Emergency services are dealing with an ongoing incident on Northumberland Street.
A cordon is in place on the city centre street after a man climbed onto a roof on Thursday evening.
A spokesperson for Northumbria Police said the man is "refusing to come down".
Three ambulance incident response units are also in attendance.
The police cordon is in place between Primark and KFC.
A spokesperson for the force said: "Officers are dealing with an ongoing incident on Northumberland Street.
"At around 6.54pm today (Thursday) police received a report that a male had climbed onto a roof and was refusing to come down.
“Officers are currently on the scene speaking to the man and a cordon has been put in place.
“Members of the public are advised to avoid the area until he has been brought to safety."
