Eldon Square, Newcastle
City Centre Environmental Enhancements
Eldon Square is the principal shopping centre in Newcastle, designed and built in the 1970’s to the requirements of that era. To ensure that the City Centre does not become outmoded compared to current and future expectations, CSC undertook a major review of the shopping centre and how it integrated into the City Centre. The result was a phased plan of upgrading and reconstruction of facilities to provide commercial and environmental benefits to businesses and the community.
2007 has seen excellent progress in the three phases of the planned transformation of Newcastle City Centre through what is one of the UK’s largest public/private property development partnerships.
In conjunction with Newcastle City Council, a new state-of-the–art bus station was opened in March 2007 by Gillian Merron, MP, then Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Transport, to reported acclaim from users and local transport planners. The project was funded in part by the Department for Transport and required extensive liaison and agreement with the local highways authority, statutory suppliers, private bus and taxi operators and the existing occupiers of the shopping centre.
One of the central elements of our work from the outset at Eldon Square has been the regeneration of Old Eldon Square, designed by renowned local architect John Dobson in the nineteenth century. The square is one of the few green spaces in the city centre and is currently being refurbished with new natural stone pavings, walls, railings, landscaping and a spectacular lighting scheme. The square’s centrepiece, the George and Dragon monument to the war dead, is being refurbished by CSC.
A new mall forms the second phase, opened in February 2008 and link Old Eldon Square with the new bus concourse. It will provide a new pedestrian link from the University, Hospital and public transport interchanges in the north of the city centre to the period buildings and shopping district of Grainger Town to the south. It links directly into the existing shopping centre and significantly enhances permeability across the city centre. John Lewis and Boots stores will open the street level of their stores onto St George’s Way which will house 21 other stores, creating an entirely new street scene.
New restaurants set in a dramatic double height glazed elevation will reactivate the northern elevation of Old Eldon Square, building on the success of the Wagamama and Strada restaurants which were created in under-utilised shop basement accommodation as part of the ES West project in Autumn 2006.
The final and largest element of the three phases has commenced on site in July 2007. It is testament to the high level of engagement and consultation with all interested parties that the public inquiry into the compulsory purchase order was able to open and close in a single day without any formal objection remaining.
The development site is very sensitive, with three different listed buildings on its boundary and being opposite the Grade 1 listed Grainger Market, The Gate leisure complex, the listed art deco style Co-op department store and the medieval St Andrew’s Church, all of which will remain operational during the works. The site is close to the historic city walls and archaeological excavations have been undertaken during the demolition period.
The new mall, St Andrew’s Way, will house 22 large format stores housed in a building that has been designed following extensive consultation with the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE), English Heritage and Newcastle City Council. The result will be high quality facades featuring natural stone, terracotta and pre-patinated copper cladding. The mass of the building will be broken down by providing three distinct architectural elements for the Clayton Street and Newgate Street elevations and the department store. The latter will feature a dramatic glazed lattice elevation and each element has been designed to complement its important setting.
New retail frontages will be provided to Newgate Street replacing an unsightly multi-storey car park, which, together with the removal of private vehicles from this street, will revitalize this area. The ‘green’ roof will house roosting sites for birds and bats to protect existing, and encourage additional, wildlife in the city centre.
A further important element of the overall scheme is that it has been the catalyst for CSC to privatise the service roads beneath the shopping centre which will facilitate enhanced security and refuse recycling arrangements.
The scheme also delivers the first new department store in the city centre for several decades, providing in all an estimated 2000 jobs during construction and 1000 once open. In addition to enhancing the environment in this important city-centre site, it adds fresh impetus to the local economy.
