City centre office block to be demolished
Newcastle City CouncilA city centre office block is set to be demolished after being covered in scaffolding for the past five years.
Newcastle City Council said most of the office space inside Higham House had been empty for years, and it had determined it was not economical to refurbish the building.
Magic Hat Cafe, which was set up to combat food waste and was said to have saved some 400 tonnes of food from ending up as landfill since 2021, operated from the building, and was obliged to close last year after the council said it would be sold.
The local authority said it will cost about £2m to pull the building down, but said keeping it secure in its current form was also costing money.
Newcastle City Council purchased the building, next to the Laing Art Gallery, in 2011 but found it was "plagued with poor construction materials".
Reviews have now determined it would be "uneconomical" to try and re-use the existing building and the authority is looking at redevelopment options for the site.
The council said it is in talks with one remaining tenant, who will be entitled to compensation, and it is hoped the building will come down by February 2027.
