Empty historic hall in Newcastle's west end could be turned into luxury housing
The Grade II listed Pendower Hall has new owners who have big plans for the two hectare plot
by Coreena Ford · ChronicleLiveAn empty historic hall in Newcastle’s west end could finally be set for redevelopment as new owners seek to breathe new life into the building.
The Grade II listed Pendower Hall has lain empty for a number of years despite a previous attempt to regenerate the one time home of Quaker banker J W Pearce. The hall was originally snapped up almost 10 years ago by current Tier One Capital director Ian McElroy and former director Stephen Black in an £816,000 deal, who launched plans to convert it into a wedding and conference centre with office space.
Mr McElroy and Mr Black have both since resigned as directors of Pendower Hall Ltd, after years of stalled attempts at redevelopment created by a number of challenges, including the pandemic. At the end of last year receivers from FRP Advisory were appointed to the property and held talks with interested parties keen to taken on the site.
Now it can be revealed that developer and property specialist Fenham Properties Ltd has submitted plans to turn Pendower Hall into four seven-bedroomed luxury properties and a private leisure and wellness facility that will include a gym, steam room, sauna, swimming pool, changing facilities and power plant together with new vehicle parking spaces.
The construction of one new dwelling within the two-hectare plot of land is also proposed. The hall is set over four floors and the ambitious plans will see new homes, all featuring independent entrances, kitchens, dining facilities, reception rooms, ensuites and bathrooms. The ground floor will accommodate reception rooms, kitchen facilities, bathrooms, and some bedrooms while the first and second floors will have new bedrooms, bathrooms and storage incorporated with some office space allocated in plot four.
Hedley Planning is working with the new owners, incorporating heritage designs while retaining existing features, using of stone elements, full-height glazing and lightweight metal building materials to add detail to the listed property. The scheme is expected to go before planners later this year or early 2025 and, if approved, building work could follow soon afterwards.
Pendower Hall was originally built for Quaker banker J W Pearce in 1867 and over the years has been used by the council as a school and an education training centre, but it had lain empty for more than a decade before being put up sale in 2015. Associate director at Hedley Planning Alex Franklin, who is overseeing the submission, said redevelopment would see the restoration of a heritage asset for Newcastle.
He added: “We very much look forward to redevelopment; bringing back to life an important site that will deliver social and economic benefits to the community through imaginative regeneration and fresh investment. As planners, we always want to see urban regeneration of brownfield sites and the re-purposing of existing buildings to deliver a strong legacy. This one undoubtedly heralds major changes to this important part of the city.”
Initial works started several years ago at the Fenham site following a protracted planning process. It took two years to gain planning approval, in the summer of 2017, after archaeological excavation of the site was ordered because of its location on the route of Hadrian’s Wall. Work started that same year, with New Forest Developments appointed as main contractor.
A trio of businesses were originally signed up to have first choice to become business tenants in the office space, which was to host the SME Centre of Excellence business hub, and it was originally hoped that all the works would be completed in 2018 – but no works have been carried out at the site for a number of years before the receivers stepped in.
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