Newcastle Building Society has unveiled designs for its new flagship city centre branch, as construction work gathers pace.
The new branch will be located in the heart of Newcastle city centre, in a massive Grade II listed building on the corner of Grainger Street and Monument – the former home of fashion retailer, French Connection, who closed their doors last year.
As well as creating a modern new branch for customers, we’re fully redeveloping each of the five floors. Plans include creating office space, events and meeting areas, and a huge flexible community space.
The new branch will be unrecognisable from its time as home to French Connection. In total, 8,400 sq. ft of space spread over five floors is being redeveloped, with more than a third of the space being brought back into public use for the first time in decades.
One of the biggest changes will be relocating a central staircase, to create an open plan customer area. The lower ground floor of the building will also be transformed into a flexible community space for use by local groups, charities, and organisations and for a range of activities including employability workshops, social events, meetings, and collaboration.
Gateshead-based Arcas Building Solutions have been appointed as lead contractor on the Monument branch development, with the Newcastle office of Silverstone Building Consultancy providing a project management service.
Originally built in the 1830s, and now part of the Newcastle Central Conservation Area, previous occupants of 155 Grainger Street include Boots, Geordie Jeans, and more recently French Connection. Our investment will bring a historic building back into use for the benefit of the whole community for generations to come.
Andrew Haigh, our Chief Executive Officer
“Through our collective memories and communal storytelling, the area around Monument has a special place in the hearts of so many people who live, study, or work in Newcastle, as well as all those who visit. We want our branch to be part of that ongoing legacy, creating social value through a unique new space for the community in one of the city’s most iconic locations.”
Andrew adds: “It’s essential that people in our communities can have a face-to-face conversation about their money, preserving that vital access to trusted financial advice and information, and we believe that people of all ages value being able to pop into their local branch rather than having to do everything online. That’s why we’re investing significantly into our branch network, challenging the accepted way of doing things and putting a branch at the heart of our home city.”
Our Monument branch is due to open early in 2025. Whilst we get our new home ready, you can still receive our friendly, personal service at our current Newcastle branch at 136 Northumberland Street.
Download the press release (PDF, 154kB).
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