Go-ahead for £60m scheme after switching from residential to hotel and apartments

Liverpool-based developer Elliot Group has today (November 6) received planning permission for its £60m hotel and residential scheme adjacent to Gateshead’s new waterfront arena.

Its original plans for a mid-rise apartment tower were scrapped in response to the opportunities presented by the Gateshead Quays project which will see a new arena, convention centre and associated leisure offer built on a neighbouring site between the Sage and the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art.

“Gateshead Quays is a game-changer and we amended our original proposals in light of its progress,” said director Elliot Lawless.

“I’m delighted with the approval and we’re very much looking forward to playing our part in the area’s on-going regeneration,” he added.

Planning permission has been received to build a 202-bed 4-star hotel, 244 apartments, and a rooftop garden with views over Newcastle city centre.

The plans have been drawn up by Liverpool architects Falconer Chester Hall and are designed to exploit the views afforded by the area’s sloping topography, explained architect Martin Haymes.

“The scheme is stepped at 10, 16 and 21 storeys to exploit the stunning views across the river towards Newcastle’s skyline. It’s an utterly absorbing view,” he said.

The new scheme is valued at £60m and could create up to 50 jobs when fully operational.

The design of the scheme takes advantage of its location on the corner of Mill Road and Hawks Road to offer a tapered form redolent of New York’s famous Flat Iron Building.

It will include two ground floor commercial units to ensure an active façade at street level.

The planning consultant for the project is Zerum.