Locals have called for a new vision for a “neglected” Newcastle riverside plot, after time ran out to start construction work on a gigantic ferris wheel.
Planning permission for the £100m Whey Aye project lapsed on Friday, following years of uncertainty over whether the ambitious scheme to build Europe’s tallest observation wheel on Tyneside would ever go ahead. That has left the future of the former Spillers flour mill site in question, with Newcastle City Council declining to comment this week on what might come next for the vacant land and developers the World Wheel Company still said to be “considering a number of options” to deliver their Giants on the Quayside leisure complex.
The disused plot, which lies between the Ouseburn and St Peter’s Basin, is jointly owned by the council and Homes England. Residents of St Peter’s, who were staunchly opposed to the Whey Aye from the outset and sceptical of its chances of success, have now called for a fresh start for the area.
