Former Flynn’s bar on Quayside to reopen as jazz venue
A RUNDOWN riverside eyesore is set for a major revamp.
The former Flynn’s bar building on Newcastle Quayside is poised for a transformation into a late-night jazz bar in plans submitted by North East leisure firm Pub Culture.
The Grade II-listed building at 63 Quayside closed down many years ago when the heyday of the Quayside fun pub was long gone and the current resurgence in popularity of the area was yet to start.
But a new lease of life for the building was pledged in July 2016 when plans were submitted to convert the into a bar and restaurant by North East Theatres Trust Limited, which trades as the Live Theatre.
The operator of the bar wasn’t known at that point – but now it has emerged that Pub Culture, a relatively new Sunderland company, plans to run it as a jazz bar.
Pub Culture has not been running for long, having officially incorporated in October 2016, but the directors behind the business, Richard Buckley and Andrew Burnett, have a wealth of experience in development and regeneration, as founding directors of Sedgefield development consultancy Buckley Burnett Ltd.
The leisure firm now owns and runs several North East venues, after launching into the industry following work on behalf of Sunderland’s Music, Arts and Culture (MAC) Quarter to transform two Sunderland pubs, The Dun Cow and The Peacock.
Pub Culture, which is backed by North East businessman Paul Callaghan, also runs the pub/restaurant in The Fire Station and The Dun Cow in Jesmond, Newcastle, formerly named The Brandling.
The leisure firm plans to run the building as a jazz bar, opening from 11am to 1am every day, where bands will be able to perform on the mezzanine floor. There is also a plan to turn two residential units on the upper floors into hotel accommodation.
Ainsworth Spark Associates, based in Summerhill, Newcastle, has been enlisted to oversee the design of the refurbishment, which would potentially include a pavement cafe. Buckley Burnett – which also delivered the multi-award-winning LiveWorks building for Live Theatre – has submitted a planning statement as part of a listed building application, saying: “The objective of this refurbishment will be to bring the property back into use as a bar, while retaining the current floor levels.
“The site is in a highly sustainable citycentre location and the proposal would bring these long-standing vacant premises back into use.
“The submitted proposal has been carefully considered to reflect both the history of the site and the Conservation Area, together with balancing the operational needs for a viable business.
“The proposed alterations to the Grade IIlisted building are considered to sustain the historic, aesthetic and communal significance by bringing the ground and first-floor levels of the building back into a viable use, which in turn will support the economic vitality of the area and make a positive contribution to local character and distinctiveness.”
Bringing the building back into use would provide the final piece of the puzzle to transform that area into a thriving cultural hub.
Newcastle’s Live Theatre’s bought the Quayside land and buildings to create LiveWorks – a development of commercial office space, a public park and a children and young people’s writing centre.
The £10m project was backed by the North East European Regional Development Fund as well as loans from Newcastle City Council and the North East LEP.