Eyesore demolition scheme closer

Westgate House, right, is to be demolished

Work to remove a city centre eyesore is expected to start in about a month.

Last year, Newcastle City Council approved a multi-million pound scheme to replace the derelict Westgate House and Norwich Union House.

They will be demolished and the new development will include apartments and retail and leisure space.

Westgate House is owned by regional development agency One NorthEast, which said work was due to start at the end of April or beginning of May.

A definite date for the start of work is expected to be confirmed in the next couple of weeks.

Both the buildings have been empty for years. In 2004, George Ferguson, president of the Royal Institute of British Architects, included Westgate House on an X-list of buildings to speed up their demolition.

The building spans a busy road in the centre of Newcastle.