Oldfield near securing site for city restaurant

Apr 14 2008 by Graeme King, The Journal

HIGH profile restaurateur Bill Oldfield is close to securing premises to open up a prominent Newcastle city centre restaurant.

Mr Oldfield is believed to have secured change of use permission to convert the Colliers Framing art business in the basement of Milburn House on Dean Street and is trying to finalise the terms of a lease for the premises.

Until recently, Mr Oldfield has operated two restaurants, one in the centre of Durham and one on Osborne Road in Jesmond, but has recently sold the second site to a Cherry Tree Restaurants, where Chieftain Group boss Peter Wardle has an interest.

Mr Oldfield, a columnist for The Journal is known to have wanted to move into central Newcastle, and it now appears he is close to securing a very prominent site on the main pedestrian route from the Quayside into the city centre.

When Oldfields is established, it will be in the heart of one of the Newcastle’s busiest restaurant districts with near neighbours to include Rockafella, El Torero, Marco Polo, Gershwins, Pizza Express, Coco’mos, Prickly Pear and Prima.

The basement premises has a frontage facing downhill towards the Quayside. Built in 1905 and now standing in the city centre conservation area, Milburn House is one of the city’s most historic office buildings, having been built to house the offices of shipping companies.

Its 130,000sqft of space, spread over five floors, is organised like the decks of a ship, labelled from A-E, and the public areas of the building are extremely ornate with colourful tiling along the corridors and stairwells.

The building is owned by investment company CNC Properties, based in Jersey, which has also recently acquired the next door St Nicholas Chambers for £3.65m.

Meanwhile plans for the former Oldfields on Osborne Road are not yet known, though Mr Wardle’s partner in Cherry Tree Restaurants is James O’Leary, formerly a director of Aykley Restaurants, linked to Terry Laybourne’s 21 Hospitality Group empire.

Mr Oldfield opened up his 100 cover Jesmond restaurant in November 2003, investing £200,000 in converting a former Scout Association building into a contemporary eatery. He had previously run restaurants in Darlington and Barnard Castle.

The former merchant seaman, oilman and engineer has always said he takes great pleasure in running good quality restaurants, beyond them being simply a source of income.

The North East’s best known chef and restaurateur Terry Laybourne has announced plans to open a new pub in Newcastle.

Mr Laybourne’s 21 Hospitality business is to open up ‘The Butcher’s Arms’ in a building next to the company’s new Caffe Vivo restaurant housed within the Live Theatre complex close to the Quayside.

It will be Mr Laybourne’s third operation in the immediate area, as his Cafe 21 restaurant stands just 100 yards away.

The new venture is due to open in the late summer/autumn of this year and will stand alone from Live Theatre with its own entrance off Broad Chare.

Mr Laybourne intends that it will emulate city centre pubs in London which have a reputation for providing a standard of food significantly beyond standard “pub grub”.