Metro station’s underground pub plans hit buffer
SITE BACK ON THE MARKET AS MICROPUB DREAM FAILS
HOPES of opening a micropub inside Monument Metro station have collapsed.
Exciting plans approved in 2019 would have seen the city centre station’s disused ticket office undergo a dramatic transformation to create The Waypoint, an underground taproom that it was hoped would become the ideal place for commuters to enjoy a post-work pint.
But the site has now been put back on the market by Tyne and Wear Metro operator Nexus, after the Covid pandemic led the previous developers to abandon the subterranean bar idea.
Nexus confirmed it was now in a “detailed stage of negotiations” with another potential occupier who could bring the empty travel shop back to life.
It had been hoped that The Waypoint, located at the heart of the Metro’s busiest stop, would have replicated the success of pubs located inside Monkseaton and Tynemouth stations.
It was billed as possibly the country’s first underground pub and would have served a selection of local beers.
A Nexus spokesman said: “The plans for a micropub in the former Nexus travel shop at Monument Metro station in Newcastle have unfortunately fallen through during the pandemic.
“The vacant unit has since been placed back on the market and we are currently at a detailed stage of negotiations with a local retailer.
“There will be an announcement once this is all confirmed.
“Monument Metro station is a prime city centre location with amazing footfall. We are keen to see the unit back in use as soon as possible as we look to build back from the impact of lockdown.”
The travel shop at Monument has been shut since 2015, while all of the six remaining ticket offices across the Metro were closed down last year.
Sam Beldon, whose family were behind plans for The Waypoint, said in 2019 that it would be “the best place in Newcastle to pop in for a pint on your way home from work”.