Newcastle city centre development schemes given go-ahead

"New life" will be breathed into historic buildings after two multimillion-pound developments were given the go-ahead in Newcastle.

Councillors backed a £30m plan for a four-star hotel, bar, restaurant and nightclub wrapping around Grey Street, Mosley Street and the Cloth Market.

An £11.5m proposal by a second firm will see the disused Pilgrim Street fire station become a five-star hotel.

Councillors described the developments as "exciting".

The more expensive proposal, by the Malhotra Group, will see the refurbishment of several listed buildings and the demolition of two non-listed sites, and the creation of three separate roof terraces.

One terrace will include a swimming pool as part of a new health club.

The council was told the project would create 500 jobs.

Malhotra Group chairman Meenu Malhotra said it would enable the firm to "preserve some of the city centre's most historically important buildings that otherwise might have been lost forever and breathe new life back into them".

Byker councillor Stephen Sheraton raised concerns about the rooftop pool turning into a "party land" if nightclubbers had access to it, but council officers confirmed it could only be accessed via the hotel's health club.

Councillor Ged Bell, cabinet member for neighbourhoods and transport, described it as an "imaginative scheme" that would bring empty properties back into use.

Balmbra's music hall, which dates back to the mid 1800s and is referenced in the Geordie folk song Blaydon Races, will be turned into a function room.

The project attracted objections from rival developers the Ladhar Group, and from the Stonegate Pub Company, which claimed noise complaints from hotel guests could affect Flares nightclub.

The proposals were backed unanimously, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said, as were plans for the former fire station.

That building has stood empty since 2005. It will become a 60-bed hotel with a restaurant, bar and pavement cafe.

The scheme was put forward by Taras Properties, the development vehicle of the billionaire Reuben brothers, who previously tried to buy Newcastle United, and forms part of their wider plan for the regeneration of Pilgrim Street.

Kenton councillor Stephen Lambert said the project was an "exciting development" at a time when the hospitality industry had been badly hit by the coronavirus pandemic.

Councillors were told conversion work would take about 18 months to complete, bringing with it about 200 jobs.

Objections to the scheme were lodged by nearby St Andrew's Church, which raised concerns about late-night noise, and one member of the public who claimed the hotel was "a badly thought-out plan".

It was, however, supported by heritage organisations including Historic England and the Northumberland and Newcastle Society.

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