Work on a new flagship Newcastle Building Society branch in an iconic Newcastle city centre location has been taking place behind the scenes since fashion retailer French Connection closed their store at Monument last year. Now the building society has issued a progress update, along with a first look at designs for its newest high street location.
As well as a modern branch for customers, the building society is working on a full redevelopment of each of the five floors of the massive Grade II listed building on the corner of Grainger Street and Monument, at the heart of the city centre. Plans include the creation of office space, events and meeting areas, and a huge flexible community space.
Originally built in the 1830s, and now part of the Newcastle Central Conservation Area, previous occupants of 155 Grainger Street include Boots, Geordie Jeans, and more recently French Connection. Newcastle Building Society says its investment will bring an historic building back into use for the benefit of the whole community for generations to come.
Andrew Haigh, chief executive officer at Newcastle Building Society, said: “The scale of work underway is impressive and given the character of the building, highly complex. But redevelopment continues at pace and people will start to notice more activity on site over the coming months as contractors begin the internal fit out ahead of opening in the new year.
“It’s essential that people in our communities can have a face-to-face conversation about their money, preserving that vital access to trusted financial advice and information, and we believe that people of all ages value being able to pop into their local branch rather than having to do everything online. That’s why we’re investing significantly into our branch network, challenging the accepted way of doing things and putting a branch at the heart of our home city.”
The lower ground floor of the building will be transformed into a flexible community space for use by local groups, charities, and organisations and for a range of activities including employability workshops, social events, meetings, and collaboration.
Andrew added: “Through our collective memories and communal storytelling, the area around Monument has a special place in the hearts of so many people who live, study, or work in Newcastle, as well as all those who visit. We want our branch to be part of that ongoing legacy, creating social value through a unique new space for the community in one of the city’s most iconic locations.”
Images of the new branch show how the interior of the building will be unrecognisable from its time as home to French Connection. In total, 8,400 sq.ft of space spread over five floors is being redeveloped, with more than a third of the space being brought back into public use for the first time in decades. One of the biggest changes will be relocation of a central staircase, creating an open plan customer area. Gateshead-based Arcas Building Solutions has been appointed as lead contractor on the Monument branch development, with the Newcastle office of Silverstone Building Consultancy providing a project management service.
