Fairground plan for city centre street
NEWCASTLE’S Blackett Street is set to be transformed into a family-friendly fairground for six weekends over the summer as part of plans to boost city centre businesses.
From Saturday the usually busy bus route will be closed to motorists on weekends while the road is fitted with outdoor games – such as giant Jenga and Connect 4 – and a host of fairground rides.
To give the street a parklike feel, 1,000sqm of artificial grass will be placed on the road from Old Eldon Square to Pilgrim Street for the duration of the weekends, while an avenue of trees will run along the north side of Blackett Street.
Bean bags, mini deck chairs, and an artificial grass sofa will also be brought out to make the street more accessible to both adults and children.
The idea for the fairground was devised by Newcastle’s Business Improvement District NE1, which organises a range of programmes to bring people into the city centre. These include Alive After Five, the Quayside Seaside, Newcastle Motor Show, and Restaurant Week.
Stephen Patterson, director of communications at NE1, said: “The idea is to create places for people, to make it more pedestrianfriendly, and far more welcoming to families. We will see different types of seating.
“We will have fairground rides towards Old Eldon Square and on part of Blackett Street where the buses would usually pick up.”
He added: “Closures start on June 30 and run for 10 weeks. We are programming six of those as family fun weekends and one will be the motorshow. Other weekends will be taken up by Newcastle Pride, Newcastle Mela and the HSBC Bike Ride.”
The road closures will coincide with the return of the Screen on the Green to Old Eldon Square on Monday. The screen will show TV coverage of the Wimbledon Championship until the competition ends on July 15, and will then screen films.
From 2am on Saturday, cars and buses will be prevented from driving down the street, while the road is transformed into an urban fairground. The artificial turf will then be removed at 10am on Sunday to allow traffic to return to the street.
As well as providing fun activities for families, it is hoped that the added footfall in the city centre will help drive business in Newcastle.
Adrian Waddell, chief executive of NE1, said: “We’ve been interested in a different role for Blackett Street for some time and the Great Exhibition of the North has provided the perfect opportunity to test out what would happen if the street was pedestrianised, on a temporary basis.”
Newcastle City Council is investigating the permanent pedestrianisation of Blackett Street as part of its long-term vision to improve the city centre. The fairground will appear on Blackett Street on the weekends starting June 30, July 7 and 14, August 11 and 18 and September 1.