Aykley Developments has unveiled plans for a £50m-plus transformation of a large Newcastle office building into 151 new homes overlooking the River Tyne. The former regional headquarters of breakdown and insurance specialist AA, which moved out in 2023 after nearly 30 years at William Armstrong Drive, would be converted into one and two-bedroom rental homes.
Leisure and wellbeing facilities planned
The proposals include a swimming pool, gym, padel courts and a cinema room, alongside co-working spaces, a residents’ lounge, private dining rooms, meeting rooms, podcast and art studios, and a golf simulator. A cafe and ground-floor retail units would also be open to the public.
Designed by Killingworth architects FaulknerBrowns, the project has a gross development value of £50.31 million. Planning advice is being provided by Newcastle-based DPP Planning, with the principle of retaining and reusing as much of the existing building as possible.
Sustainable conversion approach
Rather than demolishing the former offices, the existing structural frame will be retained and wrapped in a new building envelope. The development would operate entirely without gas, using exhaust-air heat pumps for heating and hot water, mechanical ventilation with heat recovery, and air source heat pumps for amenity and commercial spaces.
Almost 9,000 sqft of solar PV panels are proposed for the new flat roof, generating approximately 200 kWp of renewable electricity – enough to power between 38 and 60 average UK homes over a year.
Green spaces and biodiversity
The hardstanding site would be transformed through new landscaping and sustainable drainage. Areas of car park and road would be replaced by rain gardens, pocket parks, private gardens and a planted roof garden, with new trees, shrubs and perennial planting. The aim is to boost biodiversity net gain well above the statutory 10% minimum. Secure covered cycle parking and EV-ready parking are also planned, with the site within walking and cycling distance of Newcastle city centre.
Developers say the proposals would create one of the North East’s first large-scale amenity-led build-to-rent developments, bringing a residential model more commonly associated with major UK and international cities to Newcastle. Selected leisure facilities would be accessible to the public, introducing new uses and activity to Newcastle Business Park.
First phase of wider vision
The project forms the first phase of Aykley Developments’ wider vision for the site, with further proposals being explored for a second phase on adjoining land. The Newcastle Business Park proposals are part of Aykley Group’s growing portfolio of investment and development across the North East, which includes Pimlico Court in Durham and St James View in Newcastle.
Imad Ali, CEO of Aykley Developments, said: “Newcastle needs new homes, but how and where we create them matters. This is an opportunity to regenerate an existing brownfield site and give a well-built but vacant office building decades more productive use rather than demolishing it and starting again.
“Retaining the structure substantially reduces the carbon impact associated with redevelopment, but we’ve gone much further than that and demonstrates how we can maximise opportunities for new homes while taking a responsible and sustainable approach to the buildings and land we already have.
“Our ambition is also to create something the North East hasn’t seen before at this scale. This is about world-class, high-quality homes supported by five-star amenities and spaces where people can exercise, work, socialise and relax, while opening selected facilities to the wider public. Cities such as Manchester and Leeds have shown the role high-quality residential development can play in attracting people and investment, and we want this development to contribute to Newcastle’s ambition to compete alongside its peer cities.”
