Development opportunity with planning permission for hotel or residential scheme. The grade two listed former Beales department store occupies a prominent position on Newgate Street and is spread over three floors offering approximately 55,000 sq ft. of accommodation. The site boundary extends to approximately 0.63 acres (0.25 ha). Durham County Council granted outline planning permission for the site in December 2019. The Outline consent incorporates the following separate applications: DM/19/02223/FPA: Change of use of former department store to 3 no. ground floor units with flexible A1/A3 use and 62 no. bedroom hotel, associated internal and external alterations and partial demolition. DM/19/02221/FPA: Change of use of former department store to 3 no. ground floor units with flexible A1/A3 use and 27 apartments, associated internal and external alterations and partial demolition.