Residents in Berwick have described the town's new hospital, which is costing tens of millions to build, as a “disaster” and say it should be torn down. The NHS has admitted the building will need to be stripped back to its structural steelwork after inspections found the work carried out so far was not up to standard.
Construction problems and contractor collapse
Modular construction firm Merit was initially contracted for the project, but the company collapsed into administration in late 2025. New contractors Robertson have been working with Northumbria Healthcare to determine what needs to be done for the scheme to progress.
The hospital is being built on the site of the current Berwick Infirmary, which dates back to the Victorian era and was once dismissed by NHS bosses as ‘unsuitable’. As late as September, the trust’s Executive Director of Estates and Facilities, Damon Kent, said that “the external, as you see of the build” would remain “in place”.
After several months of inspections by Robertson, it has been decided that much of the work done so far – including internal systems such as mechanical and electrical systems, pipework, internal walls, the external façade, and the steel frame system – will need to be removed and replaced. Only the main structural steel work will remain.
Impact on costs and residents
NHS bosses have told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that the additional costs are currently unknown. However, it is likely to impact the trust’s wider capital project and could require additional funding from NHS England or the Department for Health.
Tom Young, 78, whose house on Low Green backs onto the new hospital build, described living beside the construction site as a “nightmare” and said he felt the building should be torn down. He said: “It’s rotten to the core. It’s a national scandal, but it’s a personal anguish.
“It is never out of our minds. You wake up in the morning, and there it is – there’s workers leaning on the rails looking directly into our bedroom window and into our garden.
“For a long time we didn’t want to go into the garden because we felt we were being overlooked. We have suffered for years because of this.
“I’m 78-years-old and this has destroyed years of my life. To build that monstrosity there – they have said it is a hospital for the 21st century, but its a 19th century site.
“If it was torn down, we would have a party. It’s heart-breaking, we’ve put everything into this house.
“How much is it going to be to put it right? Had they built it on a site that was suitable, as a conventional build, it would have been finished. It has completely failed.
“The anger is keeping me going. I will never let it go – it’s totally unjust. There’s a lack of accountability and they have all got something to answer for.
“The NHS is supposed to make you better, but they’ve made us ill.”
Mr Young said he raised concerns with the NHS about the work at the site, including the crushing of materials that caused air pollution, cranes oversailing his garden without permission, and the proximity of the building to the rear garden wall. He also pointed out that insulation installed but not weatherproofed had turned green and black, while cladding panels had buckled and pigeons were seen entering the building through unfinished sections.
Access to the site has proved extremely difficult, with narrow streets leaving some wagons carrying modular elements of the hospital trapped for hours at a time.
Tom’s wife, Hilda, added: “We’ve put our hearts and souls into this house. We loved the house and we loved the garden – it was perfect.
“We want to move away because of what has been done, but we’re totally trapped because we can’t sell it – certainly not until it’s finished, and now we’re told it’s another two years.
“We came down here for a quiet life. We would love it to be torn down.”
NHS response and future plans
The area, known locally as the Greenses, housed generations of local fishermen and their families and is part of the town’s conservation area. It is known as a “fishing village within the town” and has protections for its “character and architectural style” under Northumberland County Council’s planning policies.
Speaking exclusively to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Damon Kent said: “The development is built in line with the planning consent. I know there’s issues that some of the residents have raised, but I think that’s more to do with planning.
“We will look at appropriate frosting of windows and landscaping around the back. We were just getting into that – that will still happen.
“We remain in close contact with residents. I think everybody in Berwick feels the pain of this, it is very difficult.
“What I would say is Robertson are a professional outfit. They’re already helping us with support and dialogue with residents.
“A significant majority of people were in favour of putting it on the current site. It was the same when we got planning consent – we had unanimous approval from the planning committee. All of these things came back and said that the best site for a mixture of reasons was the original site.”
Mr Kent also admitted costs were certain to rise with the additional work needed. He said: “There have been questions about how we got Merit lined up to do this – there was a full process ran and the use of a framework. They were appointed after a full competitive process.
“We feel we have been let down by Merit. We feel that they didn’t run a business as they should have done.
“Robertson are a large-scale contractor and they have dine a lot of healthcare work. They’re well-known and very well-established.
“We have got to take some of the work out that Merit has left us with. It’s not complete and not up to the required standard of the scheme.
“Hospitals have a particular standard and we haven’t seen that standard. The hospital doesn’t have to be demolished, but people will see the removal of the internal work and we have go to do something similar with some of the façade – there’s elements that need to come off.
“You get one chance to build a hospital, we have to do it right and we have to do this properly. This is public money.
“We have got absolute confidence in the new contractor. They are very established and have a proven track record. We can rebuild from a stable footing, it has to be done properly.
“There will be added costs. We still need to work some of that through – the trust are reworking their capital investment and we are hoping for support from NHS England or the Department of Health.”
The trust’s Executive Director of Nursing and Midwifery, Marion Dickson, who lives in Berwick, insisted the new hospital would be an improvement on the one it replaced. She said: “We are getting oncology services – we haven’t had that for a number of years and with cancer targets it is very important that we get that. We want to continue bringing new services in.
“There’s lots more that we can do that we wouldn’t have been able to do a few years ago. We want to bring some other services that are very technological.
“We want to provide local services for local people, but they must be safe.”
Northumbria Healthcare will hold a public drop-in information session at Berwick Town Hall on Wednesday December 9 and will confirm and share details closer to the time.
In a statement, Mr Kent added: “We thank everyone who is involved in progressing our new hospital and special thanks go to our colleagues working in the existing infirmary. They have shown steadfast resilience and continue to provide excellent patient care.”
While the original Merit Group collapsed into administration, a new construction venture was launched by former directors and investors known as Merit Industrialised Construction. The Local Democracy Reporting Service contacted Merit for comment, but did not receive a response.
