Good news, bad news
The company behind the £10 billion data centre in Cambois has reaffirmed its commitment to the project.
The announcement from the Blackstone-owned QTS is welcome news, coming just days after OpenAI said it was pausing the multi-billion pound Stargate UK initiative at Cobalt Park in North Tyneside because of concerns about high energy costs and regulation.
A spokesperson for Open AI, the developer of Chat GPT, said it would only move forward with Stargate UK when power prices drop and conditions improve. It marks a major setback to the Government’s hopes of boosting growth through a data centre boom.
Stargate UK was announced during Donald Trump’s state visit last September as a project with British data centre company Nscale and chip giant Nvidia. OpenAI said it would involve a number of sites, starting with Cobalt. That announcement led the Government to declare the North East one of its AI growth zones, which benefit from planning and power advantages.
Things are looking better in Northumberland. Two years ago, a deal was agreed to sell the site of the failed Britishvolt gigafactory to a subsidiary of private equity giant Blackstone.
“QTS remains committed to delivering our Cambois Data Centre project in Northumberland,” a spokesperson told the Northumberland Gazette. “We have made significant progress on site since we announced its launch, having worked collaboratively with the local community and Northumberland County Council.
“Since receiving planning approval late last year, we have started preparing the site for development and this spring, we will install piling foundations for the first data centre building. We’re deeply committed to being a good neighbour where we live, work and operate.”
Former QT columnist Jamie Hardesty, who recently spent time working with the North East Combined Authority on the region’s AI Growth Zone approach, has written about Open AI’s decision in his Newcastle Tech Digest Substack column.
“This doesn’t mean the UK’s AI sector is in retreat,” he said. “We remain strong in research, talent, and startup activity, and continue to attract significant investment, particularly in the Golden Triangle. So too does the North East have modest AI credentials that were never dependent on data centres.”
Tributes to 'a ‘giant’
Newcastle City Council’s longest-serving leader, Lord Beecham, has died aged 81. First elected as a Labour councillor for Benwell in May 1967, when he was just 22, he remained on the local authority for 55 years.
He served as leader of the city council from 1977 to 1994, was knighted in 1994, awarded the Freedom of Newcastle in 1995, and appointed to the House of Lords as a life peer in 2010.
My first conversation with Jeremy was on the telephone shortly after I gave his daughter Sara a job as a reporter on the Evening Express in Aberdeen. We didn’t know then that I would move to his home city - or that Sara would leave journalism to follow him into the law profession (and thereby receive a far greater salary for her considerable talents).
Nick Forbes, who led the city council from 2011 to 2022, called Lord Beecham an “inspiration to generations of Newcastle politicians” and praised his modesty, humour and humanity.
Those characteristics masked, for me at least, just how big a man Jeremy Beecham was. Upon his retirement, Sir Keir Starmer called him a “giant of the Labour movement, and one of the most significant and influential British politicians of the last 50 years”.
Lord Shipley, former Lib Dem leader of the city council, said: “Jeremy gave 55 years of unequalled political service to the people of Newcastle as a councillor, council leader, and as a member of the House of Lords. He was a man of vision and integrity whose leadership changed Newcastle for the better. He led the creation of the social services department, led development of the Quayside and Eldon Square, and made massive improvements to the city’s public and private housing stock.
“His energy and determination to alleviate poverty led to major investment in the city and its public services. He masterminded the Newcastle Great Park concept, and secured the resources for the A1 Western Bypass. He dedicated himself to improving the quality of life for the people of Newcastle.”
The high life
Food, music and culture are being promised when Freight Island finally opens atop the former Debenhams store in Newcastle’s Eldon Square in June.
At the heart of the complex is The Plant Room, where a large retractable roof will be open during the day to create a bright, open-air space for drinking and dining. A 1,200-capacity music and events venue will open later in the year.
The project is expected to create over 300 jobs in hospitality, events, production, and creative industries. Partnerships with Newcastle United Foundation, Newcastle College and Generator will support young people, nurture emerging artists, and ensure the venue reflects the city’s diverse creative community, says High Life North magazine.
But established businesses in the sector have their reservations about the opening, and that is probably putting it mildly.
Former council leader Nick Kemp, head of operations at the city’s hospitality association, recently relaunched as The Core, said: “Our members are understandably concerned that the city council appears to have worked tirelessly to attract Freight Island when we would have wished their immediate priority had been supporting existing businesses across hospitality in the city.
“This is one of the key drivers for The Core - to develop a hospitality strategy to promote and support our amazing industry that contributes so much to the city but is facing increasing pressures on all fronts.”
600 jobs in pipeline
Ministers have announced proposals to speed up planning approvals for a sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) plant on Teesside that could create 600 jobs.
The Environment Agency would become “lead environmental regulator” for the Lighthouse Green Fuels project at Seal Sands. If approved, it would become Europe’s largest SAF plant for fuels made from sources such as agricultural waste, forestry residues, municipal solid waste and used cooking oils instead of food crops.
Environment Secretary Emma Reynolds said: “Global shocks from conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East show that relying on a volatile global fossil fuel market is simply not sustainable for Britain. These measures are a win-win for energy security, nature and for keeping bills down in the long-run.”
Housing and values
Designs for 78 homes at Orchard Yard in Newcastle, behind Central Station, have been released and are now the subject of a public consultation.
Orchard Yard is part of Founders Place, a development area in the Stephenson Quarter.
The Stephenson Quarter is one of four sites that make up the NewcastleGateshead Accelerated Development Zone (ADZ), established under a 25-year Newcastle City Deal signed with the Government in July 2012.
The ADZ means that all business rates income is ringfenced by the Government (who normally take 50%) and retained by the two councils. An attractive proposition.
So, why has only one business, Atom Bank, been attracted to the prime location since developers igloo entered into a joint venture partnership with Newcastle City Council in 2020?
Which brings me to the mystery that I said a few months ago I would return to - it’s unfinished business from the days of The QT.
When the JV to complete the second phase of the Stephenson Quarter was set up in 2020, igloo said the development, then called Stephenson Works, would have a GDV (gross developed value) of £450m. I’m reliably informed that the GDV is what the development would be worth once all the building work is completed.
Some time later, Stephenson Works was rebranded as Founders Place - and the GDV plummeted to £136m, as you will see from the two screenshots below.
What could possibly have changed? Eyes & Ears readers have been very good at coming up with answers in the past. Can any of you shed some light on this before I have another go at getting an answer from the council or igloo’s Manchester-based PR company?
City breaks
It’s looking increasingly likely that Coventry will return to the Premier League after being relegated from football’s top division in 2001. There’s a buzz in the Midlands city and the local ITV station has been keen to explore what it could mean economically for the area.
So, who better to turn to than North East Chamber chief executive John McCabe who was able to talk about the difference returning to the Premier League has made to Sunderland.
“More people are visiting the city. They’re staying longer and they’re spending more while they’re here,” he said. “We’re seeing increased trade across bars, cafes and restaurants and the global interest has been phenomenal - people are travelling from as far afield as Mexico.
Opening doors to work
A project exploring the complex reasons people in supported housing become trapped in cycles of worklessness is beginning to bear fruit.
Tyne Housing has released early findings from Opening Doors at an event in Durham. Researchers from Sunderland and Newcastle universities report that systemic barriers - from unaffordable rents on entry‑level wages to the loss of transitional support - leave many feeling employment isn’t an option.
The project, backed by the North East Combined Authority and regional housing partners, aims to shape policy changes to reduce economic inactivity.
Tyne Housing has said farewell to wellbeing and learning manager Bryan Beverley who has retired after four decades of working in the homelessness sector and helping people rebuild their lives.
Striking moments
Tyneside is gearing up to mark the centenary of the 1926 General Strike when an estimated 1.7m workers stopped work in support of 1.2m locked-out miners who faced having their wages reduced.
A two-day conference will be held on May 7-8 at Newcastle University’s School of History, Classics, and Archaeology. And on Monday May 4, a show titled Centenary will be staged at The Glasshouse in Gateshead which will comprise songs, comedy sketches, stand-up comedy and recitations. Tony Henderson has the full story.
A quick word
The UK’s first neuro-divergent friendly caravan has been opened at Riverside Holiday Park in Wooler, Northumberland. And it’s called Daisy. It’s part of a £5m investment programme by holiday park operator Verdant Parks. Celebrity chefs, street food, live entertainment and hands-on fun are promised at the free Bishop Auckland Food Festival which takes place next weekend. Newcastle law firm Sintons has acquired Penrith-based Cumbria Employment Solicitors.
Recommended reads
A large number of primary school children are not getting the support they need. A study of 540,000 youngsters found that fewer than 2% of pupils in England are identified as having a specific learning difficulty, a figure that sits well below international estimates suggesting that between 5% and 10% of children are affected.
Jonny Daniel, Associate Professor at Durham University’s School of Education, said the study found that where a child goes to school plays a role in whether they get identified or not - but other factors include their gender, family income, their first language, and even the average ability of their classmates.
Jimmy Nail doesn’t do many interviews. But he invited Sam Wonfor into his Newcastle home for a chat – small elderly dog in devoted attendance and an open fire being tended as required.
One of the main goals of Professor Stacey Pope has been to give a voice to the female fans who have followed their teams with just as much passion as the men over the decades.
And as a base for her research the Durham University academic could scarcely have a better location than the North East, where football for many is a way of life.
She has talked to women committed to both Newcastle United and Sunderland, some as far back as the 1950s, who have staked their space in a male-dominated arena despite the challenges. Tony Henderson reports.
AI is a pipe dream designed to extract money from the last desperate suckers who haven't realised it yet.
Data Centres will take at least two years to build and even if they ever come online, they use an inordinate amounts of power and water for already obsolete technology (three year old GPUs?)