Credits roll for Get Carter car park

Jan 6 2009 by Paul James, The Journal

THE Get Carter car park has closed for the final time after towering over Tyneside for nearly 40 years.

Gateshead’s Trinity Square car park opened in 1969 and has dominated the skyline ever since.

The upper storeys have been closed for some time for safety, and now Gateshead Council has closed the rest.

It paves the way for demolition of the car park – made famous by the 1971 Michael Caine film – though a date is yet to be fixed for bulldozers to move in.

Demolition has already started on nearby Ellison Street and the council said the closure would help Spenhill, Tesco’s development arm, to move forward its plans for a new town centre.

A proposed new town square will include a performance space and amphitheatre seating areas, 40 shops, a Tesco, cafes, bars, student flats, offices and a hotel. Yesterday the council said a planning application was expected in the first half of the year. Council leader Mick Henry said: “The car park has dominated Gateshead’s skyline for over 30 years and has generated a wide variety of opinion on its presence in the borough.

“However, 96% of local residents surveyed were in favour of the plans to redevelop Trinity Square and demolish the car park. Although actual demolition won’t start straight away, by closing the car park now we can take another significant step forward.”

The car park was designed in 1964 by architect Owen Luder and built at a cost of £200,000. In 1970 Michael Caine arrived on Tyneside to make the film that made it famous.

But its roof-top cafe did not find a tenant and was never opened and now the upper floors are unsafe for cars.

It has repeatedly featured in polls of the worst buildings, not just in the North East but in the country, although it has gathered a cult following from fans of film and brutalist architecture.

Spenhill has said its plans “provide a strong silhouette” on the skyline.