FORESTRY England has applied for listed building consent to carry out maintenance works at Kielder Castle Visitor Centre.

Kielder Castle is a grade II-listed building.

The work proposed includes repairs to the external walls and replacement of windows to the east and west outer elevations of the two storey wings.

If the application is approved, the work will entail repointing of the walls, stone mortar repairs, cleaning of moss from stone, rebedding gable parapet copings and resetting ball finials, and replacing isolated failed stone components.

Some of the building’s windows will also be refurbished and painted, and they plan to replace failed mortar filled joints between the window and stone surrounds.

A design and access statement submitted to Northumberland County Council with the application said: “The nature of the work will require to be carried out by a specialist Conservation Contractor familiar and experienced with the constraints imposed by the materials and construction of a historic building of this character.”

A heritage statement added the purpose of the works is to “carry out essential repairs to the fabric of the property to arrest further damage and deterioration to the interior”.

The appearance of the building will remain the same.

In August 2019 a Building Survey and Planned Maintenance Programme was carried out by RNJ Partnership, and Forestry England plans to implement the repairs recommended over a planned period.