Big plans for old Chronicle office
1960S PRINT HALL AND OFFICE TO BE PART OF BIG SCHEME
THE former home of the Chronicle, Journal and Sunday Sun is set to be demolished to make way for two new hotels, in multimillion-pound plans revealed by publishers Reach Plc.
The old Thomson House building in Newcastle’s Groat Market was home to the newspaper and website publisher for 53 years until last year’s move to new offices in Eldon Square.
Now, following a lengthy consultation with nearby businesses, residents and heritage groups, Reach Plc has revealed proposals to flatten the site to make way for a £24m hotel and aparthotel scheme, creating almost 200 jobs.
If approved, the 1960s print hall and office building will be replaced by two hotels covering a huge 130,000sqft, with a 198-bedroom hotel, including 10 deluxe rooms, targeting the young, leisure and business market, and a smaller aparthotel.
The 96-studio aparthotel would have standard, large and accessible studios, and the application also includes plans for a restaurant, meeting rooms and a gym.
Reach has appointed Paradigm Property Consultants as development managers together with a full design team including MLA Architects and Lichfields Planning to work with the council to agree planning permission.
The project is expected to create more than 40 new jobs in the hotels and associated facilities, as well as 150 jobs during the 18-month construction phase.
Reach plc and its consultants, together with the city council and Historic England, have consulted at length to evolve a design in keeping with the city’s architectural and historic legacy.
The company began discussions with the council last May and also held meetings with Historic England, using the organisations’ advice to help shape the final design.
Careful consideration has been given to the design of the new development, which will range from four to eight storeys, which has presence on to both Groat Market and Pudding Chare and is within one of the city’s important conservation areas.
Demolishing Thomson House means open and green spaces can become part of the scheme, recreating courtyards that were lost to previous development.
Public consultation took place in December and January, when 100 leaflets, providing images and details of the proposals were delivered to local businesses and residential properties. The leaflets also contained questionnaires, which encouraged participants to provide feedback on the proposals.
The application comes during a multimillion-pound scheme to bring Newcastle’s Bigg Market back to the glory days, in work potentially bringing in more than £41m in investment. The £3.2m Bigg Market transformation plan, backed by the Heritage Lottery Fund and match funding, is now well under way.
Lichfields’ Nicola Woodward said: “We are working closely with Newcastle City Council and Historic England to deliver the right scheme for this historic part of the city. The introduction of the development is designed to help invigorate the area and to complement improvements currently under way in the adjoining Bigg Market.”