One NorthEast has selected its first private sector partner as it pushes on with plans to bring forward over 1,100 acres of brownfield land across the North East for development.
The regeneration body has sold the Westgate House site on
Centreland owns the adjacent Norwich Union House and has been in negotiations for several months to combine the two sites.
One NorthEast bought Westgate House – a 1960s, 12-storey eyesore often voted one of
The building was demolished earlier this year.
Centreland will lodge plans in the autumn for an office-led scheme including some retail after abandoning initial plans to build a residential scheme.
The site was one of 30 sites across the North East that the regeneration body had planned to place into a 50:50 joint venture, the One NorthEast Development Initiative, in return for private-sector investment.
King Sturge is advising on selection of a partner for the remaining sites, which include industrial development opportunities of more than 100 acres each at West Hartford in Cramlington and Newburn Riverside in
John Holmes, One NorthEast director of regeneration, said: “For years Westgate House has been a blot on the
“Now this prime city location will be able to boast an attractive new development sympathetic to its historic surroundings.”
