Controversial plans to open a shisha bar in Newcastle’s West End have been dropped, after twice being rejected by council bosses.
A project to transform the first floor of the Tyre City garage in Denton Burn into the Billions Lounge will not be going ahead, after developers decided to abandon appeals to the government seeking to overturn Newcastle City Council’s verdict.
Opponents of the scheme had claimed that it could worsen local problems with noise nuisance, traffic congestion, and vermin.
The council’s planning committee first rejected the plans in March and then again last month, despite the firm behind the plans offering to bring forward the cafe and shisha bar’s closing time from 1am to 11.30pm.
A government planning inspector was expected to make the final call on whether the project could go ahead, after Billions Lounge Newcastle Limited registered two appeals.
But a representative for the developer has now confirmed that the appeals have been withdrawn and the shisha bar will not be opening at Tyre City, saying a “number of factors” had led the applicant to reconsider the plans.
The proposed venue had been described as a “relaxed meeting area” for the West End’s Middle Eastern, Kurdish, and Turkish population.
Developers told the council that the site would create jobs, bring a disused building back to life, and create a “new type of non-alcoholic social facility for the benefit of the city”.
But when it last came before the planning committee in July, Benwell and Scotswood ward councillor Rob Higgins urged colleagues to reject the scheme again and claimed it “does nothing to enhance the local neighbourhood”.
He added: “The comings and goings and the risks around antisocial behaviour would inevitably have an impact on their lives.
"This is a neighbourhood with many elderly residents and young families and totally unsuited to a facility of this nature.
“I am not opposed to new development and am delighted that after years of decline in the West End we are seeing a renaissance with new housing and shops.
"However, this is simply a totally inappropriate proposal for this location and would bring no benefits whatsoever to the local community.”
Lib Dem councillor Gerry Keating warned the council that their second refusal of the plans could well have been overruled by a planning inspector – saying that council planners “are not on ground as terra firma as they think” and “quicksand could lie ahead”.
Council planning officers said they would “struggle to argue” if a 9pm closing time had been suggested instead, while lord mayor David Cook indicated he could support the shisha bar if its closing time was 11pm – in line with the neighbouring Solomons restaurant.
