Near-empty tower block demolition planned

The Percy House office block only has one tenant

A developer wants to knock down a section of a city centre office block which has just one tenant.

Percy House in Newcastle, between St James's Park football stadium and the Eldon Square shopping centre, is "not up to modern standards", according to developer Hanro Group.

It has applied to the city council to demolish an eight-storey section of the building, retaining the smaller section of the building facing onto Percy Street.

The group said it wanted to redevelop the site.

"The majority of the building is not up to modern standards for city centre office space and given its condition and appearance, the applicant considers that redevelopment is more appropriate than refurbishment," a statement from the developer said.

If permission is granted, lorries going to and from the site would avoid using Strawberry Place on football matchdays, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.