logo
Newcastle City Hall revamp plans approved by council

Newcastle City Hall revamp plans approved by council

BBC News3 hours ago
Newcastle City Hall is to be revamped to help the venue "regain its former glory".Plans to refurbish the Grade II listed building, which include a new balcony-level bar, were given the green light by the council.Operators Academy Music Group and Live Nation said the work was needed to put the venue "firmly back on the touring acts' schedule", with planning documents warning it had "not moved with the times" and was being overlooked by major acts.The new bar will be built in a disused section of the adjoining City Baths building, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.
The venue opened in 1927 and has hosted acts including The Beatles and The Rolling Stones.
'Here to stay'
Newcastle City Baths, which is also Grade II listed, reopened in 2021 after being closed for eight years as part council cost-cutting measures."Utilising an area of the baths, which was falling into disrepair, and taking away the financial burden that has on the baths will help the future of the swimming baths as a going concern," the planning application said. "It will help both City Hall and the baths, in equal measure, in providing a first-class service to its customers and ensuring these important city assets are here to stay."Existing doors, partition walls, historic panelling and masonry, and a spiral staircase will be removed as part of the work.The Labour-led council said the redesign would "undoubtedly cause a degree of harm to the existing character and appearance" of the building.However, planners approved proposals and said connecting the disused section of the baths into the City Hall would "bring the building closer to being used in its entirety, ensuring a future for the asset".
Follow BBC Newcastle on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Princess Andre ‘wishes she had a happier childhood' as she opens up about Katie Price marriage split and ‘dark times'
Princess Andre ‘wishes she had a happier childhood' as she opens up about Katie Price marriage split and ‘dark times'

The Sun

time7 minutes ago

  • The Sun

Princess Andre ‘wishes she had a happier childhood' as she opens up about Katie Price marriage split and ‘dark times'

PRINCESS Andre says she "wishes she had a happier childhood" as she opens up about mum Katie Price's marriage split. The 18-year-old is the daughter of Katie Price and her first husband Peter Andre. 6 The couple had an explosive split in 2009 after four years of marriage, when Princess was just two years old. While Princess was too young to really remember her parents together, she has traumatic memories of the breakdown of Katie's third marriage to Kieran Hayler. In her new ITV2 series - The Princess Diaries - the teen opens up about her younger years and admits: "I did have a counsellor, I do still see her every now and then. "But I don't feel like I can really talk, so I just write everything down in my notes. "I do wish, like, I could have had a more happier childhood. In the sense of like, I had so many things on my plate at a young age." She continued: "I wish sometimes that I wasn't like that and I could have actually had things in the back of my mind so young." Katie, 47, and Kieran were married from 2013 until 2018, when they split following his extramarital affair with Katie's best friend. Speaking to the camera, Princess said: "Obviously I had amazing times in my childhood, I have amazing memories from when I was younger with my mum and my dad, and I also have not so good memories of the time when my mum and Kieran split up, when I was like, 10 years old. "He was in our lives for like five years, so we got really close to him and we loved him. "He did a lot of stuff and when they split up, everything kind of went downhill. Emotional Peter Andre reveals strict rule for Princess and Junior "My mum, obviously being heartbroken, didn't deal with that in the best way, she went through a very, very dark time, which is understandable. "Which is hard for me because I was around adulty things that kids should never see and I think as well, when we needed our mum there, she wasn't emotionally able to be there because she had so much of her own problems going on." Princess added how she would regularly come home from school and "get into bed and cry" over things people were saying or asking in the school ground relating to her famous mum. She added: "I would never go and speak to my dad about it because I obviously have always grown up with 'my mum and dad don't like each other' which is fair enough, they're not going to." Princess concluded: "I could speak about my childhood and be absolutely fine, but then once something sets me off and then I actually deep everything, I'm like 'Oh my God, like no'. "And then it makes me think that I'm still not over anything or still not really healed from what's happened. "I wouldn't say I'm fully, fully recovered from it but mum is such a different person and if you put her now to back then, she's genuinely really fixed herself." 6 6 6 The Princess Diaries begins on Sunday at 9pm on ITV2 and will be available as a boxset drop on ITVX.

Matt Willis reveals huge setback of hosting Love Is Blind ahead of series two as wife Emma shares health update after op
Matt Willis reveals huge setback of hosting Love Is Blind ahead of series two as wife Emma shares health update after op

The Sun

time7 minutes ago

  • The Sun

Matt Willis reveals huge setback of hosting Love Is Blind ahead of series two as wife Emma shares health update after op

AFTER 25 years of being best-known as Busted's bassist, Matt Willis now has new global fame. Fronting Netflix's Love Is Blind UK, with wife Emma, seems to have eclipsed his band's success of four chart-topping singles and a number one album in just one year. 2 Matt said with a laugh: 'Busted did a tour at the end of last year, we did Australia, Japan, Mexico and Brazil. 'And we had a few people turn up and go, 'We didn't know you were in a band. We know you from Love Is Blind, so we thought we'd come and see your band'. 'I was like, 'Cool, welcome'. I love it.' Matt and Emma are back to present a second series of the show that ­follows singles who try to find their perfect partner, sight unseen, to get engaged and marry on the show. It is Emma's first big project on screen since undergoing keyhole surgery earlier this year to repair a hole in her heart. Love Is Blind UK was filmed last year and now she is well enough to be out promoting the run. She said: 'It's really nice to be back. It was nice to have a little time off to recover and focus on what I needed to do. But now it's full steam ahead and back to work, which is nice.' Two couples from series one are still happily married, so are Matt and Emma worried about delivering on series two, which drops on Netflix from August 13? Emma said: 'We filmed it straight after the reunion for series one so the characters from season one were so fresh. I was like, 'How are we ever going to match that?' ' Matt added: 'Watching it happen, being part of the show, you're just rooting for them.' Love is Blind UK podcast gets a new host Despite the trend for shows to have celebrity spin-offs, Emma doesn't think that could ever work here. She said: 'You'd constantly be trying to guess who it was, wouldn't you? 'There'd be certain people that you'd absolutely know who it was. Imagine if Rylan was in there, or Alan Carr. 'You'd be like, 'That's f***ing Rylan!' ' 2

Love Island star caught snubbing finalist and ‘ignoring' her during live final – but did you spot it?
Love Island star caught snubbing finalist and ‘ignoring' her during live final – but did you spot it?

The Sun

time7 minutes ago

  • The Sun

Love Island star caught snubbing finalist and ‘ignoring' her during live final – but did you spot it?

AN ex Love Islander appeared to brutally snub one of the show's finalists during the show's live episode. During the final, all of the former Islanders made one last comeback to the villa to watch the champion be crowned. 4 4 In a surprising result, fan-favourites Yasmin and Jamie found themselves finishing in third place being beaten by Shakira and Harry in second place and eventual winners, Toni and Cach. However, one former Islander appeared to totally dismiss Yasmin and Jamie as they could be seen chatting away throughout the couple's interview with host Maya Jama. Helena appeared distracted as she 'ignored' what Yasmin had to say and instead caught up with fourth place star Angel in full view of the cameras. Each time the shot focused on Maya, Helena could be seen speaking to her co-star as she failed to listen in to what Yasmin had to say. Noticing their antics online, one fan questioned: "What is Helena and Angel talking about." Before someone else echoed: "All I could see behind Maya was angel and Helena chatting away the whole time during yaz and Jamie's interview." It added further fuel to the fire about the long-standing girls divide this year. Helena had failed to see eye-to-eye with Yasmin, Shakira or Toni during her time in the villa as two rival girl groups quickly emerged. Along with Meg and Megan, Helena had clashes with the other three villa girls throughout but it seemed they had the last laugh when they made up the top three spots. After weeks of coupling up, dumpings, texts and triangles, the series came to a close with a battle between Toni & Cach, Shakira Khan & Harry Cooksley, Angel Swift & Ty Isherwood and Yasmin Pettet & Jamie Rhodes. Watch Love Island's Harrison roll his eyes and fake clap after ex Toni makes savage dig about him in live final However, it was the show's first American bombshell Toni and dancer Cach who got the most votes from fans after their rollercoaster journey on the show. Thrilled fans praised the result, with one saying: "I actually feel like I've won the World Cup. This is actually everything to me! "Seeing Megan and Dejon dumped, Angel fourth place, Yas, Shakira and Toni top 3, Toni and Cach win. Suddenly life is feeling real again." Someone else added: "Toni got the last laugh. A win and a nice man to take home. Bet Harrison is gutted. Karma is a b***h." Another added: "Toni being American and winning, iconic!!! And thank you Cach for being so amazing and loving. Well deserved." 4 4

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store