A major Newcastle student housing development that will create a new footpath to St James’ Park has been signed off by decision-makers.
Newcastle City Council gave approval on Friday for a huge regeneration of the eyesore Percy House building, on the corner of Percy Street and Gallowgate, and the vacant former Labour Club next door.
Plans from the Hanro Group will involve substantial demolition works on the city centre plot to make way for an accommodation complex for up to 432 students.
Plans for a redevelopment of Percy House in Newcastle City Centreplaceholder image
Plans for a redevelopment of Percy House in Newcastle City Centre | Hanro Group/LDRS
The site’s transformation will also allow for the creation of a new pedestrian and cycle route providing a direct link between Percy Street and the football stadium, seen as a significant boost for football fans who will no longer have to navigate busy back lanes on matchdays.
Percy House is made up of two parts – a five-storey block facing onto Percy Street and a 10-storey section behind it.
The larger block will be torn down, as will the old Labour Club, and be replaced by a new 13-storey tower.
The remaining, smaller section of Percy House would be refurbished and extended to take it to seven storeys in height.
Speaking at a council planning committee meeting on Friday, Labour councillor Paula Maines said the new footpath would be a “big asset” to the city.
Plans for a redevelopment of Percy House in Newcastle City Centreplaceholder image
Plans for a redevelopment of Percy House in Newcastle City Centre | Hanro Group/LDRS
She described the parking situation in the lanes around St James’ Park as “awful” and criticised “drivers being bloody selfish when there are crowds of people”.
Coun Maines added that students are “better in the city centre than outside on the terraces”.
An estimated 15,500 of Newcastle’s 60,000-strong student population currently live in HMOs in areas like Jesmond and Sandyford, something city leaders want to see change in order to free up more family homes.
But no new purpose-built student accommodation was built between 2019/20 and 2024/25, according to a council report, and there are a reported 2.4 students for every available bed space in the city.
Coun Barry Phillipson, the planning committee’s vice chair, said: “Proposals that bring students closer to the universities that they are going to be attending inevitably leads to less demand for HMOs and perhaps we will see that there is going to be a significant reduction in demand for HMOs across the city. That is to be welcomed.”
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