Developers have announced the plans of building Europe’s tallest observation wheel in Newcastle which will be 140m high, five metres taller than the London Eye.
The former Spillers’ Flour Mill on Newcastle’s Quayside the wheel will be built. The £100m project will have bards restaurants and a 9,000 sq m visitor attraction that will celebrate the creative, sporting and industrial giants of northern England.
A family entertainment centre, multi-purpose play and sports complex, with covered five-a-side pitches and tennis courts and a virtual golf club will also be there.
A 30-minute ‘flights’ will be offered by the wheel which will also feature a record breaking 10,000 sq m LED digital screen as its centre piece.
The information about the local events will be provided on the screen revealing the social media content and advertising. The wheel will dominate the Newcastle skyline and will be towered above the local landmarks like the Tyne Bridge and the Grey’s Monument .
As per the developers of the World Wheel Company it is expected from the project, creation of 550 local jobs and it will welcome 800,000 visitors during its first year.
Once the Newcastle City Council will receive the plan the project might take 18-24 months to complete.
Earlier the Newcastle’s Quayside used to be home to warehouses and factories but is now a major culture and lifestyle destination.
The wheel known as “The Whey Aye” in a nod to the famous Geordie phrase will join attractions like the BALTIC Centre For Contemporary Art, Sage Gateshead and The Quayside Market.
In 2011 post the demolition of the Spillers building the site remained vacant.Though a summer music festival was held annually at Spiller’s Wharf between 2003 and 2013.
The Hong Kong based, World Wheel Company will be overseeing the project from an office in Newcastle. Earlier it had built giant observation wheels in China and Georgia.
The Newcastle wheel will be the company’s tallest yet, but no competition for the current world-record holder, the High Roller in Las Vegas, which stands at 167.5m.
