A huge chunk of the old Commercial Union House has been reduced to rubble, while little trace remains of Stack

One of the busiest parts of Newcastle city centre has become almost unrecognisable amid huge demolition works.

The northern section of Pilgrim Street has been shut since last week, under a £155m transformation plan that will ultimately see it become home to HMRC’s new North East headquarters. One of the city’s ugliest buildings, the brutalist Commercial Union House, is currently being torn down to make way for the giant development.

Meanwhile, almost all traces of the former Stack shipping container venue next door has now been removed. Just a single container block, Stack’s former management suite, remains on the site, formerly home to the old Odeon cinema, after it was rapidly dismantled following its closure earlier this month.

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Nearby Bamburgh House will also be demolished, as will the interior of the listed Carliol House on Market Street, while the Dex car garage has already been knocked down.

By 2027, the new Pilgrim’s Quarter office block will be built in their place – wrapping around Pilgrim Street, Market Street, New Bridge Street West, and John Dobson Street to become the largest office development in the city centre’s history.

Many passers-by have been spotted stopping to snap pictures of the dramatic scenes of destruction, as contractors continue to demolish what remains of Commercial Union House.

This was how the former 1970s office block looked on Friday.

The maligned section of the infamously unattractive building that protruded out over Pilgrim Street has now completely vanished, with a huge pile of rubble now where it once stood.

This was how Commercial Union House used to look.

It is one of a series of prominent buildings being torn down to make way for HMRC's new North East headquarters.

This photo, taken from the City Library, shows the massive changes to the land around Pilgrim Street. Just a single container block, Stack’s former management suite, remains on the empty venue site, formerly home to the old Odeon cinema, after it was rapidly dismantled following its closure earlier this month.

This was how Stack had looked in its heyday.

The Pilgrims Quarter complex will stand at between six and nine storeys tall and will accommodate more than 9,000 HMRC staff, who are being moved from sites in Longbenton and Washington. It has been a good week for the Reuben Brothers-led development, with news that the government will not be calling in Newcastle City Council’s decision to award planning permission for the scheme despite heritage concerns about the impact on Carliol House.