Willmott Dixon Lines Up £29m Berwick Maltings Theatre Revamp

Willmott Dixon is poised to land the £29m transformation of Berwick's Maltings Theatre after Northumberland councillors backed its appointment this week.

The cabinet approved the construction deal, subject to full council signing off extra funding and the decision clearing call-in. The wider project bill has jumped £7.7m to £36m, with a November start targeted if the revised funding package gets the green light.

What will the revamped Maltings Theatre contain?

The Eastern Lane revamp will bring the main theatre, café bar and dining areas onto one floor, improving access and making the most of views across the River Tweed.

Lower floors will be reworked to create a main cinema and a smaller boutique screen, with direct access from Shoe Lane. A rehearsal room, a meeting room and further public spaces will sit above the main theatre level.

The plan consolidates a venue that currently splits its offer across levels into a single, legible public floor anchored by the riverside prospect — the single most consequential spatial move in the scheme.

How will the £36m budget be funded?

The funding stack combines regional growth money with council resources:

• £28.5m from the Borderlands Inclusive Growth Deal, accepted by cabinet
• £2m from Northumberland County Council's strategic regeneration budget, also committed this week
• A further £2.6m through borrowing, which full council must still approve

The overall budget also includes temporary facilities at Berwick Barracks to keep Maltings activities running during the build. That contingency means the venue avoids a dark period while its Eastern Lane home is gutted and rebuilt.

When will construction start and finish?

Preliminary works are planned for November, followed by main construction in the new year. The transformed venue is due to raise the curtain in spring 2029.

The timeline gives the project roughly four years from cabinet approval to reopening, reflecting the scale of structural rework involved in stacking cinema, rehearsal and public functions within the existing building envelope.

What happens next?

Two gates stand between this week's decision and a signed contract: full council must approve the £2.6m borrowing element, and the appointment must clear the call-in window. If both pass, Willmott Dixon mobilises for preliminary works in November, and Berwick gets its reimagined cultural venue — one floor, two cinemas and a River Tweed outlook — by spring 2029.