Plans revealed for £35m leisure scheme

Plans to build a multimillion-pound hotel complex in Newcastle city centre, complete with a rooftop swimming pool, nightclub, restaurants and retail outlets, have been revealed.Over the past years leisure operator Malhotra Group, which is behind the £35m scheme, has been acquiring a number of buildings on Grey Street with a view to creating a 120-bedroom, four-star, deluxe venue.The ambitious proposals will cover nine buildings, seven of which are grade II-listed, stretching across the Mosley Street junction and the lower part of Cloth Market.The scheme includes the famous Balmbras music hall, with the plans designed to restore it to its former glory. Drury Lane – the site of the original Theatre Royal – has also been earmarked as the home of a number of retail outlets.David Coundon, director at Space Architects, is leading the design team and is currently discussing the planning submission with Newcastle City Council.Full plans for the scheme will be presented by the end of the year, with a view to starting the refurbishment in the spring of 2018 subject to planning permission being granted. It is hoped the work would complete by the end of 2020.