Long-running riverside flats plan rejected

Plot 12 seen from inside the neighbouring St Ann's Quay

Plans for a 14-storey riverside apartment block, which have been the subject of a lengthy battle between developers and opponents, have been thrown out.

The decision to reject designs for the Plot 12 site on Newcastle's Quayside is the latest verdict in a legal fight lasting years.

Rejected by the city's council in 2021, the proposals from Packaged Living and Robertson Property have since been subject to two public inquiries.

Now, a planning inspector has decided the building "would not be worthy" of the site.

The council and local residents welcomed the latest decision, which took almost six months to be delivered.

It followed an inquiry held last November, which was the second to be conducted into plans to build 289 apartments.

The developers' barrister Paul Tucker argued Plot 12 had been "crying out for development since Margaret Thatcher was prime minister".

He said: "The site has lain undeveloped for decades.

"It is risible to suggest that this site is anything other than complex, there is no better scheme waiting in the wings and there is no perfect scheme that will please everybody."

'Not beautiful'

The legal fight saw critics describe proposals as "monolithic" and raise concerns over its impact on the landscape and residents of the neighbouring St Ann's Quay.

The plans to build on the prominent stretch of land on the Quayside were initially blocked by Newcastle City Council in 2021, but granted permission by the planning inspectorate a year later.

That decision was in turn quashed in the High Court, with its judgement later upheld in the Court of Appeal.

November's inquiry was run in front of a different inspector.

In the decision published last week, Nick Fagan said the site deserved a "well-designed building worthy of its unique and special context".

He added: "I appreciate that this is not an easy task, but the building proposed in this appeal is not that building.

"There is no reason why the proposed building must be taller than St Ann’s Quay, or otherwise grandstand itself.

"It would not, in my opinion, be beautiful."

The developers said the project would support hundreds of jobs and boost the economy during construction.

However, Mr Fagan said the economic advantages of the scheme did not outweigh its negative consequences.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service has attempted to contact developers for comment.