In the centre of Newcastle, next to some of the UK’s finest neoclassical buildings, several dozen small food outlets, bars and shops have begun trading out of 54 former shipping containers.
The £1.5m development, called The Stack, stands on Pilgrim Street on the site of the old Odeon cinema. Aimed partly at millennials, it offers an “enchanted garden” with artificial flowers and outdoor furniture under a marquee in which to drink gin and eat vegan, Mexican, Lebanese and Italian food.
It is the second development built out of shipping containers to open in Tyneside in recent weeks.