Famous Newcastle pubs fear closure over controversial Ouseburn housing development

Dozens of new flats look set to be built in Ouseburn, despite warnings that they could have a devastating impact on two neighbouring pubs.

Both the Free Trade Inn and the Tyne Bar worry that plans for 50 apartments in St Lawrence Road could be deeply damaging to their businesses, with the former fearing that complaints from future residents could even force them to close down.

Proposals for a six-storey housing complex earmarked for derelict land next to the Free Trade Inn are due to come before councillors this week and are recommended for approval by Newcastle City Council’s planning committee.

The riverview flats plan from developer A&A Properties, which has been redesigned since it first emerged in 2019, features a mix of one, two, three, and four-bedroom apartments, plus three townhouses and undercroft parking.

But, in an objection lodged with the city council ahead of this Friday’s committee hearing, the Free Trade Inn’s management said it was “extremely concerned” that noise complaints that might result from flats being built next door to the popular drinking spot “could result in significant changes that significantly harm the existing operations and could even result in closure”.

They said: “The Free Trade Inn is a bustling public house with customers coming and going throughout our licence times, and our beer gardens are regularly full with customers enjoying the city views until late in the evening.

“The proposal to build dwellings, considered as a noise sensitive development, places our business at risk as inevitably future residents will make complaints about noise levels.”

The pub, which has also been a prominent critic of the plans for an 18-storey tower of flats at the mouth of the Ouseburn, added that the St Lawrence Road plans could also worsen an “already desperate parking situation” on the street.

The Tyne Bar also warned the council that this represented “yet another proposed development which threatens to tear the beating heart out of Ouseburn”.

However, city planners say that “considerable redesign work” has been done on the proposed apartment complex to deal with the noise concerns – including removing balconies closest to the Free Trade Inn and reducing the number of bedrooms that overlook the pub.

In their report to the planning committee, officers conclude that the building’s “contemporary design is considered to be of a high standard” and that it would “fit into the development pattern of the area”.

The developers have argued that the flats would “enhance and maximise the potential of the currently vacant site”.

Their planning application stated: “The proposed building configuration and massing provides the opportunity to create a “full stop” to the existing row of residential buildings, a planned end which links to a public open area between it and the Free Trade Inn, a space of high‐quality public realm, an important balance between the private residential built‐up areas and the community shared amenity space.

“This not only serves as a landscaped public amenity area but as an attractive and cohesive transition between the two buildings.”