A worried mother has issued a renewed safety plea over a historic Newcastle building that she says has become a “forgotten danger”. Shabreen Mohammed has called for fresh action to address long-standing concerns surrounding the derelict Angel Heights, in the city’s West End.
Previous incident and ongoing fears
The 44-year-old was previously left horrified in April 2024 when she encountered youths hurling glass and bricks from the windows of the former nurses’ home, which occupies a prominent spot on Westgate Road. Despite demolition works at the site and copious warning signs about its dangerous condition, she now fears that the absence of a promised regeneration has made it a magnet for anti-social behaviour once again.
The 1920s building, originally used as accommodation for nurses working at the old Newcastle General Hospital opposite and latterly as a hostel for asylum seekers, has been in a state of disrepair for years. Councillors approved plans from developer Jomast in 2023 to convert the disused building into 57 flats, with a further 12 duplex-style apartments on old tennis courts to the rear.
Continued break-ins and vandalism
While some clearance works have taken place since, locals are still waiting for the transformation of the well-known site to gather pace. Shabreen told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that she has noticed more people breaking into it recently and is fed up with having to sweep pieces of broken glass off the pavement outside.
She said: “I think what is really concerning to me is that there has been activity on the site, there have been builders in, there has been signage put up, but still the level of people and children going in and out is still unbelievable. Whatever has been done there has not worked in deterring this behaviour.
“You can see people going in and out all the time, large groups of children. The vandalism is just the same as it was before, if not worse. It is not a safe building. It is meant to be getting redeveloped, but instead it has become a public safety issue.”
Warning signs and council response
Angel Heights is surrounded by warning signs reading ‘Danger Keep Out’, ‘Demolition Works in Progress’, ‘Unsafe Building’, and ‘Children must not play on this site’. But most of the windows in the building appear smashed or boarded up, fencing is broken in places, and piles of broken glass were clearly visible on the ground outside it on Friday.
Shabreen said that the sight of demolition work happening at Angel Heights to prepare for its redevelopment had been “reassuring” for a while, but that its former problems have now returned. She added: “Some of the development plan may have started, but the reality on the ground is that it feels like a forgotten danger. Work starts, then stops again, and all the issues with the anti-social behaviour come back.”
Jomast was contacted for a response. A spokesperson for Newcastle City Council said: “Following reports a few months ago that the Angel Heights site was being broken into by ‘urban explorers’ we worked with police and the owner to secure the building.
“Since then, thankfully, reports of anti-social behaviour have reduced, though not completely stopped – but that is not unusual in relation to a disused building of that size. We look forward to redevelopment of the site, which hopefully will put an end to such issues.”
