Don’t delay, urges developer
SAYS QUAYSIDE PLANS WOULD GIVE ECONOMY £50M BOOST
DEVELOPERS of a controversial housing plan on the Newcastle Quayside have hit back at criticism from its potential neighbours.
The ‘Plot 12’ scheme, which would see almost 300 flats built on a vacant patch of riverside land, has been branded a “blight” on the Quayside by opponents.
But one of the firms behind the development says the city “needs it to come forward as quickly as possible” to give the Tyneside economy a £50 million boost and help create more than 900 jobs.
Bosses at Packaged Living launched a defence of the plans, which have been redrawn to slightly reduce the size of the building and move it 1.5m further away from the St Ann’s Quay building next door.
Neighbours are said to remain “universally opposed”, and Packaged Living joint managing director Mark Woodrow believes developers “realised from day one” that nearby residents would not back the building.
He said: “We have made a lot of changes to the building, which a reasonable person would feel is fine.
“We recognise we will never get the guys next door completely comfortable with this development, we really realised that from day one.”
He added: “They live next door to what is now an empty site but it was never intended to be an empty site, in the masterplan it is another builtout development like St Ann’s Quay.”
Mr Woodrow added the proposed 13-storey building is “in-keeping” with the Quayside and said that a smaller development for the vacant Plot 12 site, at the eastern end of the Quayside, would not be viable.
Dozens of objections to the 289-apartment block have claimed that it is too big, would block light to neighbouring buildings, and damage views of the Tyne from the Grade I-listed St Ann’s Church.
Packaged Living and builders Robertson have removed a “nib” from one corner of the building, which Mr Woodrow says will mean
there is a “clear view” of the church from the other side of the river. The developers are also pledging to build a ‘pocket park’ on City Road, which Newcastle City Council is yet to make a decision on.
Fears have been raised over the impact of hundreds of new residents moving into an area that suffers from traffic congestion and parking short
ages. But developers say that they do not expect demand for parking, with the main target market being graduates and young professionals, and have pledged the rented apartments will be affordable for locals.
Mr Woodrow said: “The city cannot be delayed on a £50 million investment and £4 million of revenue spending every year by the people who live in this building. I think the city needs it to come forward as quickly as possible, especially in the currency economic environment.”
Louise Richley, director of St Ann’s Quay Management, said the revised Plot 12 designs remain “a colossal building that is utterly disproportionate for the area”, calling the amendments “token gestures”.