Plans to demolish the vacant Hadrian House in Newcastle city centre and build a 21-storey student accommodation complex could be approved next week. The £60 million redevelopment, led by Sona Estates and Argon, would replace the disused office block, which formerly housed snooker club The Hustler, with a two-tower scheme connected by a link building.
Council Backing Recommended
Newcastle City Council's planning committee is set to vote on the proposals next Friday, August 21. City planners have recommended that councillors give their backing, saying the project would transform a site currently in “significant disrepair”. The plans also involve removing the high-level walkways linked to Hadrian House, which the council described as an “underused and unwelcoming” remnant of Newcastle’s past.
The development would provide 507 student bedrooms and a regenerated public space incorporating part of the Saville Place car park. If approved, the tallest tower would stand 21 storeys high, matching the height of the neighbouring Bewick Court block of flats, and would be among the tallest buildings on Tyneside.
Addressing Student Housing Shortage
Two objections were lodged against the development, with neighbours from Higham Place claiming the loss of daylight would create an “unacceptable sense of enclosure” and an “oppressive outlook”. However, city planners called it a “high quality, contemporary addition to the city”. Northumbria University said the housing complex would help address a “significant and pressing” shortage of accommodation for the nearly 60,000 students in Newcastle.
No new student homes were built in Newcastle between 2019/20 and 2024/25, and council chiefs estimate around 15,500 students still live in houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) in suburbs like Jesmond. Northumbria University has lost 672 university-owned student bedrooms following the closure of the Claude Gibb and Lovaine halls of residence, leaving it with no purpose-built accommodation on campus.
Urban Regeneration Opportunity
The report to next week’s committee states: “Hadrian House currently occupies a prominent site but is in a state of significant disrepair. Its outdated form and poor condition create a visual and physical barrier, severing movement and connection between the surrounding campus environment and the wider civic areas. The redevelopment presents an opportunity to repair this urban disconnect and improve the quality of the surrounding area, bringing additional foot fall into the area.”
The tallest skyscraper in Newcastle remains Hadrian’s Tower on Rutherford Street, standing at 27 floors and 272ft.
