Newcastle City Council’s planning committee has unanimously approved plans to convert the upper floors of the historic LD Mountain Centre in Dean Street into 10 apartments. The building, a grade II listed structure dating back to the late 1700s, is the birthplace of global outdoor fashion brand Berghaus.
Details of the Conversion
The proposals, approved on Friday, will see the first, second, and third floors of the 18th-century building turned into flats. The first floor is currently part of the outdoor shop, while the upper levels are used for storage, packing online orders, and office space. The ground floor and basement will continue to operate as the LD Mountain Centre, which is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year. Storage and office functions will be relocated offsite.
The application argued that the changes would provide a “sustainable long term use for the building” and “will not fundamentally be detrimental to the historic interest of the buildings, nor will they materially harm their architectural interest.”
Positive Development for City Centre Living
Labour councillor Stephen Lambert, representing Kenton ward, described the move as a “really positive development” to bring more residents into the city centre. He said: “I really like this idea of gearing towards urban professionals living and working in the city. Just look at Manchester, for example. 20, 30 years ago nobody lived in the city centre, it was derelict. Newcastle was in a similar situation 30 or 40 years ago. I remember coming back from university in 1981 and it was dead on the Quayside and in the middle of town. What we now begin to see is more shops with their second and first floors converted into flats. I think it is a positive development and I would like to see it extended across the city.”
Previous Approval and Heritage Context
An earlier version of the project had been approved in 2022 but was never implemented. The building, part of Newcastle’s central conservation area, is where Berghaus was founded in the 1960s. The planning committee voted unanimously in favour of the current application.
