Demolition of historic Victoria Hall building in South Shields approved after 'irreversible' damage

Victoria Hall, off Fowler Street, is around 125 years old and an iconic building in the town, as a community, social and leisure hub and the home of several businesses over the years.

Back in May, 2021, the Grade II-listed treasure was gutted by fire and although fire chiefs were unable to determine if the blaze was ‘malicious’ and police said no crimes had been detected, fears were raised for the building’s future.

In recent years, it was thought that plans for an aparthotel with a hotel-style booking system would give Victoria Hall a new lease of life and preserve key heritage features.

However a recent application submitted to South Tyneside Council proposed demolishing the site following the building’s official ‘de-listing’ in February, 2023.

After considering the application for ‘prior approval’, council development chiefs gave the green light to demolition on April 27, 2023.

A council decision report said fire damage had caused “the loss of the roof and upper parts of the walls” as well as subsequent damage caused by winter storms, with the building now sitting as a “fire-damaged shell”.

It was confirmed that Historic England’s advice report said Victoria Hall “no longer fulfils the national criteria for listing and should be removed from the list”.

The council decision report added: “It is acknowledged that the circumstances and outcome are deeply regrettable.

“And because of the fire, the condition and appearance of the building and its heritage significance and building’s special interest (as a previously designated heritage asset) has been irreversibly damaged, with harm and loss to the historic fabric (including ornate pediments to the main elevations, stone balustrades, corner tower and internal extensive fine plasterwork decoration)”.

On the demolition application, council planners concluded that the “proposed method would be appropriate given the scale and location of the building”.

This includes secure hoardings, a “top-down hand demolition process to first floor level” and other works, with demolition materials being stored on site and then removed.

According to planning documents submitted to council officials, demolition works are planned to start this month, with an estimated completion date of June 30, 2023.

After demolition, the site is expected to be restored through proposed redevelopment.

Although the demolition application hinted the site could house a new build “contemporary block of flats” in future, further planning permission would be required for any future redevelopment.

Information related to its previous listing described Victoria Hall as dating back to 1896 with 20th century alterations.

The building was originally listed as Grade II in 1992 and has housed several businesses over the decades, including Italian restaurants Casa Rosa and La Rossa.

While it sat empty, drug farms were uncovered on the premises on several occasions following police raids, including an incident in 2019.

Historic England, the public body which looks after the country’s historic environment, confirmed the building’s de-listing was approved by the Secretary of State at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

In a statement provided earlier this year, a spokesperson said fire damage had left Victoria Hall “surviving largely as a shell”.

The Historic England spokesperson said: “Historic England received an application to consider Victoria Hall, in South Shields, for de-listing in October 2022.

“We carried out an assessment to consider whether the building retained the special interest for which it was originally listed, as Victoria Hall has suffered significant loss of original fabric since then.

“It was gutted by fire in May 2021 and has been partially demolished for safety reasons.

“Many of its special internal and external architectural features have been lost and the building now survives largely as a shell.

“Given the overall level of alteration, we recommended that Victoria Hall be de-listed.

“The Secretary of State at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport agreed with this recommendation and the building was de-listed in February 2023.”

For more information on the demolition plan, visit South Tyneside Council’s online planning portal and search reference: ST/0214/23/DEM