The second phase of Newcastle’s Stephenson Quarter could soon get under way after developers submitted plans to create a pioneering technical college and a new office building. Plans for the second phase show a potential base for the North East Futures University Technical College (UTC) should approval be granted for the renovation of the Grade II Listed Hawthorns Works building.
The Clouston Group rounded off last year with the completion of phase one of the £200m regeneration project, resulting in a fully-refurbished Boiler Shop as well as The Rocket office building, to join the previously completed car park and Crowne Plaza Hotel.
The group is also applying for permission to construct a six-storey serviced office building with 50,000sqft of space – 40% more than Grade A scheme The Rocket is providing.
The developers have been working with Newcastle-based xsite architecture and planning consultants and Nathaniel Lichfield and Partners ahead of submitting a raft of documents to Newcastle City Council planners.
They plan to convert and extend the historic Hawthorns Works building – which was originally built in 1844 – into the impressive base for the city’s University Technical College, standing more than four storeys high.
Moves to open the North East Futures UTC in Newcastle have been under way for some time, with the board of trustees – including Bob Paton and Professor Roy Sandbach – keen to establish an institution in the city to help build skills in students aged 14 to 19.
This application confirms the trustees’ vision to build the forward-thinking UTC at Stephenson Quarter, with an opening date to be set for 2018.