Regeneration of the Sleaford Maltings has been approved by North Kesteven District Council.
This is the flagship scheme within a wider regeneration package to help plough more than £100m of private sector money into Sleaford and create 1,000 much needed jobs.
The Council’s Planning Committee last night (Tuesday, April 12) unanimously approved the landmark scheme, subject to the signing and sealing of a legal agreement taking into account a number of key aspects to ensure maximum community benefit.
Once those matters are concluded – which include £168,000 towards local bus service improvements and £82,000 for transport infrastructure, money for public open space and a number of local environmental improvements – Gladedale Special Projects Division can start work on the long-anticipated scheme.
The plan involves restoring, extending, altering and partially demolishing the enormous Maltings complex at Mareham Lane to provide a mixed use development which involves 204 flats, restaurant, retail, office and healthcare space, parking and 24 new houses.
North Kesteven District Council has invested almost seven years in working out the perfect solution for the Maltings complex, which has included support from English Heritage to ensure the original windows can remain in use for maximum architectural impact.
In his representation to the committee, Economic Development Manager Alan Gray said redevelopment of the Maltings was of ‘great strategic and economic significance’ for Sleaford, and that part of the town especially, and would ‘act as a catalyst for wider investment in the town as a whole’.
“The Maltings alone will create up to 500 of the anticipated 1,000 jobs through the significant level of employment space being provided. In addition it creates additional housing opportunities and improves the historic environment by restoring the buildings and bringing them back into economic use,” he said.
“The Maltings scheme is an integral part of the wider Sleaford South East Regeneration project which has schemes which, when taken together, represent the biggest and most economically-significant commercial investments Sleaford has seen since the opening of the Navigation more than 200 years ago.”
Historical, architectural, civic and regeneration agencies have been lining up to support the plans, subject to their suggested amendments to ensure that it was the best possible solution to securing the most viable long term future for the Maltings.
Built in 1907 by Bass and operational through to 1959, the Maltings are Grade II* listed as among the top 10% of listed buildings in the country. They are uniquely significant in terms of scale, technological innovation, exceptional build quality and their impact on the landscape.
They were protected from demolition in 1982 when then-owners Padleys applied for demolition following a serious fire in 1976 - at a time when the complex was used for chicken rearing and processing frozen vegetables.
The confidence shown in the project by the Council and partners who have worked hard through detailed negotiation to achieve this successful solution was praised by Members of the Planning Committee.
The conservation consultant said in his response that he ‘considers that the value of these buildings and their national importance has been recognised within this application; with provision for life and vigour to return to ensure the future of this complex.’
Extensive measures have been taken to preserve as much of the iconic building as possible, with Block 1 conserved completely intact, parts of the industrial architecture retained as heritage displays, original iron windows preserved with financial support from English Heritage, repair and retention where possible and only partial demolition of fire damaged blocks to house parking.
English Heritage’s Clive Fletcher has been the case officer on the maltings – the largest of all buildings on English Heritage’s Buildings at Risk register – for five years and told Councillors, “I can’t tell you what a pleasure it is to be here discussing reuse of the Bass maltings as many of us thought this would never happen.”
“Because of this building’s significance as the largest maltings in Europe it has been a great priority for English Heritage to bring it forward for re-use. From a number of false starts we have come to this high quality scheme for maximum use of each of the nine blocks and we are very glad to see a developer willing to take this building on in such a way,” he said.
There are also requirements to build in facilities for the conservation of ecology which also uses the 6.3 hectare site, including bats, birds and Common Lizards.
