Gateshead quayside arena complex 'overbearing' hotel relocated

A major hotel development opposed by nearby residents as being "monstrously overbearing" is to be relocated, but not because they complained.

Part of Gateshead quayside's new £300m arena complex, the 11-storey hotel would have left their flats feeling "like a Victorian prison", they said.

A park is now planned for the site, with the hotel moved behind the arena.

Peter Bauckman, who lives in the nearby Baltic Quays flats, said the redesign was "really, really good news".

The site "always should have been used" as a park, he said.

Developers Ask Real Estate and Patrizia UK said the changes were being made due to "operational and constructional reasons" and not in reaction to complaints, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

The proposed riverside complex, with arena, conference centre, hotel and restaurants, was granted planning permission in 2020.

Gateshead Council approved a larger version of the hotel in March.

However, the escalating cost of the development has prompted the authority to ask the government for £20m in Levelling Up funding.

It has insisted the complex will still be built despite concerns inflation would force designs to be scaled back.

The council said the new design was "more cost efficient".

A spokesperson said: "The combination of the green space and the campus being heated by heat from local mine water will aid Gateshead Council's target of achieving its net zero target."

The new dual-branded Novotel and Ibis hotel would be nine storeys tall and have 344 bedrooms.

It would sit on vacant land at the corner of Hawks Road and Quarryfield Road next to a 1,000-space multi-storey car park currently under construction and alongside the conference centre and 12,500-capacity arena, which will replace the Utilita Arena.

A public consultation will be carried out on the revised plans.

Sage PLC has bought the naming rights for the new complex, meaning the existing Sage Gateshead music centre next door will have to be renamed.

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