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Plans to create an £8.5m aparthotel in a popular Newcastle suburb have been unveiled by developers.

Newcastle based Modo Bloc is seeking permission to build 28 apartments within a five storey property in Ouseburn’s Foundry Lane – a scheme set on a vacant brownfield site which builds upon previous planning consent for a mixed-use development by the same design team. The aparthotel would have a mix of one, two and three bed apartments and one four-bed apartment, as well as retail and commercial units on the ground floor, alongside car and cycle parking.

Based within the Ouseburn Conservation Area, Miller Partnership Architects say they have given care and attention to the heritage and character of the site when designing the structure.

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Co-director Steve Miller, who worked on the original Ouseburn Central Masterplan with Newcastle City Council, said: “The built elements of this proposal are in keeping with the scale of the area. With a limited frontage along Foundry Lane and a desire to give each individual apartment a river / street frontage the overall building is subdivided into units, each with principle living accommodation open to the view. A limited palette of traditional materials is proposed – from red brick to exposed steel and glass. It will be a contemporary structure, which is sympathetic to the Ouseburn’s industrial past.”

Modo Bloc liaised with local residents and occupiers in the pre-planning stage. The project will be styled and developed much like an earlier scheme that Modo Bloc brought to the market in 2021 - Chelmsford Lofts, an eight-flat aparthotel in Sandyford, Newcastle.

Managed by Your Lofts, the concept is proving popular with people booking weekend ‘staycations’ and longer corporate stays. Modo Bloc is currently redeveloping a former care home, at Springfield Park, Forest Hall into 12 self-serviced luxury apartments. The Ouseburn proposal will be the third apart-hotel to be run by Your Lofts.

George Jenkins, MD of Modo Bloc, said: “We fully recognise the unique character of the Ouseburn. We have consulted with local stakeholders and our architects have paid particular attention to the local environment. Attention has also been paid to the existing acoustic landscape, recognising the live music that gives the Ouseburn Valley its distinctive character.