A 14-storey residential building design has been criticised as 'bland' by a planning inspector who deemed the idea 'not worthy' of Newcastle's Quayside.
The tower was set to provide 249 buy-to-rent apartments after being granted planning permission at appeal in 2022. However, the Planning Inspector has since refused the proposal. The initial permission was quashed by the High Court and the decision was upheld by the Court of Appeal.
The Quayside has received extensive and successful redevelopment since the 1980s. Despite the appeal site being a "notable gap" according to Inspector Nick Fagan, the design and scale of the proposed tower does not fit with the site and its surroundings.
Given that the appeal site is a "prominent location" with a "unique and special context", the proposed building is unsuitable Fagan concludes.
It was also found that a “moderate degree of less than substantial harm” would be caused to the grade I listed St Ann’s Church and grade II listed Sailors Bethel chapel, and a low degree of less than substantial harm would be caused to the city’s Central Conservation Area.
If the proposal went ahead, it would limit daylight for residents of neighbouring properites and also fail to meet national standards for internal floorspace.
Fagan, in dismissing the appeal, disagreed that the proposal would deliver a high quality development, arguing instead that “the proposed building would not be well designed, would not respect its context and would not be worthy of this important site”.
