City flats scheme ‘threat to views’

May 8 2008 by Paul Loraine, The Journal

A PUBLIC inquiry began yesterday into plans to build a 13-storey block of flats which would threaten one of the most celebrated views over the River Tyne.

Taylor Wimpey appealed against the decision of Newcastle City councillors after they rejected the application for an 80-apartment block where the Ouseburn meets the Tyne in November last year.

Yesterday, representatives from the local planning authority and the developers put forward their arguments to independent planning inspector John Gray at the Ouseburn Regeneration Centre in Spillers Quay.

One of the biggest concerns is that views of the Tyne Gorge, which regularly appear in tourist guides and were featured in a recent TV show on Britain’s favourite views, would be at risk.

Ian Ponter, representing the planning authority, said: “The appeal site occupies an important position in public views that are enjoyed by significant numbers of people.

“The views that they enjoy currently are valued highly.

“Equally there is no doubt that the appeal proposal will cause a dramatic change in many of those views.”

Mr Ponter also argued that the plans were in conflict with planning policy, particularly the requirement for a proposed building to be appropriate to its context.

“The height and the scale of the proposed buildings will neither integrate nor complement the appeal site’s surroundings,” he said.

“The external treatment of both residential and office buildings exacerbate rather than mitigate that effect.”

Taylor Wimpey’s proposed block of flats would include a cafe and gallery at ground floor level and would sit alongside the office block, a restaurant, newsagents, and a new public square.

The developer says the scheme would breathe new life into a derelict site and provide around 320 jobs, plus 100 during construction.

Peter Village QC, representing Taylor Wimpey, said the scheme “seeks to continue and foster the standards of design excellence that have transformed Newcastle into a forward thinking, innovative and exciting place to work and live”.

“It will take forward the critical redevelopment of a derelict and important site for the future benefit of the Quayside and the wide regeneration of the Ouseburn area which is the natural next stage in this city’s evolution.”

The inquiry hearing continues.

Long battle

THE public inquiry is expected to last six days and is taking place at the Ouseburn Regeneration Centre on Spillers Quay.

Among those expected to make representations are Newcastle Central MP Jim Cousins, staff from the Free Trade Inn on St Lawrence Road, and the Ouseburn Trust.

The public inquiry will bring to an end a long-running battle over the development of the Quayside’s east end. The saga goes back as far as 1996, when new guidelines for the redevelopment of the area were drawn up.

Consecutive applications by Wimpey Homes for a 12-storey residential building on the site were withdrawn following opposition in 1998 and 2000. Then, in 2001, plans for a 32-storey block of flats were put forward but they were dropped three years later after further protests.

A new application was submitted in spring last year but was rejected by Newcastle City Council’s development control committee in November.

After the public inquiry, the inspector’s recommendations will go to Communities and Local Government Secretary Hazel Blears for a final decision.