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

Event - Step into Priory's history (Newthorpe)

PEOPLE are invited to step into the past on a series of walks in Newthorpe this Sunday.

Performers will portray historical figures linked to Beauvale Priory.

Each performer will lead a walking tour of the area through their own perspective – as villagers, the king's commission and the lady of the manor, among others.

Tours will last about 30 minutes and will start at regular intervals between 11am and 4pm.

People can take part in as many tours as they like.

The tours are all outdoors and walkers are asked to wear suitable footwear.

The event is part of Eastwood Arts Festival.

For more information, call Broxtowe Borough Council on 0115 9173695.

From: http://www.thisisnottingham.co.uk/Step-Priory-s-history/story-13033706-detail/story.html

News - Nottingham University saves DH Lawrence centre (Eastwood)

A £100,000 grant from the University of Nottingham will help save an embattled heritage centre dedicated to author DH Lawrence.

The future of Durban House in Eastwood, Nottinghamshire - where Lawrence collected his miner father's pay - has been in doubt for three years.

University spokesman Karen Cox said the centre would be used for summer schools, lectures and exhibitions.

It will continue to be run by Broxtowe Borough Council.

 

"We have been working with Broxtowe Borough Council on this for years… through lectures and the annual DH Lawrence Festival," Mrs Cox said.

"We want to do more work out in local communities. We will look to use Durban House as a base to work with local schools and colleges." 

The university has a collection of Lawrence's letters, photographs and writings.

Day-to-day operation of the centre will remain with the council, which will restore Saturday opening to make Durban House more accessible.

Durban House was built in 1896 for the Barber Walker mining company which employed Lawrence's father.

It has exhibits on the author's life and copies of his most controversial book, Lady Chatterley's Lover, as well as photographs and displays on Eastwood.

The DH Lawrence Centre was visited by more than 30,000 people in 2009 but cost about £150,000 a year to run.

Lawrence, who studied at the University of Nottingham from 1906-08, was born in 1885 in Eastwood. He died in 1930

From: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-12829228