Plans for Newcastle's tallest building on old Scottish and Newcastle Brewery site

If approved, the block at the Newcastle Helix would claim the title of the highest structure in the city. Credit: Ryder Architecture

Plans have been submitted for a 28-storey block which would be Newcastle's tallest building.

If approved, the block at the Newcastle Helix would house 192 flats for rent and be built alongside a smaller 18-storey block with another 128 apartments.

The plans have been submitted by developers Legal and General (L&G) for the old Scottish and Newcastle Brewery site on the edge of the city centre.

The larger of the two buildings, designed by Ryder Architecture, would stand at 89.5m, or 293ft, tall – eclipsing the 82m Hadrian’s Tower, which stands just across the road on the other side of St James’ Boulevard.

Hadrian's Tower overtook Vale House in Jesmond as the tallest building in Newcastle when it was completed in 2020. Credit: Tolent

Initial plans for the two towers were unveiled last December and have now been officially lodged with Newcastle City Council to determine whether or not they can go ahead.

The larger of the two buildings would be more than 60m taller than the maximum height that was designated for the plot in the Helix’s masterplan.

Developers have claimed that the vast scale is necessary to make the scheme financially viable and told the council it would have a “positive impact on the cityscape”.

Hadrian’s Tower overtook Vale House in Jesmond as the city’s tallest building when it was completed in 2020.

However, all of those could yet be dwarfed by the Gainford Group’s plans for a 37-storey skyscraper at the site of the former Premier Inn on New Bridge Street if that goes ahead.

Those £50m proposals for what would be the biggest structure in the North East were unveiled in April 2022, though a planning application is yet to be submitted to Newcastle City Council.

The unbuilt Whey Aye Wheel, for which planning permission lapsed last month, would have stood at 140m tall.

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