44 Westgate wins planning consent
26 February 2008
New £30 million office development in the heart of Newcastle city centre
Centreland, advised by King Sturge, has received approval to begin working on a new £30 million office development, 44 Westgate, in the heart of Newcastle’s city centre.
Located two minutes away from Newcastle Central Station, 44 Westgate, designed by careyjones architects, will provide flexible office space in this prominent and lively city centre location. The design provides a modern building which is respectful of its location. The new building’s use of natural materials ensures 44 Westgate complements in a contemporary manner a number of important and listed buildings close by, whilst enhancing and improving the urban landscape of Newcastle’s city centre.
Surrounded by eight listed buildings, the Westgate site is located in one of Newcastle’s eleven conservation areas. Due to the historic nature of the site, the design team from careyjones and Centreland undertook a number of workshops with English Heritage and Newcastle City Council to ensure the final building would provide practical, modern office accommodation, which sits respectfully amongst its neighbours in one of the city’s most sensitive sites. Westgate House, one of the site’s previous residents, had regularly appeared in the ‘10 Most Ugly’ buildings in the UK and was finally demolished in February 2007.
“Replacing the former Westgate House, 44 Westgate will undoubtedly enhance the urban landscape of this area of central Newcastle. The building’s natural sandstone frontage will sit comfortably in its surroundings, contributing to the rich diversity of architecture in the area.” said Mike Harris, Director of careyjones architects.
Centreland Group added: ‘We are delighted the proposals for 44 Westgate have been approved. careyjones has put together an innovative design of the highest quality that takes into account the sensitive nature of the site and the surrounding environment. We are confident the scheme will make a major contribution to the regeneration of this important area of Newcastle’.
King Sturge, appointed sole agents for the development, has assisted with the design of the occupational specification which will provide 65,000 ft² of flexible, open plan office space across five storeys and a 4,200 ft² retail/restaurant element on the ground floor. In light of the impending government legislation due to come into effect in April, the building is designed to be highly energy efficient and is expected to achieve a ‘very good’ BREEAM rating for its green credentials.
Sole agent for 44 Westgate is King Sturge.
