Newark and Sherwood District Council approve plans to carry out security and safety improvements and upgrades at the Grade II* listed National Civil War Centre on Appletongate, Newark

Improvement works to make a Newark tourist attraction more safe and secure were unanimously approved.

Newark and Sherwood District Council have submitted plans to carry out a series of improvements and upgrades at the National Civil War Centre on Appletongate.

The proposals include upgrading eight internal doors to FD60 fire doors, as well as providing bespoke security shutters to two other doors to the Grade II* listed building.

Upgrades to internal and external CCTV would also be made, with additional cameras, external security lighting, and a new improved means of escape from the attic.

Repairs will be made to the building’s main entrance and stone canopy to the former Magnus School which has eroded.

The proposals seek to carefully cut out and replace sections of the existing stone with new Lincolnshire limestone to match existing size and profiles.

The plans would also see an improved means of escape from the attic, with the existing vertical ladder, not deemed safe to use, replaced by a new internal stair, and installing additional internal and external CCTV cameras and the installation of new external security lighting.

Newark Town Council’s planning committee offered no objections, but did express a concern about the appearance of the security shutter as they had previously objected to similar applications in the town centre on the same grounds.

Historic England stated that advice should be sought from the Council’s conservation adviser.

Newark and Sherwood District Council discussed the plans at its planning committee meeting on Thursday night, where Business Manager Lead Oliver Scott explained that the council wanted to protect the area’s important historic finds.

“Security measures are quite important,” he said, “The shutters and bars across the windows…we’ve tried to balance being sympathetic to the building but also being obvious that these are security measures.

“It’s a difficult one and conservation have notified harm, but its a low one and we’ve weighed up the need for it.”

Chairman Andy Freeman asked Oliver about the look of the shutters, and if they were in keeping with the rest of the building.

Oliver pointed out that shutters were being used in the Victorian era, and that conditions were in place to make sure that the shutters did match the surroundings of the existing building.

“We’ve had an issue with the cameras, how do you make security cameras look ‘olde worlde’?

“But we’ve favoured the small dome types, it’s a difficult one but there are conditions in place to control that.”

It was recommended by officers that the plans are approved — which they were unanimously.