St James' Park Slides Plan Binned
21 November 2013, 11:43 | Updated: 30 March 2016, 13:50
Plans for two slides to be built at St James' Park have been rejected by Newcastle United.
The plans were submitted to the council's planning committee earlier in the year by NE1 Ltd.
They would have been a similar in design to ones used by commuters at Overvecht railway station in Utrecht in the Netherlands (Pictured)
But now Newcastle United say they have plans of their own to redevelop the area outside the stadium that had been earmarked for the slides.
NE1 Ltd's 'pocket park' plans were designed to 'inject a bit of fun' into the city centre.
If the plans had gone ahead, it would have meant the 53,000 visitors to St James' Park on match days could ride the two slides to the St James' car park and Metro station below the stadium instead of taking the long flight of steps.
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UPDATED: 25th February 2013
A bid's been submitted by NE1 to build slides at St James' Park which can be used instead of steps down to the Metro station
Business Improvement District company for Newcastle City Centre, NE1 ltd submitted the plans for two slides on the banked area around St James' Park.
These will be the first slides of this sort to be installed in a public place in the UK.
Similar design installations have been erected in Utrecht in Holland (PICTURED) where they are referred to as 'travel accelerators' and are used by commuters at the busy Utrecht railway station to access one of the platforms.
If planning permission is granted, NE1 will introduce this continental design idea into Newcastle City Centre and bring a bit of fun into the heart of the city for people to use and enjoy.
Subject to planning permission the slides will be installed later this year allowing the 53,000 visitors to St James' Park on match days to ride the two slides to the St James' car park and Metro station below the stadium instead of taking the long flight of steps.
The slides are the latest idea in NE1's award winning pocket park programme, designed to infuse new life into areas of Newcastle city centre which are neglected or under used.
The program has seen mini parks spring up across the city, either as permanent installations or temporary additions to the Newcastle landscape, including the temporary summertime pocket park - Quayside Seaside - the pop up beach that takes up residence on the banks of the Tyne every summer.
The site for the slides was chosen by NE1 because it is close to an area of the city that has undergone major redevelopment with the construction of new business developments like City Gate, Time Central, Newcastle University Business School and the new Sandman Signature Hotel, located on the former Scottish and Newcastle Breweries site.
These new developments have stretched the core city centre westward towards these sites at Gallowgate and Barrack Road.
When the slides are installed and the area re-landscaped, the St James' Pocket Park will provide a contemporary environment that sits well with the surrounding investment and provides a link between the historic retail heart of the city, China Town and the newly developed areas.
Commenting on the new slides, Adrian Waddell, NE1's Director of Operations explained:
"The slides are intended to inject some fun into the city centre and take their inspiration from Holland where slides have been installed in a busy railway station to speed up access to train platforms and to inject new life into an area.
NE1's slides, like the rest of our pocket parks, are designed to attract attention and get people talking - one of the secrets of good urban design is to encourage people to focus on their surroundings, to take note and sometimes also to challenge the views and perceptions of a particular area - the slides will certainly do that."
