First, a sizeable yellow metal office container appeared outside turnstiles 42 and 43 of the East Stand, partly blocking those two entry points into St James’ Park.
On the second weekend of August, as fears grew that the far-right riots that had broken out across the UK could soon reach Tyneside, almost 66,000 Newcastle United fans attended back-to-back pre-season friendlies against Girona and Brest.
For hundreds of fans sitting in that section of the East Stand, and the many thousands who walked along Leazes Terrace before and after both matches, the container provided an additional obstruction in an area that is already a pinch point on matchday, given how narrow Magpie Lane is, which leads down by the stadium, to the left of the metal box.
By the following weekend, when Newcastle hosted Southampton in their Premier League opener, the container had disappeared.
Nobody knew the purpose it had apparently served.
The situation became even more curious less than a fortnight later. In the week leading up to Newcastle’s home match against Tottenham Hotspur, a three-foot-high fence, leading nowhere in particular but apparently designating five car-parking spaces, appeared.
We have been made aware that there is the following fence/parking area being constructed in front of the East Stand by the owner of the land. pic.twitter.com/aHyDxKpJLu
— Newcastle United Supporters Trust (@nufctrust) August 29, 2024
The fence stretched about 8m alongside the perimeter of the East Stand, in almost precisely the spot where the container had previously stood, while at one end it jutted three metres out on to the road, parallel to other on-street parking spaces that are marked out by white-dashed lines.
By the evening of August 31, on the eve of the Spurs match, the peculiar fence had been removed and was not present on the day of the game. In the days that followed, some of the fence then appeared back in that spot, but rather than erected, the sections were piled on top of one another.
(Chris Waugh/The Athletic)
Once more, before Newcastle’s next home match — against Manchester City last Saturday — the wooden posts were nowhere to be seen.
As of Tuesday evening, when Newcastle welcomed AFC Wimbledon in the Carabao Cup third round, Leazes Terrace was back to being unobstructed.
(Chris Waugh/The Athletic)
Theoretically, however, further obstacles could yet appear in that same awkward spot in the future.
The land is not owned by Newcastle United, or even Newcastle City Council. Instead, as notices placed by the club above turnstiles 42 and 43 outline — and which remain in place — the plot “is owned and controlled by St James Terrace Land Ltd, Company No. 15599599”.
(Chris Waugh/The Athletic)
While public safety on matchday was cited by the Newcastle United Supporters Trust (NUST) and Newcastle United as a key concern arriving from these perplexing episodes, for the club this is also one of myriad factors that makes the potential expansion and redevelopment of St James’ Park extremely complicated.
The Grade-1 listed buildings on Leazes Terrace and the Grade-2 listed buildings on the adjoining St James Terrace already make extending the East Stand problematic.
Yet, even if Newcastle United’s stadium feasibility study — which began a year ago and the results from which Darren Eales, the CEO, claimed were “imminent” as far back as July — outlines a potential workaround to those delicate issues, the club would still need to acquire this strange island of land. And, given the price the present owner paid for the plot, Newcastle may need to fork out an eye-watering sum to do so.
Located directly adjacent to the East Stand, the strip is shaped like two triangles pointing inwards towards one another (as shown below in red, but not including the green section), and begins outside turnstiles 42 and 43 on Leazes Terrace and stretches about 8m-10m down Magpie Lane, along the side of No 4 St James Terrace.
The current owners acquired the plot on April 5 this year, as the club’s feasibility study was still ongoing.
St James Terrace Land Ltd was only incorporated as a company on March 28 but then, eight days later, according to Land Registry records entitled “Land lying to the south-west of 4 St James’ Terrace”, it paid £180,000 ($239,000 at present exchange rates) to buy the land.
Robbie Kalbraier is the sole director of the company. Although Mr Kalbraier’s correspondence address for St James Terrace Land Ltd is Great Portland Street in London, he is an active director of seven other companies — ranging from construction to flat rental and advertising firms — some of which are registered in Jesmond, Newcastle.
The Athletic, having failed to reach Mr Kalbraier or his companies via email or phone, visited Tyneside Developments Ltd, his company that has headquarters at Blue House. An iconic 19th-century building, which has exposed red bricks on the outside of the ground floor and a white-and-blue checked facade on the outer first floor, it belongs to the Freemen of Newcastle and is situated just off a busy roundabout in the middle of Newcastle’s famous Town Moor.
Mr Kalbraier acknowledged receipt of The Athletic’s questions — which included queries on how he came to own the land on Leazes Terrace, why he had been placing obstacles on it, whether he will continue to do so going forward, and if he had spoken directly with Newcastle United regarding this — but he politely declined to answer them.
There has been contact between the club and the landowner, although the rationale behind why those obstructions were placed there and whether more will be positioned there in the future remains unclear.
Newcastle United said: “The landowner is not associated with or affiliated to the club in any way whatsoever.
“In the interests of continuing to provide uninterrupted access for our fans and others using St James’ Park, particularly on matchdays, we have offered alternative nearby sites to the landowner for the safe storage of their items and will continue to seek to engage in constructive dialogue with the landowner on this matter. We will monitor the situation and will work closely with our partners to find a sensible way forward.”
The NUST described the actions of St James Terrace Land Ltd as “disgraceful” and “openly petty”.
“We strongly urge the landowner to remove the current structure (fence) and to stop putting structures in place which could compromise the safety of our supporters on matchday,” NUST said in a statement last month. “Naturally, we are concerned about the serious health and safety concerns that the structure poses, given the impact this would have on queues when accessing and departing the East Stand.
“The area of the ground right by where this has been constructed is a very busy area on matchdays and putting obstacles in the way of supporters could have dangerous consequences and result in significant overcrowding.”
The club did contact Newcastle City Council, which began an investigation while the container and then the fence were in place, but that ceased once the obstacles were removed.
A council spokesperson said: “We are aware a fence was erected, however that is no longer there. This is a matter between the landowner and the club. The council will only become involved if a risk to public safety arises or work requiring statutory permission is proposed.”
While Northumbria Police were made aware of the situation, the force has not been involved or begun an investigation as it is considered a civil matter.
Regardless, just how did a private company came to own this pocket of land immediately behind the East Stand?
Four of Mr Kalbraier’s companies comprise Tyneside Group Limited, which specialises in the redevelopment, management and rental of properties in Newcastle.
One of those companies, St James’ Central Investments Limited, lists on its website that: “Early in 2014, an opportunity arose to purchase 1, 2, 3 St James Terrace and 17 St James’ Street”. Those properties were redeveloped and, collectively, according to the company, “sold for £2.05million” ($2.72m at present exchange rates), although it does not specify when those sales happened.
According to Land Registry documents, separately, on March 4, 2016, No 4 St James Terrace was bought for £300,000 by St James Partners Limited. Their sole director is Kashif Mumtaz, a businessman and Newcastle supporter who also owns Nos 1 to 3 on the same street — previously redeveloped by Mr Kalbraier’s St James’ Central Investments Ltd — meaning he possesses the entire block.
A week after No 4 was purchased, on March 11, 2016, the strip that St James Terrace Land Ltd now owns was separated from the title for No 4 St James’ Terrace, as was the land immediately behind that property (as shown on the map above in green). The property’s description was then altered with the Land Registry to reflect the change, which is why it is now “land lying to the south-west of 4 St James Terrace”.
The Athletic attempted to contact Mr Mumtaz to confirm these details, but received no response.
For now, Leazes Terrace is back to normal. But St James Terrace Land Ltd can continue to use the plot how it sees fit — and theoretically could place further obstacles on it in the future.
Although the site has (temporarily) been used to house a metal office and a fence apparently demarcating parking spots, it is not a prime storage position, while the parking spaces cannot be used on matchday when the road is closed.
Its significance and value to St James Terrace Land Ltd is unclear. But if Newcastle United ever want to expand the East Stand, they will need to acquire that small strip of land.
When it comes to redeveloping St James’ Park, it seems nothing is ever straightforward.
(Top photos: Newcastle United Supporters’ Trust, Chris Waugh/The Athletic)