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Newcastle council have recently backed plans to build a £100m 460ft Observatory wheel on the banks of the river Tyne, which would become the tallest in Europe, beating The London Eye by 16ft. Not only would the wheel steal such status from the London Eye but some suggest that it would take great delight in doing, due to the projects proposed name. So far it has been made very clear that the wheel would be called the ‘whey aye’ which is a play on words with local dialect.
By giving the plans the green light Newcastle council hope to attract a greater amount of tourists to the area with the aim of boosting the local economy. In the councils predictions, it is estimated that the wheel would bring over a quarter of a million tourists a year to the region which would equate to £15m injected into the local economy.
There’s also good news for those brave enough to give the wheel a go as it is planned that rides would cost as little as £1, which compared to the online fast track price of tickets to the London Eye, £37, is undoubtably a lot more attractive.
Also, unlike the London Eye, the fun doesn’t stop at the observation wheel as plans to create additional landmarks and entertainments have been announced. The World Wheel company, who have proposed the project have also claimed that the wheel would be accompanied by a 39ft statue named ‘The Geordie Giant’ and a virtual golf club. Although this is the case, it is clear that the companies main focus is to create the wheel as priory and treat any further developments on the site as a bonus.
Due to the sheer scale of the project it is certain that the skyline of Newcastle would drastically change. This change can be seen below with various artist impressions predicting how the wheel will look from different viewpoints across the city.
All images courtesy of google images
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