Gateshead Council’s development partner “Ask:PATRIZIA”, has submitted a full planning application for the £260m arena, conference and exhibition centre on Gateshead Quays.
The 80,000 sq ft development, which will host international conferences and exhibitions as well as music and cultural events, is situated on the iconic Newcastle Gateshead Quayside, directly in front of the Gateshead Millennium Bridge.
The scheme will include a 12,500 capacity arena, operated by ASM Global, an international conference and exhibition centre, a dual branded hotel, restaurants, and extensive areas of public realm. It is expected to add over 1,000 jobs and £29 million GVA per annum to the regional economy. The Council will be submitting a planning application later this year for a multi-storey car park on Baltic Quarter to service the development.
“Ask:PATRIZIA” is a joint venture between Ask Real Estate Limited and PATRIZIA AG, the pan-European real estate investment partner, for the development of Gateshead Quayside. Commenting on behalf of the partnership John Hughes, managing director of Ask Real Estate said: “We have undertaken a programme of public consultation with local stakeholders and neighbours which has informed our plans for Gateshead Quays and we are pleased that we are now able to take this through to the final stage of the planning process.
“Our appointed contractors Sir Robert McAlpine have been engaging with the technical teams and with the arena operator ASM Global and we have signed-off stage 2 designs for what will be a world-class events destination. We are hopeful that the scheme will achieve full planning consent later this year and look forward to delivering this superb facility for the North East as soon as possible.”
Paul Szomoru, director of business events at NewcastleGateshead Convention Bureau, said: “The planning application for the Gateshead Quays development has come at a crucial time for the business events industry. The current Covid-19 pandemic continues to affect the industry across the world, with events having to be postponed and cancelled, but now is the time for us to look forward and plan ahead.
“Gateshead Quays conference and exhibition centre will be a welcome addition to NewcastleGateshead in 2023; securing jobs, supporting our hotels, restaurants and bars and once again filling our region with delegates from across the world.
“This world-class development will bring the business events offering of NewcastleGateshead to new heights, we will be able to attract bigger conferences with a stronger international reach, which will be critical in repairing and growing our economy post Covid-19.
“At NewcastleGateshead Convention Bureau, we continue to be agile and work alongside our clients and partners, offering support and advice through these uncertain times. We have been working tirelessly to reschedule upcoming meetings and events to ensure that our venues and hotels are supported, and that our clients are able to continue their offer of great events to delegates once it is safe to do so.”
The scheme will also benefit from the ability to connect directly to Gateshead’s district energy network.
An announcement on the hotel operator is expected to be made in the coming weeks and the new complex is set to open 2023.
Award-winning global architect, HOK, is designing the overall masterplan for the site, conference and exhibition centre and 12.500 capacity arena while AHR Architects are designing the state of the art hotel which forms part of the masterplan. The project team also includes: Project Manager and Contract Administrator, Legends International; Lichfields, Planning Consultants; Gardiner and Theobald, QS; ARUP, structural engineers/ M&E and Vectos for transport planning.
Author: Adam Parry
Adam is the co-founder and editor of www.eventindustrynews.com Adam, a technology evangelist also organises Event Tech Live, Europe’s only show dedicated to event technology and the Event Technology Awards. Both events take place in November, London.
