Fight over Heliport flats plan goes back and Forth at appeal

OPPOSING parties in dispute over a critical Newcastle development site have presented their final cases to the inspector who will decide on the fate of an £86.6 million project.

- By DANIEL HOLLAND

Newcastle City Council rejected proposals for up to 356 apartments to be built on the Newcastle City Heliport site, to the west of the Utilita Arena, last year.

But a planning inquiry has been held over the past month after landowner MB European Limited launched an appeal to have that verdict overturned.

The heliport site forms part of the wider Forth Yards regeneration area, which the council has hailed as a "game-changer" for the city, with hopes of building 2,500 new homes in total, and possibly even a new footbridge across the Tyne.

The council is desperate for progress on the long-awaited redevelopment of what is largely derelict ex-industrial land on the edge of the city centre, but has vehemently opposed the heliport owner's own plans.