News - Campaigners plead for time in fight to save the Maltings (Beeston)

BEESTON Maltings looks set to be demolished, but campaigners are still working to save it.


They say the building will be razed on May 7 and are asking for more time to explore all options for the site.

Barbara Selwood, of Beeston and District Civic Society, said people should have their say over plans to demolish the building.

An application for demolition has been registered with Broxtowe Borough Council.

The council has said it cannot refuse permission to demolish the building, which has stood for 133 years. It was closed in 2001.

Mrs Selwood said: "It feels as if a lot of this is being rushed and we would like more time to get councillors and members of the public on our side.

"We have done what we can and we want to make sure everyone has the chance to raise an objection if they want to see the Maltings kept in their current form. I don't want the building left to rot, but I want to see all the alternatives explored – it's important the building has a use."

She said she was considering lobbying for an article four direction for the site – which would give the Maltings more protection against development.

The orders, which have to be sent from councils and confirmed by the Government, are intended to protect high quality architecture and preserve heritage.

The East Midlands Association of Civic and Heritage Societies (EMACHS) has also criticised the plans.

Advisor Ian Wells said: "They stand proudly opposite the Victoria Hotel – two fine Victorian structures together.

"These buildings form a group at the west end of Beeston Station and they contribute together very well to the streetscape, and indeed to the view as seen from a train– they contribute importantly to the railway setting.

"Although the Maltings was refused listing by English Heritage, the building still remains of immense local importance – there is potential for a discreet and sympathetic enabling development elsewhere on the site.

"The Maltings, adapted sensitively for new use if necessary, must stay."

Mr Wells said EMACHS would want the developer to keep the 'helter-skelter' feature on the north side of the building.

David Jones, a spokesman for Heineken, previously told the Post that the Maltings had been redundant for many years and that demolition was the best way to end the constant safety and security problems associated with the building.

From: http://www.thisisnottingham.co.uk/Campaigners-plead-time-fight-save-Maltings/story-15848163-detail/story.html

News - Beeston's 'Treasured' Maltings buildings under threat once again

BEESTON will lose a "treasured part of its heritage" if plans to demolish the old Maltings buildings go ahead, it has been claimed.


Broxtowe Borough Council is being asked to approve plans to demolish the 133-year-old buildings in Dovecote Lane, next to Beeston Station.

The site has been earmarked for demolition in the past, but recent attempts to build homes at the site have been opposed by people in the town and subsequently withdrawn.

Barbara Selwood, of the Beeston and District Civic Society, said that any plans to demolish the building would be extremely unpopular.

She said: "I am really shocked about the plans – we have fought to save the Maltings before and I am sure the society will come together to fight the plans again.

"The buildings have a strong part to play in Beeston – they really are a treasured part of its heritage and I am keen to see them stay.

"I would like to see the building brought back into use."

The Maltings were closed in 2001, and at the time of its closure was one of the few traditional floor maltings left in the country, where grain was spread across large floors to germinate over days.

It produced malted barley used by breweries in Notts and further afield.

In 2009, plans submitted to Broxtowe Borough Council to demolish the site to make way for 55 new homes were withdrawn, and the Beeston and District Civic Society attempted to get the buildings listed by English Heritage.

This bid was unsuccessful, and a recent attempt to include the building within a conservation area – which would give the it greater protection against alteration and demolition – also failed. David Jones, a spokesman for current site owners Heineken – which has applied for permission to demolish the building – said: "The maltings at Dovecote Lane have been redundant for many years.

"Over the last decade, the four-storey building has become unsafe and unsightly and the building has been a target for many acts of theft and vandalism, which have used up valuable police time.

"We believe that demolition offers the most viable way to end the constant safety and security problems associated with the building."

The plans will be discussed at a future meeting of the development control committee at Broxtowe Borough Council.

From: http://www.thisisnottingham.co.uk/Beeston-s-Treasured-Maltings-buildings-threat/story-15644055-detail/story.html