Scaled-back plans for a controversial housing development on the Newcastle riverside are “alright, but not world class”, a prominent Ouseburn charity says.
New designs were revealed on Wednesday for Malmo Quay, at the mouth of the Ouseburn, showing how a much-criticised tower block earmarked for the long-vacant site had been cut almost in half. Developers PfP-igloo slashed eight floors off the originally proposed 18-storey apartment complex after it was met with a torrent of objections, with opponents having labelled it an “eyesore” and “disastrous”.
Chris Barnard, chief officer of the Ouseburn Trust, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that the charity had been in talks with PfP-igloo since they agreed to redraw their plans in March and that the developer’s engagement had been “much better” since the initial backlash. Mr Barnard said that while the general opinion among members of the independent development trust appears to be that the smaller housing block is an upgrade on its much larger predecessor, it is not the iconic landmark that he had hoped could be built on such a crucial plot of land.
Read More: Developers slash eight storeys off controversial Ouseburn tower development after public backlash
He added: “The fact that they have taken on board that it needs to relate better to its surroundings is good, I think they have made a better job of it – and that is not exclusively about the height. I think the previous scheme looked alright from Gateshead and along the Quayside, but from Ouseburn it was awful.
“The general feeling is that they have made a better go of it, but I think a lot of people were underwhelmed – they were hoping for something that was more of a design statement, but this looks like it could be anywhere. They [PfP-igloo] said themselves that this is such a key site for the city and lends itself to something world class. It looks alright, but it's not world class.”
As was the case in the original scheme, there are also plans for 13 three-storey townhouses on Malmo Quay and up to 73 homes in a set of buildings up to eight storeys tall on neighbouring Spillers Quay. The popular Cycle Hub would also still be demolished and relocated to a new building on Malmo under the reconfigured proposal.
The Free Trade Inn was a vocal critic of the original plans, with fears that the huge tower would dominate the East End skyline and ruin the famous view of the Quayside from the pub’s beer garden, but manager Mick Potts said he would reserve judgement on the new designs until full details of the plans had been published on Newcastle City Council’s website.
Local councillor Mike Cookson, though, believes that the developer’s latest proposal is “likely to satisfy no-one”. The Liberal Democrat added: “We’d have rather seen a more human scale development come forward.
“We remain disappointed with the way the Council’s development partner has engaged on this scheme. This is particularly surprising given their previous excellent track record of community engagement on the earlier development such as Lower Steenbergs Yard and the Malings.”
Around 1,500 objections had been made against the scheme before a formal consultation deadline on the original plans in February, though it was later said at a public inquiry into a different Quayside development scheme the following month that the number stood at between 2,000 and 3,000. PfP-igloo said this week that the “more modest” new proposal was “carefully re-designed” following the slew of objections.
Development manager Alec Hamlin added: “Malmo Quay is a complex location to develop, but one with vast potential, as a brownfield site that can provide sustainable urban homes for market sale. We’ve worked on plans that will realise that, and that are responsive to the needs of the area and the wider context of the site.
“We have worked in Ouseburn for many years, and we are incredibly proud of the place it has become. The ongoing development of this area is a key part of building the city’s evolution, creating high-quality homes within proximity of the economic heart of Newcastle, meeting the area’s housing needs without developing on greenbelt sites.”
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