A contentious apartment block planned for the Newcastle Quayside would “devastate living conditions” for residents next door, an inquiry has heard.
Neighbours have spoken out against proposals to build 289 flats on the vacant Plot 12 site overlooking the Tyne.
The 14-storey scheme was rejected by Newcastle City Council a year ago, but is now the subject of a public inquiry after developers Packaged Living appealed to have the local authority’s verdict overturned.
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Residents of the St Ann’s Quay building next to Plot 12 have been vocal critics of the designs, arguing the complex would block light to their homes, destroy views and result in a loss of privacy.
Louise Richley, who lives in the building and is a director of its management company, told the inquiry at Newcastle Civic Centre on Wednesday that the construction of an apartment block four storeys taller next door would “devastate living conditions” and that the complaints were “a matter of public interest and not just private moaning”.
However, it was later argued that the project would bring major economic benefits to the city and that its failure would risk leaving the prime land disused for years to come.
Ms Richley said that being forced to work from home during the pandemic had highlighted the importance of good daylight and sunlight levels for St Ann’s residents and that the £40m Plot 12 scheme would create “daunting and forbidding” conditions for people living on the eastern side of her building.
She added that the building would “decimate” views of both the historic St Ann’s Church and the Sailors’ Bethel, while also raising concerns about the prospect of “immeasurable and irreversible” damage to the church’s foundations from such a large development on its doorstep.
Suggesting that the land would be better used for a “culturally significant” development like a maritime museum, she added: “The principle of development on the appeal site is accepted; inevitably something will be built. However, this is simply not the right development for the land. It is monolithic and of a poor design quality. A smaller and more sensitive building would be more appropriate for this prestigious plot of land.”
Harvey Emms, senior director of planning consultants Lichfields, gave evidence on behalf of the developer on Wednesday and told planning inspector Claire Searson that the Quayside has “significantly changed” over the past two decades and that there was now a “significant movement to a second renaissance” of the area.
Huge building projects including the new Gateshead Quays arena and the Whey Aye wheel have been granted planning permission in recent years, while an 18-storey tower is also planned on Malmo Quay at the mouth of the Ouseburn.
Mr Emms, a former head of planning at the city council, said he did not consider the proposed Plot 12 development to be a tall building and denied that consultation with neighbours had been inadequate.
He spoke about numerous housebuilding projects around Newcastle city centre that have been held up by years of delays, such as on the former Calders leadworks next to the Utilita Arena, and held up Plot 12 as one that was “fully funded and ready to go”.
Mr Emms warned that dismissing the appeal would leave the long vacant Plot 12 with “an uncertain future and timescales unknown, no guarantee that the scheme would come forward in the short term in particular”.
He said: “In my view that is a very bad thing. It sends the wrong message out to the market, it is another scheme in Newcastle that has failed and struggled.
“And in terms of economic benefits it is a bad thing for the site to be left as it has been for the foreseeable future.”
It is claimed that the scheme could create more than 700 construction jobs and boost spending in the local economy by an estimated £4m a year.
The inquiry began last week and is due to hear its final pieces of evidence next Monday.
