A council leader insists it is “inconceivable” that an international conference centre for the Gateshead Quayside will not go ahead, though news on how it will be paid for and when it will be built may be delayed even further.
There have been major question marks hanging over the future of the long-planned riverside development, which is earmarked for a prime patch of land between the Glasshouse music centre and the Baltic art gallery.
Construction was meant to begin in autumn 2023, but the vast project has been pushed back multiple times as its costs have spiralled.
Gateshead Council leader Martin Gannon said earlier this year that he was hopeful of making an announcement “very early in the spring” that building work would finally be able to start on what has been hailed as a world class scheme that could deliver a £70 million annual boost to the North East economy.
But the senior Labour figure now says that confirmation “might slip from spring into summer” for what he called a “definitive plan and funding with a commitment by all partners that that is it, it will be going ahead”.
It was estimated in January 2023 that the cost of building the conference centre and a 12,500-seat arena on the site had jumped from an original £260 million to more than £350 million.
That price tag is understood to have continued to rise substantially since then, creating a “massive” funding gap.
Coun Gannon has previously offered an “absolute guarantee” that the conference centre element of the plans will proceed, though there have not been the same assurances about the arena.
The project, which will be known as The Sage, was among those that the council leader and other North East delegates pitched to international investors at the recent MIPIM property convention in Cannes.
Comment by Counc Gannon
Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Coun Gannon insisted that he retained total confidence in the flagship development going ahead.
He said: “In terms of delivery of the Sage, we know that it has been an incredibly difficult project. It is not a secret.
“For a whole series of reasons – Brexit, Covid, war in Ukraine, rising interest rates, crisis in construction, cost of living. All of those things have massively increased the cost.
“It still remains a top priority to deliver. It is transformational in terms of its economic impact.
“It is inconceivable, I think, that the North East of England should go forward without an international conference centre. Leeds, Manchester, Liverpool, Glasgow [all have one], then there is this void in the North East of England. Our research, analysis, and marketing has demonstrated that there is a really strong market for it.
“The jobs, not just construction jobs but permanent employment, created by it and the income generated shows massive positive economic impact for the North East. It is inconceivable that it is not delivered.
“Yes, it is a challenge to deliver it and we will continue to work with the combined authority as we go through a process of evaluation and whether costs can be reduced. We are looking at a series of options which I am convinced will come up with a positive answer. We will be able to go ahead and we remain absolutely committed to it. That is the only message I can give.”
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