Willmott Dixon has scooped a £22.9million deal to develop a futuristic multi-storey car park in the Baltic Quarter of Gateshead.

Appointed by Gateshead Council through the Scape National Major Works framework, the project will deliver 1,000 parking spaces as part of an extensive regeneration of the area, which also includes a landmark Arena, Conference and Exhibition centre, anticipated to create around 2,000 new jobs and transform the Gateshead quayside.

The development will mark the 12th project delivered for Gateshead Council by Willmott Dixon, following the recent completion of the £12.8m 'Riga' office development in 2020, also located in the Baltic Quarter, which provided the first Grade-A office building in the Gateshead Quays area for over a decade.

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Providing vital parking space to support the new £260m Newcastle Gateshead Quays development, this latest project for Gateshead Council involves constructing a 10 storey steel framed facility. There will also be 50 Electric Vehicle charge points, with the future potential provision of a further 300.

Other features include a new pay on exit parking management system, a dedicated disabled parking area and spaces for motorcycles. To reduce the carbon footprint of the building, a large array of photovoltaic (PV) panels will be situated above the top level of parking. Additional biodiversity measures are being implemented including a net gains adjustment.

The Car Park will link to a new road running through Baltic Quarter, which will connect Gateshead Quays with the A184 Felling Bypass. The road will contain a 30m wide landscaped corridor, lined with a generous boulevard of trees and contains sustainable urban drainage (SuDS). The plans also include walking and cycling routes, and the provision of habitats that encourage biodiversity.

Both the Link Road and the MSCP have been supported by £7m from the North East LEP through the Get Britain Building Fund.