Historic hospital building housing plans approved

The listed building dates back to 1701

Proposals to turn an 18th Century hospital into an apartment building have been approved.

The Keelmen's Hospital in Newcastle will be converted into 20 flats, with work set to start next April.

The Grade II* listed building was most recently used as student accommodation, but has been left derelict since 2009.

Tyne and Wear Building Preservation Trust (TWBPT), which is behind the plans, said the renovation would "bring people back into the heart of the city".

The trust, Newcastle City Council and Historic England joined forces last year in an attempt to finally secure a viable future for the at-risk site on City Road.

The Keelmen's Hospital dates back to 1701 and was built as an almshouse to look after the workers who delivered coal from the banks of the Tyne to waiting ships.

The 1,600 keelmen of Newcastle paid for the construction of the hospital themselves by giving one penny a tide from the wages of each crew, totalling a £2,000 collection to provide somewhere that would look after sick and ageing workers and their families.

Shona Alexander, left, says the project will help bring people back into the city centre

TWBPT trustee Shona Alexander confirmed building work was due to start in April next year and the project was expected to take 18 months to two years to complete.

It includes the reconfiguration of the building to create 20 apartments, restoration and cleaning, installation of solar panels, and the addition of a new entrance from Garth Heads.

"It is the most fantastic building," Ms Alexander said.

"It has been there since 1701 and we want to make sure it lives on for another 200 years at least.

"This will bring people back into the heart of the city and bring new life to a building that really needs it. It has been empty for a long time and it is a waste of a really lovely building."

'Centuries of history'

Granting listed building consent for the refurbishment works, city planners concluded that the plans would " secure the long term future survival" of the Keelmen's Hospital.

They said there would be "some elements of harm to the significance of the heritage asset", but that any negatives were outweighed by the public benefits of bringing the vacant site back into use.

Dan Greenhough, the council's cabinet member for economy, jobs and skills, said: "The Keelmen's Hospital is one of Newcastle's most storied buildings and it's brilliant to see its next chapter being written.

"With centuries of history, it's been a huge shame to see this listed building stand empty over the last few years. "

There had been numerous attempts to save the building before the current vision to turn it into affordable housing made progress, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Last year a £437,732 National Lottery Heritage Fund grant was awarded for surveys and design work, with TWBPT hoping to receive a further £4.5m to support the full restoration.