Plans to demolish vandal-hit rehearsal hall backed
NCJ Media/LDRSPlans to knock down a derelict building, which has become a magnet for vandalism, have been approved.
Sinfonia House in Jesmond Vale, Newcastle, has been disused for years and became the target of a suspected arson attack last summer.
Newcastle City Council had previously rejected plans to knock down the site due to concerns the land would not be left in a "visually acceptable condition" but it has now backed a revised scheme.
There are plans to redevelop the site but its owners provided no details of what it might become.
The revised plans included better security fencing for the site and a pledge to spread 40 tonnes of soil over the remaining crushed brickwork and seeding it with wildflowers and grass, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.
According to the council's report on the plans, local Green councillor Sarah Peters said there was "widespread displeasure that the building has been allowed to reach the state it is in" and worries that it could become a spot for fly-tipping and other anti-social behaviour even after demolition.
Former Liberal Democrat councillors Gareth Kane and Mike Cookson also said: "Given the recent spate of anti-social behaviour and arson at this building, demolition is cautiously welcome.
"While ideally, we would have hoped for the existing fabric to be reused, it is clear that the building has been allowed to degrade too far and demolition looks like the only practical way forward."
