The protracted row over a controversial housing development on the Newcastle Quayside looks set to reach a conclusion next month.
The date has been set for a court hearing at Newcastle Moot Hall after city council bosses decided to mount a legal challenge in a bid to stop almost 300 new riverside flats being built on the Plot 12 site.
That move came after proposals for a 14-storey apartment complex on the long-vacant site were rejected back in 2021, but the decision was overturned by a Government planning inspector following a public inquiry earlier this year.
Speaking at Friday's meeting of Newcastle City Council's planning committee, senior planning solicitor Tom Sunter revealed that the case was due to go before the courts next month.
He said: "You will be aware that the council has challenged the decision of the planning inspector appointed by the secretary of state for housing and communities. That decision was dated May 6. You will recall that they allowed the appeal and granted permission for a residential development of 289 apartments and commercial space between 12 and 14 storeys high at Plot 12 on the Quayside.
"The council received permission to apply for the statutory planning review from the high court and the matter has now been listed for two days commencing October 12 at Newcastle Moot Hall Court."
Mr Sunter explained that a statutory planning review was similar to a judicial review, but was differently named due to the fact it was challenging the decision of a planning inspector.
Bundles of documents and skeleton arguments will be prepared prior to the hearing which will then be delivered in open court via legal counsel.
Asked by Liberal Democrat councillor Gerry Keating whether there would be costs involved in the case, Mr Sunter said: "I'm not going to go into that in a public meeting. I don't think it's appropriate to say anything more in this meeting."
It has been argued that the 289-flat block would create more than 700 construction jobs and boost spending in the local economy by an estimated £4m a year. The developers have also warned that a failure to get this Plot 12 scheme approved would risk leaving the prime land unoccupied for years to come, having already laid vacant for decades.
But opponents have branded the proposals “monolithic” and “painfully poor”, also arguing that the building’s future residents would be forced to live in flats that do not meet minimum space standards and that it would block out light to its neighbours.
Read next:
- How to get pre-sale tickets for Sam Fender's huge Newcastle 2023 show
- Blackett Street vision put under review as progress stalls on inquiry into pedestrianisation plans
- Ouseburn gets 'chilled and soulful' Japanese bistro as popular street food brand finds permanent home
- Eight barrels of alcohol worth £2,500 stolen from Newcastle micropub
- Crooked cleaner helped himself to bottles of booze while working in Powerhouse in Newcastle
