Berwick News
Northumberland Development Company Purchase Berwick’s Cowe Buildings
22 May 2013
Cowe buildings in Bridge Street to be repaired and restored.
Arch, the Northumberland Development Company, has purchased the Cowe buildings on Bridge Street, Berwick upon Tweed.
The properties, owned for generations by the Cowe family, include the original Berwick Cockle Shop as well as the premises of the wholesale business, which both closed in 2010.
The condition of the listed buildings has deteriorated since Wm. Cowe & Sons ceased trading. The first priority will be to carry out essential repairs to make the buildings wind and watertight.
These works, which are estimated to cost around £750,000, will be funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) and supported by English Heritage as part of the Berwick Townscape Heritage Initiative (THI).
Once the urgent repairs are under way, a working group led by Arch will bring forward a plan to secure the long-term future of the Cowe buildings, looking at development options including residential, retail, food, tourism and artists' workspace.
Peter McIntyre, Arch Group Managing Director said: "The Cowe properties are an important part of Berwick's history and we would like to see these wonderful buildings back in use and contributing to the regeneration of the town's economy. There has been a real revival in the fortunes of Bridge Street in the past couple of years, and we see the restoration and reuse of the Cowe buildings as completing the picture.
"Particular thanks are due to the Cowe family and officers from Northumberland County Council, who have worked together in partnership over a number of years to secure the HLF funding and the future of these important buildings in the Town."