Tyneside Committee
Rosemary Dodd Reports
Odeon Cinema
The position of the Odeon Cinema has engaged the Committee over the last three months. It is now clear that it will not be re-listed which is very disappointing. John Matthews, representing the Committee, and Geoffrey Purves had a constructive meeting with the current developer and hope to visit the building shortly. Apparently some of the ‘art deco’ features have been removed and stored so perhaps they could become part of an ‘Odeon Archive’.
Tynemouth Station
The planning application for Tynemouth station was heard in March and the outcome was very confusing. It would appear that permission has been granted to renovate the station canopies, but the application for the superstore was not approved. The Committee would like to see an imaginative scheme for the use of the station which would allow it to be properly maintained and protected for all to enjoy.
Newgate Street Redevelopment
The Committee have submitted detailed comments to the City Council on the plans to redevelop the Newgate Street shopping centre. There is general agreement that the present complex should come down, but careful consideration needs to be given to the new development. A number of small ‘boutique’ hotels are proposed as well as a new ‘ chares ‘ and general landscaping.
John Farthing
Members were sad to hear of John Farthing’s death. He had been a member of the Tyneside Committee for many years. His wisdom and experience were invaluable to the committee and the Society owes him a great debt
Editor's Note: - members may be amused to learn that the plight of the Odeon was the subject of a short piece in ‘Private Eye’ Issue 1257 5-18 March 2010, as follows :- 'A typically scandalous story of how the Labour government cares for our heritage concerns the Paramount, later Odeon, a super cinema of 1931 in Pilgrim Street, Newcastle upon Tyne. It was listed in 2001 and the following year, in response to an appeal by it’s then owner, Cinven, it was obligingly de-listed by the Arts Minister Baroness Blackstone. In 2003, a dossier in support of re-listing this notably fine Art Deco cinema was submitted by the Northumberland and Newcastle Society and others to the Department of Culture Media and Sport, which was followed by a report from English Heritage two years later. But then it emerged that the interior had been partly stripped out. Even so, campaigners have argued that the building could still be converted into a conference centre. But the cinema is now owned by Brookfield, a developer who wants to ‘regenerate’ the east side of Pilgrim Street. Last month, more than six years since the dossier was submitted, the DCMS finally made the decision – the Odeon will not be re-listed –but no surprise there with Mrs Hodge now in charge. Newcastle City Council, which has never tried to help save the building, says it can do nothing to prevent demolition RIP. –‘Piloti’
City and County
May 2010
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