Plans to bring a vacant, derelict historic building in Newcastle city centre back into use have taken a step forward, with funding secured to begin developing proposals for the Coppersmiths Shop.
The Grade II listed Coppersmiths Shop, which has stood empty for decades, will now be the focus of detailed studies led by developer igloo, working in partnership with Newcastle City Council through Founders Place LLP. The work will explore how the building could be brought back into viable use as part of the wider Founders Place regeneration in the city’s historic Stephenson Quarter.
The award of £65,201 – for due diligence and design work to the Coppersmiths Shop – is being funded by Historic England’s Repair Grants for Heritage at Risk. The grant funding will support surveys and technical studies to better understand the building’s condition and constraints, helping shape proposals for its long-term future. Newcastle-based Mosedale Gillatt Architects will soon be appointed to undertake the work, while no physical works will take place on site at this stage, the project marks an important first step in ensuring the building can play a significant role in the area’s ongoing transformation.
The Coppersmiths building sits within the Founders Place development, located next to Newcastle Central Station, where igloo and Newcastle City Council are delivering a major mixed-use scheme. The ambition is to bring this internationally significant part of Newcastle back into use, creating a new place to live, work and unwind in the city centre.
One of the last remaining undeveloped historic structures within the development, the Coppersmiths Shop is considered to be of historic significance. Located between Hanover Street and South Street, it has an important role to play in reconnecting different parts of the emerging community.
Dating from the early 19th century, the building formed part of the pioneering Robert Stephenson & Co. Works, widely recognised as the world’s first purpose-built locomotive factory. It includes the original offices of Robert and George Stephenson, placing it at the centre of a site of international importance in the history of engineering and industry.
The building has been vacant for several decades and is in a poor state of repair, having suffered from structural deterioration, water ingress and repeated vandalism. Without intervention, there is a risk that this important part of Newcastle’s industrial heritage could be lost.
Momentum is building across the Founders Place development, with plans advancing for a new residential neighbourhood at Orchard Yard and a landmark office development at One Founders Place, following the successful restoration of The Pattern Shop, now home to Atom Bank.