NEWCASTLE United are no longer on the slide – but their fans may soon be. A bid for planning permission has been lodged with Newcastle City Council for two stainless steel slides on the bank behind the Gallowgate end at St James’ Park.
They would allow fans on match days to ride the slides to the St James’ car park and Metro station below the stadium instead of using the long flight of steps.
Business Improvement District company for Newcastle City Centre, NE1 ltd has submitted the plans to install the slides – the first to be installed in a public place in the UK.
Similar slides are in place in Utrecht in Holland where they are referred to as “travel accelerators” and are used by commuters at Utrecht railway station.
NE1 invited experts from Utrecht to visit Newcastle to weigh up the site.
It is anticipated that the slides, based on the familiar children’s playground version, will also be used by people generally in what is fast-developing zone in the Gallowgate area.
This has included the construction of new business developments such as City Gate, Time Central, Newcastle University Business School and the Sandman Signature Hotel on the former Scottish and Newcastle Breweries site.
If permission is granted, NE1 hopes to start work early in the summer.
The slides would be part of a programme to improve the area around the stadium, which would include terracing the bank as a sun trap area for people to sit in.
NE1 and the city council have already created the memorial feature to former United manager Sir Bobby Robson at Gallowgate. The slides are also 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.
NE1 was also behind the Quayside Seaside project, which featured palm trees and hundreds of tonnes of sand which made up the 800sqm summer beach scene near the Quayside Law Courts.
NE1 has worked with the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents and with Police Crime Prevention Design specialists Consultancy to ensure that the slide idea and its installation adheres to safety controls and regulations.
Adrian Waddell, NE1’s director of operations, said: “The slides are intended to inject some fun into the city centre and we hope people in suits will feel as comfortable using them as youngsters in casual gear. The slides, like our pocket parks, are designed to attract attention and get people talking.”
Tom Robinson, of Newcastle-based Robinson Landscape Design who is also working on the project, said: “We want people to look differently at public spaces – see the space in a different way and use it differently.
“Being playful and doing something a little unusual aims to encourage people to spend more time here enjoying the city. We want people to ride the slide, then go up the stairs and do it again.”
