It was in December 2021 that Bam Construction began enabling works and put up site hoardings on the banks of the River Tyne for the £300m Sage Arena and International Conference Centre (ICC).
But with spiralling costs, things have been on hold since then for a re-think.
Yesterday, Wednesday 12th July 2023, Gateshead Council’s planning committee granted permission for revised plans for the ICC and Arena.
While the development most recently gained planning permission in March 2022, a revised planning application was submitted in March 2023 due to design and scheme changes. A hotel associated with the scheme has been relocated to vacant land within Baltic Quarter, directly opposite The Sage development. The land occupied by the hotel in the original design, will be landscaped as an urban park.
Changes within the planning application also included programme changes. The Sage International Conference Centre and the hotel are now expected to open in autumn 2025, but the Sage Arena will not open until sometime in 2027.
Russell WBHO was named as main contractor for the £48m hotel last month.
An announcement is expected on who will build the ICC and arena is expected next week so that construction work can begin this autumn.
Gateshead Council leader Martin Gannon said: “Today marks another major milestone in the project and we’re looking forward to bringing the Sage Arena and ICC to Gateshead, attracting high-profile events and conferences to our region.”
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