Westgate House, Newcastle upon Tyne

Building in England

Westgate House, Newcastle upon Tyne

Location within Tyne and Wear

General information
Location| Grainger Town, Newcastle upon Tyne, England, United Kingdom
Coordinates| 54°58′08″N 1°36′54″W﻿ / ﻿54.969°N 1.615°W﻿ / 54.969; -1.615
OS grid reference| NZ247639

Westgate House was a 46-metre (150 ft) office block that was situated on Westgate Road opposite Newcastle station in the Grainger Town of Newcastle upon Tyne, England. The 12-storey Brutalist building was completed in 1972[1] and was demolished in 2006–07.

The building straddled the eastern end of Westgate Road, and was designed to have the appearance of a "gateway" to the city centre.[2] After being completed, it housed several government agencies. The last to use the building was the Citizens Advice Bureau, who were based on the ground floor until 2001.[2]

According to the Evening Chronicle, by 2001 "it was well-established as one of the ugliest and most unpopular buildings on Tyneside". The vast concrete structure was particularly criticised for being out of place with the Victorian buildings around it.[2] Westgate House was featured on the Channel 4 television series, Demolition, where it was voted as one of twelve buildings that deserved to be demolished.[3] However, in BBC News Magazine, it was nominated as an 'unsung landmark'.[4]

Developers OneNorthEast acquired the building in 2001 and initially considered renovating it as a hotel.[2] In 2005, they and Newcastle City Council instead announced that the building would be demolished, with the work beginning in late 2006 and finishing in January 2007[5][6] allowing for the site's redevelopment. Westgate House had to be taken down piece by piece as neighbouring buildings were too close to allow for a controlled explosion.[7] Demolition started off slowly at first as a result of the unique construction method used on the 11th floor, which was a plant room, and the 12th floor which was stronger than other floors because of the roof slab.[8] Demolition was completed upon the removal of the 'stilts' at the base of the building.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Morton, David (4 September 2014). "Remember When: St John's church on Newcastle's Westgate Road - then and now". Chronicle Live. Retrieved 8 July 2017.
2. ^ a b c d "It was Newcastle city centre's 'brutal intrusion'". Evening Chronicle. 3 January 2021. Retrieved 19 November 2024.
3. ^ Govan, Fiona (8 August 2005). "The buildings we hate most in Britain revealed". The Telegraph. Retrieved 8 July 2017.
4. ^ Britain's unsung landmarks – BBC News Magazine, 8 August 2006 (Accessed 4 March 2007)
5. ^ City approves eyesore demolition – BBC News, 1 April 2005 (Accessed 4 March 2007)
6. ^ "Demolition of Newcastle's 'concrete carbuncle' Norwich Union House almost complete". The Chronicle. 28 April 2015. Retrieved 29 April 2018.
7. ^ "Demolition of Westgate House in Newcastle". Planning Resource. 7 April 2006. Retrieved 8 July 2017.
8. ^ Thompsons of Prudhoe: Westgate House

## External links

[edit]

* Skyscrapernews.com
* Channel 4: Demolition Dirty Dozen
* OneNorthEast news

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