Plans changed for £120m Strawberry Place development in Newcastle

Student housing is out and plans for more offices and potentially TWO hotels are now inNew plans are being drawn up for a key city centre development site.Marrico Asset Management LLP and Helios Investment Partners, based in Durham, bought land at Strawberry Place from Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley in February, paving the way for the site to be transformed into a £120m mixed use development.Now the joint venture has revealed a revised plan for the site which would see it ditch original plans for a 420-room student accommodation tower and instead bring in more office space and, potentially, two new hotels.The revised planning application is set to be submitted to Newcastle City Council, but ahead of the submission the two firms are holding a drop-in public consultation event to outline the proposed changes.As it stands, permission has been granted to transform the car park at Strawberry Place and create 115,000 sq ft of office space, 162 residential apartments and accommodation for 420 students, in four separate buildings ranging from eight to 16 storeys. The plan would lead to the repositioning of St James’ Metro Station and also proved unpopular with some Newcastle United fans, who said it prevented any future expansion of the club’s ground.Marrico Asset Management LLP and Helios Investment Partners are in discussion with a number of occupiers for all elements of the site and are now proposing a revised development on the four-acre site, similar to the approved scheme, but including changes to the overall mix of uses and height of some of the blocks. The new plans would see the the creation of one residential block providing 202 privately rented apartments; another block providing 155,000sq ft of office space (14,400sqm), while the third building would either become a 180-bed hotel or a second new office providing 70,000sqft of floorspace.