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Ulster Architectural Heritage has criticised a recommendation by Newry, Mourne and Down District Council officers to approve a property development at the Mill site in Bessbrook. The project is on the agenda at tomorrow's 4 November Council Planning Meeting.
The charity says the proposal does not reflect the local, national and international significance of the mill and village and is calling on councillors to consider alternatives, including a possible UNESCO World Heritage Site bid.
The organisation said it was “shocked and appalled” by the recommendation. It points to the planning submission background papers, which it says set out in detail the importance of the Bessbrook Mill and village, the worldwide reputation of its linen, and its technical and manufacturing innovation and expertise.
In a statement to the press UAH highlighted the Quaker principles of the mill’s founder, John Grubb Richardson, which put workers’ health and welfare first, many decades before state systems were introduced. It says his ideals paved the way for philanthropic industrialists such as the Cadburys and Titus Salt, and that UNESCO’s New Lanark and Salt’s Mills should have been looked at by the council as examples of how to make the most of industrial heritage.
The organisation claims the council and the Historic Environment Division of the Department of Communities have disregarded the potential of the site in favour of a generic property development that it says would suit a bland urban suburb. It says the recommendation rests on a flawed premise that approval is the only way to save the mill’s heritage, and argues that this removes the potential for sustainable economic and social benefit for both the council area and the community.
Ulster Architectural Heritage has linked the proposal to wider concerns in the Newry area. It described the ongoing degradation of the Newry quays, which it says were once of at least national importance and are now beyond redemption as a heritage asset after decades of bad planning. It said Bessbrook has also suffered through development above the mill and inappropriate approvals in the village, along with what it called a total failure by the council and the department to ensure the mill was maintained by its owners since the Ministry of Defence left in 2007.
The organisation suggests that now is the time to step back and consider other options before it is too late. One it puts forward is a bid for inclusion on UNESCO’s list of potential World Heritage Sites, based on a transnational Quaker settlement involving Ireland and the UK. It pointed to the Gracehill project in Co Antrim, which it says has been universally applauded, and said a Bessbrook plan would be on a much greater scale because of its industrial heritage.
UAH also said it found it hard to understand why a council with a Nationalist majority of councillors had not viewed Bessbrook as shared history. It said the pre-partition mill and village are as much a part of important Irish history as British, and that the Quaker movement crosses all borders.
The organisation concluded: “It can only be hoped that councillors, even at this late stage, will view approval of this application as a catastrophic and irreversible mistake and provide space for consideration of alternatives.” It added that it would be happy to engage.
Ulster Architectural Heritage is a charitable, non-profit membership organisation founded in 1967. It exists to promote appreciation, preservation, conservation and sustainable re-use of historic architecture in the nine counties of Ulster. Its main activities include campaigning and lobbying, support and advice, publications and events. It works with the Historic Environment Division of the Department for Communities to record and promote the conservation of listed buildings at risk. More information is available at www.ulsterarchitecturalheritage.org.uk
