STACK has dropped its Empress Ballroom venue at Spanish City. The planning permissions belong to the building's owners and remain in place: what happens next.
STACK Leisure has shelved its plan for a food, drink and live music venue in the former Empress Ballroom at Spanish City. The company is also dropping its planned venue in the old Marks and Spencer store on Silver Street in Durham.
The planning permissions for the ballroom have not gone anywhere, though. North Tyneside Council’s planning register shows they were applied for, and are held, by the building’s owners rather than by STACK. They were last updated in July 2025.
What STACK said
Neill Winch, STACK’s chief executive, gave the reasons in a statement carried in full by the Sunderland Echo and Durham OnAir. He said:
“We recognise that there will be a huge amount of disappointment about these decisions. And these are not decisions we have taken lightly but we have had to look about where to focus our time, investment and resources.
“Rather than continuing to delay progress on these sites, we believe it is the best interests of both Durham and Whitley Bay to step aside and allow alternative providers to come forward.”
The company listed four things behind the decision:
- unforeseen development costs
- the slow pace of getting the sites through planning and legal requirements
- infrastructure requirements
- wider pressures on the hospitality and leisure industry
Mr Winch said STACK had aimed to open three to four new venues a year when the two sites joined its pipeline. “In reality two sites a year is a more realistic number,” he said.
He did not close the door completely. “We would never rule out returning to a location in the future if the right opportunity arose,” he said. “However, Whitley Bay and Durham are not currently within our active development pipeline and our focus remains on delivering the projects already underway.”
STACK’s own Whitley Bay page still read “Coming soon to Whitley Bay!” on Monday afternoon. Its latest news item about the site dates from September 2023.
The building and its permissions
The ballroom opened in 1910 as part of Spanish City, according to STACK’s own announcement of the scheme in 2023. It later became the Carlton Club bingo hall and then stood empty. The council’s register describes it as a Grade II listed property, so changes to it also need listed building consent.
The permission to bring it back into use came before STACK. In March 2021 the council approved 20/01563/FUL, turning the former bingo hall into a mix of uses. These included a function room and wedding suite, a performance venue, a cocktail bar and a restaurant.
STACK then came in through its parent, Danieli Group, which applied in 2023 to vary that permission for a STACK venue. The planning record since then:
| Date decided | Reference | What was approved |
|---|---|---|
| 16 March 2021 | 20/01563/FUL | Redevelopment of the former Carlton Club into commercial uses, with a two-storey extension |
| 27 September 2023 | 23/00704/FUL | An external roof terrace on the western side of the building |
| 18 December 2023 | 23/00659/FUL | Changes to the approved plans, solar panels and bin store |
| 7 July 2025 | 25/00444/FUL | Further changes to the main scheme: food and drink, leisure, live music and events, with offices in a new extension |
| 7 July 2025 | 25/00432/FUL | Changes to the roof terrace plans, materials and protection of interior features |
| 4 December 2025 | 25/01432/COND | Landscaping and finish details agreed for the new substation |
The 2025 applications were all made in the names of the owners, listed on the register as Mark and Lorraine Holmes and Anson House 11. Savills acted as their agent. Every one was approved under delegated powers, meaning a council officer decided it rather than the planning committee.
What it means for you
- Nothing opens at the ballroom soon. STACK says Whitley Bay is no longer in its active pipeline. No other operator has been named.
- The permissions remain in place. The approved uses (food and drink, leisure, live music and events) are not tied to STACK, so another operator could take the building on under them. Whether the work has lawfully started, which decides how long the permissions last, is not something the public register states.
- A new operator could need fresh consent. A different layout or use would need a new application. That would appear on the council’s register, which we check every week for Whitley Bay planning news.
- The dome itself is a separate business. STACK’s decision covers the ballroom only, not the restaurants and bars inside the restored dome.
If you want to see the documents, every reference in the table above links to its page on the council’s planning register.
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