Spanish City up for award
NORTH EAST PROJECTS IN THE RUNNING
THE restoration of a seaside landmark which lay empty for 16 years has been shortlisted for a national award.
The listed Spanish City in Whitley Bay is a finalist in two categories of the Royal Town Planning Institute Planning Excellence awards, which will be announced at a ceremony in London on April 24.
Two other North East projects are also in the running – The Auckland Tower and Newcastle University’s Urban Sciences Building.
It was 110 years ago that Newcastle architect Robert Burns Dick was commissioned to design the Spanish City, which opened in 1910.
After falling into dereliction, the Spanish City was re-opened by North Tyneside Council after a £10m restoration, which included £3.47m from the Heritage Lottery Fund and a £2.5m Coastal Communities grant.
When the dome re-opened last July, it attracted 16,000 visitors in the first weekend.
Earlier this month the Split Chimp microbrewery became the Spanish City’s latest attraction.
North Tyneside Mayor Norma Redfearn described the Spanish City restoration as being “at the heart of our work to revitalise the coast.”
The Spanish City has been short listed in the categories Excellence in Planning for a Successful Economy and Excellence in Planning for Heritage and Culture.
Also in the heritage category is the 29m high Auckland Tower, on the approach to Auckland Castle in County Durham. Created as the welcome centre for The Auckland Project visitor destination, the tower opened to the public last year.
Coun Carl Marshall, Durham County Council cabinet member for economic regeneration, said: “Auckland Tower is helping the town to further become a cultural tourist destination for local and international visitors.”
Bishop of Durham Paul Butler, who is chairman of the Auckland Partnership Board, said: “Its views are terrific and the first floor is exquisite. It is a thoroughly worthy nominee for this prize.”
The Urban Science Building at Newcastle Helix is a finalist in the economy section. Opened in September 2017, the £58 million building is a flagship development in what was previously known as Science Central.
Newcastle Helix is a £350m project bringing together academia, the public sector, communities, business and industry to create a global centre for urban innovation in the heart of the city and is a location for science, technology, business, living and leisure.
The Urban Sciences Building is designed for teaching, laboratory research, events and testing real-time smart technologies for urban sustainability.