Designed by Connect-i, the wheel will be five metres taller than the London Eye
Proposals have been unveiled for the tallest observation wheel in Europe on the banks of the River Tyne in Newcastle.
The 140m-high wheel, dubbed the “Whey Aye” and designed by Bangkok-headquartered architect Connect-i, would be five metres taller than the London Eye.
If plans to be submitted to Newcastle city council later this year are approved the wheel will be built on the site of the now-demolished Spillers Flour Mill by the World Wheel Company, a Hong Kong-based group behind a number of similar schemes around the world.
Unlike Marks Barfield’s London Eye, the wheel would feature a huge 10,000sq m LED digital screen as its centre piece, carrying “tourist information and advertising”.
Phil Lynagh, chief executive of World Wheel Company’s Newcastle operation, said: “This is without doubt one of the most exciting investment and regeneration projects in the UK, if not the world.
“Representing an overall investment of more than £100m, it will create up to 550 local jobs and deliver local building contracts worth in excess of £20m.”
Plans include a pedestrianised area with bars and restaurants and a 9,000sq m visitor attraction called the Giants of the North Experience.
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