Commercial property specialist, Kevan Carrick, is celebrating a 50-year association with the historic and ancient, Trinity House, which has been on Newcastle Quayside since 1500.
Coinciding with the half century link, Kevan, who is co-founder of JK Property Consultants alongside Jennifer Welch, is to let 4/6 Trinity Chare, which is part of the Trinity House estate of properties. It is also known as the Dog Bank building and is a Merchant’s House built about 1350.
Much of the surrounding Trinity House property is now leased to a variety of professional tenants, including barristers and the Live Theatre and the income derived from rent is directly applied to conservation, education and charitable welfare.
4/6 Broad Chare is of solid stone, on three floors with the ground floor being the old byer for cattle and horses, having a solid flagstone floor. The first floor was an open living room area with a garderobe (earth toilet) contained in a substantial buttress and the second floor sleeping accommodation for the whole family. Over its long life, the building has also been a rigging loft, a hospital and offices.
Currently, a design scheme is being prepared so as to obtain listed building consent for present-day office use and providing a high quality of standard, thus protecting the longer-term use and occupation of this important listed building. Many of the historic features will be retained in the design, creating a unique and unusual working environment.
Kevan, who, alongside Jennifer Welch, established JK Property Consultants in 2007, was awarded the honorary title of Member of Trinity House when he reached the 40th anniversary of his involvement.
JK Property Consultants, whose registered office is at Trinity House, advises investors, developers and occupiers, applying its local market knowledge with a national perspective, whether for development, acquisitions, lease renewals, reviews and resolving issues through dispute resolution.
Looking back over his 50-year connection with Trinity House, Kevan said: “For some years the Quayside area had been blighted by a major road proposal to link up with the Central Motorway East. This resulted in many properties deteriorating, including those of the House. The first task was to find potential uses for the empty buildings and to deal with the dilapidations that had accrued.
“27 Broad Chare had been occupied by a car repair workshop, a pit had been dug in the floor and the upper floors as a dump for old car parts. The first task was one of clearance and carrying out immediate repairs to make the building wind and watertight. After some marketing we had an enquiry from a newly formed charity, Live Theatre. This was a group of local playwrights and actors who took a lease of the building put it into a good state of repair and paid a nominal rent. Little did we know how successful Live Theatre would become.
“Shortly, thereafter, the occupiers of 12 Trinity Chare vacated. This building was known as the Old Schoolhouse. It is said to be the navigation school for the apprentices attached to Trinity House. Again, with shortage of capital, the options for bringing the building back into use were limited. We were fortunate in finding a chamber of barristers who paid the capital sum for a nominal rent and undertook to adapt the accommodation for their offices.
“The next task was to establish a long-term strategy for the maintenance and repair of the remaining complex of buildings in the occupation of Trinity House and those buildings remaining in their estate.
“31/33 Broad Chare, is a delightful Victorian three-storey building. A radio and television repair workshop was converted for office use and let to another chamber of barristers.
“Forming the final part of the estate are Alms houses. These are single rooms constructed originally to provide accommodation for those connected with the sea who fell on hard times. These have now been converted to offices and ongoing income to support the costs of maintaining the fabric of the buildings and the interior of Trinity House.
“The overall strategy of bringing important buildings back into use and establishing a regular and long-term revenue has proven to be successful. This has been linked with a five yearly inspection by a chartered building surveyor to ensure that they are well maintained.”
