saw works being carried out at the site in 2022.
‘There were no planning papers put up near the location,’ said Mr Wilson, ‘and when one did appear it was in a location which made it impossible to read.’
On the subject of this boost for People Power, Mr Wilson stated: ‘There isn’t enough consultation in the town with the people generally.
‘I think it’s important for the people of Berwick to stand up because we brought something to everyone’s attention that they didn’t know about. But people don’t know how to go about it. If not for Julian and Clare who know their way around these things, I wouldn’t have known where to start. So if something like this is happening most people don’t know how to go about investigating it.
‘First and foremost, people aren’t informed and that has to improve.’
Since the premises were vacated at least three businesses sought permission to lease the site. These include a sculptor’s studio, an architectural salvage yard with café, and a seafood restaurant. All three were refused permission by the landlord, the Harbour Commission. [Edit: The ‘refused permission by landlord’ comment was told to The Bridge by all three potential tenants/owners. Additional research is underway to establish the actual source which gave these refusals.]
Councillor Georgina Hill is NCC Councillor for the area, Berwick East, and sits as a Harbour Commissioner. ‘It seems that NCC’s own planners had concerns about the proposal,’ said Cllr Hill following the withdrawal of the proposal, ‘which, on top of the other difficulties, opposition and lack of agreement with the landowners, meant they pulled the plug.
‘As ever, the communication from NCC has been found wanting.’
Stephen Scott, Chair of Berwick Chamber of Trade and Commerce, said: ‘It is disappointing that Northumberland County Council’s plan to use this land as a temporary car park has been rejected.
‘Though, fully understanding the need to protect our heritage assets, on this occasion I would challenge whether the balance struck between preservation and economic value is the right one. Turning down the proposed investment and the benefits it would have brought seems counter intuitive.
‘I hope an alternative use for this unused and badly kept land can be found soon.’