PLANS for a £10m facelift for a city centre shopping complex will be decided today.

The scheme has been tabled by property group Hammerson, which completed the £28m purchase of Monument Mall in Newcastle earlier this year.

Shortly after the deal Hammerson said it was preparing a comprehensive revamp of the centre, which fronts on to Northumberland Street and Blackett Street.

The application, which will go to today’s meeting of the city council’s planning committee, says that despite the mall’s prime spot, it is clear that its vitality and viability has declined markedly in recent years, with many of the ground-floor units fronting Blackett Street vacant and difficult to re-let.

The shop vacancy rate is currently 12.5%, which given the prime location of the site is considered high.

A Hammerson spokesman said yesterday: “We are bringing the whole building back to full retail use, thus ensuring its long-term economic viability and creating jobs.”

The scheme includes changing part of the ground floor to a retail/restaurant use, together with a pavement cafe.

Commercial floorspace would also be increased by infilling voids and other spaces in the mall.

The complex is made up of three elements – the 1992 mock-Georgian stone block, three Victorian listed frontages and the 20th Century unit at the corner with Northumberland Street.

The 1992 block will have all of its mock-timber windows replaced with new timber fixed lights and genuine timber sliding sashes, frameless glazed shop fronts and fabric retractable canopies.

The three Victorian frontages would be given “traditional” timber shop fronts at ground-floor level with new fabric retractable awnings. The Northumberland Street corner would have new contemporary shop fronts.

Planners say: “The modern mall is a landmark development, recognised more for its size, scale and visibility rather than architectural quality, and the focal point of a number of principal views within the city centre.

“Consequently, it has been stressed throughout all of the negotiations with the applicants the importance that any refurbishment acknowledges and respects its sensitive context and is of a very high quality.

“The application will have an impact on many city centre users, but this is considered to be wholly positive.

“The existing building format is accepted as failing and this proposal will provide a much more commercially viable proposition while modernising the buildings with some bold and high-quality physical interventions.

“The proposal will also see significant improvements to the existing listed ground-floor shop fronts.”

The committee is being recommended to approve the plans.

The existing format is failing and this proposal will provide a more commercially viable proposition