Conference eyes up a return to Tyneside

Mar 17 2008 by Graeme King, The Journal

ONE of the UK’s biggest conferences could make a rapid return to the North East – if there is a facility to house it.

One of the senior executives who brought the BCSC (British Council of Shopping Centres) conference to The Sage Gateshead at the end of last year, has said how much delegates enjoyed Tyneside – and it is understood there might be a return trip.

The BCSC conference and showcase at The Sage Gateshead last November attracted a record number of 3,350 delegates. The conference is estimated to have contributed £4m to the economy in Newcastle and Gateshead.

The event was especially helpful to developers with projects to show off in the region, like Capital Shopping Centres with its Eldon Square extension and Multiplex with its ideas for East Pilgrim Street.

Speaking at the global MIPIM property conference in Cannes, Sally Pinkerton, a partner with Wragge & Co law firm from London and an executive board member of BCSC, said: “It was a fantastic event and the delegate feedback we got was great.

“Those who stayed on the Quayside loved the proximity – walking across the bridge to the conference facility – and we had record numbers.”

Ms Pinkerton backed the establishment of a conference facility to ensure Newcastle and Gateshead keeps attracting large scale events. She said: “The fact that we put the event on there, put up the (marquee) structure, and filled it, shows there is a need for a facility like that in a central location.

“For our event, we need an auditorium and we need an exhibition hall where we can put on a showcase.”

It is understood that while BCSC is booked into Liverpool for this year, and Manchester in 2009, the organisation is looking at returning to Newcastle and Gateshead in 2010.

The complicating factor is that the car park where the showcase was held in a giant, hard roofed marquee last year, may be a construction site by 2010 as developer Kier Group moves ahead with its GQ2 scheme between The Sage Gateshead and Baltic. But a study has been commissioned to check the feasibility of building a semi-permanent exhibition space on the Sage’s own car park.

And that follows a report on the Forth Yard site to the west of Newcastle Central Station, where consultant Nathaniel Lichfield backed the development of a purpose-built regional convention centre on or near the site of the Metro Radio Arena.

The Newcastle Gateshead Initiative has also been on the trail of smaller conferences for Tyneside. The agency is in talks to bring the 500 delegates of the Regeneration and Renewal conference to the region, and is also talking to the organisers of the Univercities conference for their 250-strong summer 2009 event.

:: For more reports from MIPIM 2008, see Commercial Property in The Journal on Wednesday.