Area of city centre will become a mini park

Reporter WORKERS are due to star transforming an area of Newcastle city centre into a ‘pocket park’ next month.

Plans are under way to create a new public square around Stephenson’s Monument at the bottom of Westgate Road, outside the Union Rooms pub.

The £80,000 project led by the city council and NE1 will see the area transformed with paving, seating and planting.

Phase one, which involved replacing the paving outside of the Union Rooms, Vita Student and Laundrette buildings, was finished last year.

Now the second phase – which will involve paving the rest of the space and putting in the new seating and raised planted beds – will begin on April 3.

Coun Arlene Ainsley, cabinet member for transport and air quality at Newcastle City Council, said: “This is one of the first areas of the city people see when they arrive in Newcastle by train and the changes we are making will ensure visitors get a great first impression. The area will be a relaxing and pleasant space in the heart of the city – providing a much more attractive and fitting setting for the monument to North East railway pioneer George Stephenson.”

A feature of the scheme will be a band of paving that will represent the approximate alignment of the historic Roman frontier in this part of the city. This phase of the project will also include the installation of measures designed to reduce the risk of localised flooding by managing rain water run-off.

The project is due to be completed later this year and during the works there will be some temporary changes to the road layout, including the pedestrian crossing arrangements.

People are advised to take extra care when travelling in the area and follow the signage which will be in place.

The Union Rooms, Vita Student and Laundrette will remain open throughout the project but people may have to walk a different route to the one they would normally take while the improvements take place.

The plans for the area were developed by local landscape design company Southern Green and the project has also received support from Northumbrian Water.

Adrian Waddell, chief executive at NE1 Ltd, said: “The Stephenson pocket park may be small but it is hugely significant to the city. It is one of the last pieces in the redevelopment jigsaw of the Central Station.”