CENTRE FOR JOBS
1,100 posts to be created as £200m conference centre gets go-ahead
MULTI-MILLION pound plans for a conference centre that would provide a jobs and tourism boost for the North East are finally set to come to fruition.
A £200m scheme being outlined today by Gateshead Council would see the operators of the Metro Radio Arena in Newcastle move south of the Tyne to instead run a 12,500-seater venue capable of staging concerts, exhibitions and conferences on a site between the Sage and the Baltic.
The project is estimated to support more than 1,100 jobs, half of them newly created, bring nearly 300,000 visitors to Tyneside each year and add £29.5m into the area’s economy.
News of the scheme comes more than seven years after Gateshead Council bought a former warehouse site behind the Sage, with the intervening years having seen a number of setbacks in the attempt to build a conference centre on the site.
Now the council has formed a partnership with property developers Ask Real Estate and investment group Patrizia UK to finally make the plans a reality.
A 10-acre site directly opposite the Millennium Bridge would be developed to include an entertainment arena, conference and exhibition centre, hotel, bars and restaurants, creating a vibrant new entertainment area between Gateshead’s town centre and its quayside.
Gateshead Council leader Martin Gannon said: “We’ve wanted to regenerate and revitalise this key site on Gateshead Quays for a long time and internationally recognisable facilities of this scale has always been our long term aspiration.
“Not only will they bring new life to the area but they will bring new jobs and significantly boost the local and regional economy. An arena and conference and exhibition facility will also play an important role in complementing and strengthening demand for national and international conferences, exhibitions and events at Sage Gateshead and Baltic, as well as acting as a catalyst for wider investment across Gateshead and further stimulating economic growth.
“We’re now more confident than ever that we can finally push forward with our exciting plans for this £200m development site. Working closely with our development partners, SMG Europe, local partners and the private sector, it really is time to give the North East another landmark destination and complete the picture of this truly unique, riverside site.”
Funding from the development will be shared between the private developers and the council, along with a grant from the North East Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP).
A key piece of the development would see arena operators SMG Europe closing its current site on Tyneside, the Metro Radio Arena in Newcastle, and moving to the new building around 2021.
It is not clear as yet what would happen to the current arena site, though Newcastle City Council has plans to build on the success of the Stephenson Quarter behind Central Station by extending development along the River Tyne.
SMG’s executive vice president of European operations John Sharkey said: “We’ve for some time been looking at increasing our presence in the North East. The Gateshead Quays development site is truly a unique location which will offer visitors a whole new experience.
“Our new entertainment, conferencing and exhibition facilities, standing shoulder to shoulder with Sage Gateshead and Baltic, will, we firmly believe, further cement Gateshead Quays as a popular and stunning world class cultural destination, whilst bringing significant benefits for the whole region as well as Newcastle and Gateshead.”
Gateshead Council has been working with Ask Real Estate and Patrizia UK on the development since June 2015 when they were selected as preferred developers.
Ask Real Estate managing director John Hughes said: “This is a very exciting and iconic development site, not just in the North East, but in the UK. We’ve done a lot of work to get to this stage but now’s the time to push ahead and help make this development site a reality.”
Patrizia’s head of development Daniel Williams said: “We believe
that this campus style development holds the potential to unlock a great deal of value and income for the local area.”
The conferencing and events industry is already worth an estimated £1.9bn to the local economy, with events at the Sage and other venues attracting thousands of highspending business visitors.
Sarah Stewart, chief executive at the NewcastleGateshead Initiative said: “While we consistently ‘punch above our weight’ as a conference destination, plans to develop a dedicated conference and events space on Gateshead Quays is fantastic news and will significantly enhance our ability to attract larger, conferences exhibitions and events to NewcastleGateshead from across the world.
“We have long-championed the need for a purpose built conference and exhibition centre and this exciting development will help to fulfil our collective ambitions and drive further growth for the local economy.”
Abigail Pogson, managing director at Sage Gateshead, said: “These new facilities will be a tremendous boost to Sage Gateshead, building on our international reputation and success in music and hosting major conferences.”
Andrew Hodgson, chair of the North East LEP, said: “These new and exciting facilities would help the North East attract many more major exhibitions, conferences and cultural events helping to boost the regional visitor economy and create hundreds of new jobs all of which supports the growth ambitions set out in the North East Strategic Economic Plan and the vision of Gateshead Council to establish Gateshead Quays as a first class destination.”
Newcastle City Council’s cabinet member for inclusive growth Coun Ged Bell said: “Clearly having a state-of-the-art conference centre on Tyneside would be important to the local and regional economy, particularly in relation to wider benefits that business tourism brings, and help to strengthen our ability to host world-class conferences and large scale events.
“The Quayside, alongside the iconic Sage Gateshead and Baltic Centre, may provide a solution to this, and while we consider the future of the arena site, we are clear that our ambition is to continue to be a leading tourist destination.”