A pub boss has been left overwhelmed by the “incredible” scale of objections to widely-denounced plans for a massive tower block at the mouth of the Ouseburn.
City planners have revealed the size of the public backlash to developer PfP-igloo’s designs for an 18-storey apartment complex on the Newcastle riverside.
The huge tower proposed for the vacant Malmo Quay site has been likened to a cheese grater and a “Soviet” structure, while major concerns have also been raised over aspects of the development that would see more houses built on neighbouring Spillers Quay and the popular Cycle Hub demolished.
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After a deadline for public comments on the scheme passed on Thursday, Newcastle City Council confirmed that it had received roughly 1,500 responses – less than 10 of which were either neutral or in support of the proposals.
The Free Trade Inn has been rallying opposition to the controversial scheme, fearing the tower would dominate the East End skyline and block out the pub’s famous view of the Quayside.
Manager Mick Potts said of the overwhelming response: “It shows the strength of feeling out there. There are lots of different issues being raised by people as well, it is quite incredible to see the range of reasons that people are worried about this development.
“A lot of people have probably become aware of this because of the impact on our view, but as it has gone on there have been bigger implications that have come through – from the future of the Cycle Hub, to noise issues, and what it means for the Spillers site. It has been incredible to see the breadth of opinion.”
As well as the 223ft tower, which would be one of the tallest buildings in the city and contain 62 apartments, the proposals feature another 13 townhouses and two duplex apartments on the disused Malmo land, plus up to 73 homes in a set of buildings up to eight storeys tall on neighbouring Spillers Quay.
After hosting a public forum to debate the plans last week, the Ouseburn Trust has also lodged a strongly-worded objection.
The trust said that there was “overwhelming dislike” for the development in the community and that it fails to live up to the standards set by Igloo’s previous projects in Ouseburn, the Malings and Lower Steenberg’s Yard.
It adds that the 18-storey tower, which the developers have described as a “distinctive landmark”, would be “more akin to a Soviet era tower block or the Gateshead car park made famous by Get Carter than the iconic heritage buildings such as the Baltic”.
Also among the latest objectors is Byker councillor Nick Kemp, who claimed there is “no reasonable basis for the proposed tall building at Malmo Quay”.
The Labour councillor, who was also a fierce critic of the nearby plans for the 460ft Whey Aye wheel, said the tower would impede views from important locations such as Tom Collins House and St Michael’s Church, while adding that a proposal to relocate the Cycle Hub to a smaller building on Malmo would “quite possibly make the existing operation unviable due to the lack of capacity to operate both the cycle business and café”.
Earlier this month, the developers defended the Malmo and Spillers project as “an addition to the waterside that is of exemplary design quality – a landmark that provides attractive open spaces that can be enjoyed by all”.
Alec Hamlin, a development manager at Igloo, said the scheme had been three years in the making and was the product of a “world-class design team”.
He said: “These are proposals that have been independently appraised by experts in urban design as being of superb ambition and quality and that are successful in preserving ‘strategic views’, something we know is critically important.
“Malmo Quay has been earmarked for development for decades. It is a largely unused, brownfield site that will enable the development of high-quality homes without eating into the greenbelt, as well as allowing us to create really beautiful public spaces that will enhance the Ouseburn and East Quayside.”
The council, which has only published around 400 of the 1,500 public comments on its website so far, could not confirm when the proposals would come before the local authority’s planning committee.
It also said that, while the formal public consultation is now closed, it would continue to accept representations about the scheme until a final decision is made.
