Wheel plans spinning on
BUT DESIGNS FOR LED SCREEN AWAIT
NEW designs for a giant LED screen attached to the Whey Aye wheel are yet to emerge – but developers insist that efforts to bring Europe’s tallest observation wheel to Newcastle are moving “at pace”.
It is more than three months since city council chiefs confirmed their backing for the 460ft wheel, but there remains uncertainty over a major element of the project.
While councillors approved of the observation wheel itself, they delayed a decision on a huge advertising screen on the front on the towering structure.
The screen, which would have been 187ft wide and 49ft tall, was described as “incongruous” and World Wheel Company bosses asked the council to allow them to come up with a revised design rather than reject it entirely.
The developer predicted at July’s planning committee hearing that a compromise over the screen, which will also showcase social media posts and public service information, would be reached “pretty quickly”.
A redesigned proposal for the screen is still yet to be submitted, but the firm says it remains “totally committed” to the proposals.
World Wheel Company Newcastle chief operating officer, Nigel Hartley, said: “Our plans for Giants on the Quayside continue to progress at pace. “We are in frequent communication with Newcastle City Council and are working within the planning protocols to resolve the situation regarding the LED screen as soon as possible. “We remain totally committed to ensuring Giants on the Quayside delivers the greatest amount of benefit for Newcastle’s residents, businesses and visitors.”
The company’s Newcastle chief executive, Phil Lynagh, told councillors in July that the Whey Aye and surrounding attractions could still be built and operated without extra revenue of the advertising screen “if push comes to shove”.
The £100m Whey Aye project, earmarked for the old Spillers Mill site at the eastern end of the Newcastle Quayside, is expected to attract an additional 261,000 visitors to the city every year – generating almost £15m annually for the local economy. The wider “Giants on the Quayside” development also includes a food and drink hall, a family entertainment centre, and a state-of-the-art virtual golf club.
A council spokesperson said: “The application for the screen was deferred the last time it went before the planning committee in July 2019. Since then there have been discussions between officers and the applicant and we await the submission of a revised scheme. “At that point we will consult with the public and all views will be taken into account before a decision is made.”
We are working within the planning protocols to resolve the situation regarding the LED screen
Nigel Hartley