Regent Centre
Encyclopedia
Business park
A business park or office park is an area of land in which many office buildings are grouped together. All of the work that goes on is commercial, not industrial or residential....
in Gosforth
Gosforth
Gosforth is an area of Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom, to the north of the city centre. Gosforth constituted an urban district from 1895 to 1974, when it became part of the City of Newcastle upon Tyne. It has a population of 23,620...
, Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. The Centre is home to a variety of companies, including banking group Northern Rock
Northern Rock
Northern Rock plc is a British bank, best known for becoming the first bank in 150 years to suffer a bank run after having had to approach the Bank of England for a loan facility, to replace money market funding, during the credit crisis in 2007. Having failed to find a commercial buyer for...
whose Head Office is located on the site. The Centre has its own transport interchange
Regent Centre Interchange
Regent Centre Interchange serves the Regent Centre business park in the Gosforth area of Newcastle upon Tyne, England. The transport interchange consists of a station on the Tyne and Wear Metro, as well as a medium-sized bus station.- History :...
with a station on the Tyne and Wear Metro
Tyne and Wear Metro
The Tyne and Wear Metro, also known as the Metro, is a light rail system in North East England, serving Newcastle upon Tyne, Gateshead, South Tyneside, North Tyneside and Sunderland. It opened in 1980 and in 2007–2008 provided 40 million public journeys on its network of nearly...
and integrated bus station
Bus stop
A bus stop is a designated place where buses stop for passengers to board or leave a bus. These are normally positioned on the highway and are distinct from off-highway facilities such as bus stations. The construction of bus stops tends to reflect the level of usage...
.
History
Coxlodge
Coxlodge is an area situated between Fawdon, Gosforth and Kenton in Newcastle upon Tyne, England.- History :By order of the Local Government Board on 20 September 1872, the parishes of South Gosforth and Coxlodge were constituted into an urban district, the South Gosforth Local Board. After the...
Colliery. The centre unveiled a new logo and identity in late 2008; this new logo is similar in style to the one used for Regent Point. The centre's slogan is "Better for Business".
Occupants
Regent Centre houses the Regional HQ of HM Revenue & CustomsHer Majesty's Revenue and Customs
Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs is a non-ministerial department of the UK Government responsible for the collection of taxes and the payment of some forms of state support....
as well as the DVLA
Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency is the organisation of the UK Government responsible for maintaining a database of drivers and a database of vehicles in Great Britain; its counterpart in Northern Ireland is the Driver & Vehicle Agency...
and HSE
Health and Safety Executive
The Health and Safety Executive is a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom. It is the body responsible for the encouragement, regulation and enforcement of workplace health, safety and welfare, and for research into occupational risks in England and Wales and Scotland...
. Other tenants include the Entec, Imass, Eaga
Eaga
Eaga plc was a British company supplying energy efficiency products. It was headquartered in Newcastle upon Tyne. In April 2011 it was acquired by Carillion.- History :...
, the Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
, and Gleeds. Notable former tenants have included The Sage Group
The Sage Group
The Sage Group plc , commonly known as Sage, is a global enterprise software company headquartered in Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom. It is the world's third-largest supplier of enterprise resource planning software , the largest supplier to small businesses, and has 6.1 million customers...
. The Newcastle regional centre for the Open University
Open University
The Open University is a distance learning and research university founded by Royal Charter in the United Kingdom...
was housed here, although it was relocated to Gateshead
Gateshead
Gateshead is a town in Tyne and Wear, England and is the main settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead. Historically a part of County Durham, it lies on the southern bank of the River Tyne opposite Newcastle upon Tyne and together they form the urban core of Tyneside...
in 2009.
Location
Within walking distance of Regent Centre, there is a Metro station, Gosforth Academy, Gosforth Library and Customer Service Centre, and Gosforth Leisure Centre, comprising several amenities including swimming pools and gym. There is also an AsdaAsda
Asda Stores Ltd is a British supermarket chain which retails food, clothing, general merchandise, toys and financial services. It also has a mobile telephone network, , Asda Mobile...
superstore close by, which in mid 2007 had an extension built which houses a Restaurant. Across from ADSA there is a furniture store, which used to be a Jaguar Cars showroom. Gosforth High Street is also within a few minutes walk. St Charles Primary school is located on Regent Farm Road, across from the Northern Rock buildings, between Regent Centre and a housing estate, Regent Farm Estate.
Regent Point
Tyne and Wear Metro
The Tyne and Wear Metro, also known as the Metro, is a light rail system in North East England, serving Newcastle upon Tyne, Gateshead, South Tyneside, North Tyneside and Sunderland. It opened in 1980 and in 2007–2008 provided 40 million public journeys on its network of nearly...
line. In April 2007, work began on this area of land which is also called Regent Point; building work began in early 2008 on the 100000 sq ft (9,290.3 m²) building. It will be a four story office building with a glazed corner tower and modelled to be similar to the existing Regent Centre buildings. As of the end mid-2011, Regent Point is vacant.
This plot was vacant from many years, as the original Regent Centre building which occupied (Clayton House) it was demolished in 1999. There have been many different accepted plans for this site, including plans for a 5 story building in 1998. In 2004 there were plans for a 7 story building with retail space on the ground floor, however these plans were withdrawn in July 2005.
Developer Fordgate Group has appointed Bowmer and Kirkland as the main contractor for Regent Point. The architects are Howarth Litchfield Partnership, The consulting engineers are Cundall
Cundall Johnston and Partners
-Awards:*Sustainable Consultant of the year award, 2010 Building Sustainability Awards.*Most Sustainable Remediation Project, 2010 Remediation Innovation Awards*Research, Studies and Consulting Award, 2010 ACE Engineering Excellence awards....
, and Home Stretch Properties Ltd. are also involved in the project. Caunton Engineering have also supplied and erected over 600 tonnes of beam and column structural steelwork. The building has a BREEAM rating of "Excellent".
Northern Rock
Northern Rock
Northern Rock plc is a British bank, best known for becoming the first bank in 150 years to suffer a bank run after having had to approach the Bank of England for a loan facility, to replace money market funding, during the credit crisis in 2007. Having failed to find a commercial buyer for...
bank has its headquarters on a site that is adjacent to, although not technically a part of Regent Centre. This complex is called Northern Rock House. The Red Box Design Group
Red Box Design Group
Redboxdesign group is a design company which specialises in architecture and Interior design, as well as new media based in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, working both nationally and internationally.-History:...
has been involved with the development of all of the currently standing buildings for the bank.
The focal point of Regent Centre since 1965 had been Northern Rock's old tower 7 storey building. In early 2006 this building was demolished and its replacement, simply known as The Tower
The Tower (Gosforth)
Partnership House is a landmark tower office building in Gosforth, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom. It is located at the Regent Centre business park, and was originally built to act as the headquarters of the nationalised British bank Northern Rock. It lies in the West Gosforth council ward...
, that is 10 storeys high and cost £35 million was completed in November 2008. Two of Northern Rocks other buildings on the site were completed in the 1990s, two further buildings were built in the early 2000s.
Northern Rock had financial difficulties in 2007 due to the subprime mortgage crisis
Subprime mortgage crisis
The U.S. subprime mortgage crisis was one of the first indicators of the late-2000s financial crisis, characterized by a rise in subprime mortgage delinquencies and foreclosures, and the resulting decline of securities backed by said mortgages....
and was nationalised in 2008. This led to the company deciding to downsize, including job cubs and deciding to put this new tower building up for let or sale. Newcastle City Council
Newcastle City Council
Newcastle City Council is the local government authority for Newcastle upon Tyne, a city in Tyne and Wear, England. The council consists of 78 councillors, three for each of the city's 26 wards...
spent £22 million purchasing the building, and let it out to another firm, a company set up by the council with support services firm Eaga
Eaga
Eaga plc was a British company supplying energy efficiency products. It was headquartered in Newcastle upon Tyne. In April 2011 it was acquired by Carillion.- History :...
, on a 25 year lease.
Buildings
John Dobson
John Dobson may refer to:* John Dobson , British architect* John Dobson , popularizer of astronomy* John Dobson , Canadian senator* John Dobson , Northern Irish politician...
and Lord Eldon. The Grainger Suite (soon to be renamed Gosforth Services Offices) is located in Dobson House.
Buildings
- Arden House
- Bulman House
- Horsley House North
- Horsley House
- Eldon House West
- Northumbria House
- Dobson House
- Eldon House East
- Regent Point
External links
Historic photographs
- Photograph of Northern Rock Building, 1969 at Newcastle libraries service
- Photograph of Regent Centre, 1977 at Newcastle libraries service
- Northern Rock plc Head Office, 2000 photo 1, photo 2, photo 3 at Newscast
- Images of Regent Centre, 1977 & 1978 at Newcastle University's SINE project