Art groups back revamp of hall but English Heritage has worries, Teesdale Mercury

Plans for the multi-million pound renovation of Barnard Castle’s Witham Hall have been backed by two arts organisations.

The hall’s trustees want to transform the 19th century building with proposals for a new cinema, events spaces, café, food hall and more.

The Highlights Rural Touring Scheme and the National Rural Touring Forum (NRTF) have both written to support the plans, which have been submitted to Durham County Council.

Highlights, which works to make the arts accessible in isolated areas, organises many events at The Witham Hall. In a letter to the county council, Highlights’ co-director Barbara Slack said the organisation is “excited” about the plans.

“Having seen the plans for the restored existing building – particularly the new performance space – I feel I really would like to say how excited we are at the prospect of having a well-equipped venue to take Highlights performances,” she said.

She also said the existing hall at the Witham presents problems for visiting theatre companies, with no wings, no backstage area, no fly tower and no facilities for projection or adequate lighting.

The stage is too high and infrequently used for Highlights performances for this reason, she added, and the high ceiling means that the acoustics in the hall are also “very problematic”.

“The hall – and particularly the stage – is quite simply not adequate or appropriate for contemporary needs,” she said.

“I am confident that The Witham will end up with a well-appointed space, which will be ideal for a full range of performances and events.”

Ms Slack said she hoped the council would approve the plans, resulting in a “more vibrant town”.

The NRTF, which represents rural touring schemes and arts development agencies, has also given its support for the project.

“The development can only mean an enriching or artistic, cultural, social and economic opportunities for the residents of Teesdale, County Durham and visitors from further afield,” said John Laidlaw, chairman of NRTF.

“For a market town such as Barnard Castle to have the opportunity to have a new performance space, venue for events and gatherings, as well as a cinema, cafes and a commercial food hall and exhibition area will undoubtedly give Barnard Castle the economic, cultural and social boost it needs and deserves.”

Mr Laidlaw also said he gives his “whole-hearted endorsement” to Ms Slack’s comments regarding the “shortcomings” of the existing hall and the advantages of the proposed new development.

But English Heritage has added its voice to concerns over the planned demolition of the Victorian music hall to make way for the new facilities. “On the basis of the information supplied, we do not believe that a convincing case has been made to support demolition,” said Dr Robert Young, English Heritage’s North East regional adviser. 

“Demolition of the hall would, in our view, lead to substantial harm to the significance of the listed building.” Dr Young also said English Heritage has concerns about the impact of the proposed new building in the conservation area.

He said there is a “clear tension” between the character of the surrounding area and the “box-like form required to house the new uses”.

“We believe that the impact on the conservation area could be reduced by ensuring a contemporary, contextual design of the highest quality,” he added. Concerns over the demolition of the music hall have already been raised by the Architectural and Archaeological Society of Durham and Northumberland, local residents, and a county council conservation officer.

l In last week’s paper, the Mercury mistakenly named a county council conservation officer as Matthew Gibson. Mr Gibson is in fact a case officer dealing with the Witham application. The conservation officer who wrote the report on the plans is Bryan Harris. Apologies for this error.