Popular snooker club's move backed by council
BBCA popular snooker club's move to a new home has won the backing of council bosses.
The Hustler Pool and Snooker Club in Newcastle city centre closed its doors earlier this year, ahead of the planned demolition of the vacant Hadrian House block.
The club had operated in the city centre for almost 50 years, leaving its regulars upset, but the club subsequently announced it was hoping to reopen in a new base.
Newcastle City Council granted planning permission for the former Newcastle Labour Club, next to Haymarket Metro station in the city centre, to be turned into a pool and snooker hall.
A council report said the redevelopment would "provide a high quality environment and good standard of amenity, with no unacceptable adverse environmental and health impacts".
The Labour Club had moved to Haymarket in May 2025, leaving the premises on Leazes Park Road it had traded from since the 1970s.
But it closed suddenly this April following a rent dispute with its landlords.
The closure of the former Hustler snooker hall at Hadrian House came amid plans to knock down the disused 1970s block, in Higham Place, to make way for a £60m student housing development.
Councillors had been due to decide last week whether that vision for a 21-storey accommodation complex, which would be among the city's tallest buildings, could go ahead.
However, the verdict was delayed after city planners said they needed to consider a new set of planning rules announced by housing secretary Angela Rayner, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.
The Hadrian House application is expected to be considered by the Liberal Democrat-led council's planning committee on 4 September.
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