Portland Real Estate Group reveals ‘multi-million-pound’ Newcastle residential and hospitality development

Plans for a multi-million-pound residential and hospitality scheme at a former city centre bank’s headquarters have been submitted.

Developer Portland Real Estate Group wants to turn Allied Irish Bank’s (AIB) ex-North East office, in Newcastle’s Collingwood Street, into a ground and mezzanine floor bar and restaurant complex for 100 diners.

Its blueprint also includes 12 serviced apartments on the first and third floors, as well as on-site concierge, a gym and a cycle storage area.

Bosses say the project will support more than 100 jobs during the initial construction phase and create a further 15 full-time positions across bar work, hospitality and cleaning services.

Mohsin Rashid, director of Portland Real Estate Group, said: “This will see the transformation of a great city centre location, breathing new life into a site that has been left vacant for years and transforming it into one that will offer a desirable location where people can stay and experience the city at its best.”

Portland Real Estate Group is working with Hedley Planning Services, which is steering the proposals through Newcastle City Council’s planning committee.

Director Sean Hedley added: “This is a great development that represents a significant contribution to the vibrancy and vitality of an important local economic sector, bringing a well-known site back into use.

“It’s in a really attractive location, with good transport links nearby as well as being within easy walking distance to a range of facilities and services.”

If approved, on-site work is expected to start in September, with the first tenants expected to start moving in during early 2022.

The Grade II building was built between 1890 and 1891 for a private bank and was last occupied by Allied Irish Bank until 2013.

However, it has been vacant since and the upper floor office suites have been derelict even longer, having been vacated in the late 1990s.