House For Sale £2,200,000
Situation
Spittal forms part of Berwick-upon-Tweed and is situated on the coast to the east of Tweedmouth, with Spittal beach being considered one of the best beaches in Northumberland, with a family friendly sandy beach, play park, splash park, amusements, café and amenities within the Venetian pavilion. The Victorian promenade stretches along the sea front enabling visitors to take in the North Sea air and views of the lighthouse, the Berwick Elizabethan Walls, Tweed Estuary, Berwick town and the beautiful Northumberland coast. The beach connects onto the Northumberland Coastal Path heading south towards Holy Island and onto the sandstone way, a long distance mountain bike route from Berwick to Hexham. The village has several hotels and guesthouses providing bed and breakfast accommodation, a village shop and a microbrewery.
Berwick-upon-Tweed, incorporating Spittal and Tweedmouth, stands midway between Edinburgh and Newcastle-upon-Tyne, in north Northumberland on the east coast with the Scottish Border approximately 2 miles to the north. The town (population approximately 14,000) remains a traditional market town and also has some notable architectural features, in particular its medieval town walls, Georgian townhall, Elizabethan ramparts and Britain’s earliest barrack buildings. Berwick also has a comprehensive range of shopping facilities and a wealth of leisure and recreational opportunities with a modern theatre and arts centre (The Maltings and sports centre (The Berwick Leisure Centre).
For more than 400 years the area was central to the historic Border Wars between the Kingdoms of Scotland and England and several times possession of the town changed hands between the two kingdoms. This rich and colourful history is illustrated by the coastal castles at Holy Island, Bamburgh and Dunstable with many other priories and abbeys stretching from the mouth of the river along the Tweed Valley. The east coast is famous for its magnificent sandy beaches and steepling cliffs and offers sailing, sea fishing and first class diving for the enthusiast. The coastline also provides rich wildlife and birdlife, proving popular with enthusiasts travelling to the area to view. The area has a number of excellent golf links and inland courses including those at Berwick, Goswick, Eyemouth, The Hirsel and Dunbar. The River Tweed and its tributaries are world famous for salmon fishing whilst there are several local riding schools and numerous countryside walks.
The Site
Spittal Point is in a highly prominent position on the southern bank of the River Tweed at the meeting of the river and the North Sea. It covers an area of approximately 6.90 acres (2.80 hectares). The site has a long history of industrial and fishing related industry and is a brownfield redevelopment opportunity. A prominent chimney remains in the area formerly occupied by industrial buildings and provides a distinctive landmark when viewed from many angles within Spittal, Tweedmouth and Berwick.
There are extensive views over the water from within the site, those north-westward towards the attractive townscape of Berwick and Tweedmouth with the bridges in the distance. The views north-eastwards are of the wide and open North Sea. A grass mound protects the site from the North Sea whilst the sand dunes and Spittal beach are in close proximity to the site.
The sale of this site provides a wonderful opportunity to build a prime residential development on this prominent and unique site with the proposed final developed properties having the benefit of iconic views of the Tweed Estuary, the North Sea and the historic Berwick town walls whilst being located next to the beaches and dunes.
The development is predominantly residential with 136 dwellings and 323sq m of commercial use with public open space and public car park and has been designed by architects Page Park. 134 of the 136 proposed residential units are new build and two are converted from the existing Gas Board villa, comprising of 106 flats and 30 houses in total. The development is a mixture of one and two bedroomed flats as well as two, three, four and five bedroomed houses with an affordable housing mx of 20% being provided, which will include a mix of social rented and intermediate accommodation. The proposal has been designed to sustain a mixed community in this part of Spittal and has very much been designed so the development benefits from the potential outstanding views from this site but also take account of its location within the boundary of Spittal Conservation Area.
Planning
Planning Permission was granted by Northumberland County Council on 18th February 2014 with a Section 106 Agreement agreed on 23 January 2014, as part of the consent the existing Spittal Point carpark will be extended, whilst there is to be a new public open space around the existing chimney. The Consent was subject to 53 planning conditions, the discharge of condition 3 (a programme of phased implementation on approved planning application) was permitted on 8 March 2018 whilst Variation Condition Application covering 10 of the conditions was submitted in February 2018 and decision issued on 31st August 2018 with an updated Section 106 Agreement agreed. The relevant plans, decision notice and Section 106 Agreement are included in the Information Pack with further information available on the Northumberland County Council Planning Portal. Works were undertaken in relation to the access road, including pegging out of the proposed road, the installation of hardcore and the laying of kerbs. The work undertaken has been approved as commencement of works by Northumberland County Council Planning Department confirming the Planning Consent has been crystalised.
Under the Section 106 Agreement the payment of £61,600 will be paid to the Council as a Coastal Mitigation Service contribution and applied by the
Council towards the provision of wardening and associated activity to mitigate the impact of recreational activity on a designated site on the Northumbrian Coast. Under the terms of this agreement there is an agreed site phasing plan.
