11:51AM, Thu Feb 28, 2013

Plans To Install Slides For Football Fans Beside St James' Park

By India Adams Location: Newcastle

Video: Details of the plans and some reaction from Metro users

Plans are in the pipeline to install the UK's first public slides for grown-ups next to St James' Park in Newcastle.

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Submitted by business improvement district company, NE1 Ltd, the plans would see two slides installed on the banked area around the stadium in late 2013, if permission is granted.

They would allow the 53,000 visitors to St James’ Park on match days to ride the slides to St James car park and Metro station instead of taking the long flight of steps.

The new structures would be the first slides of their kind to be installed in a public place in the UK.

Similar slides, known as 'travel accelerators', are already being used by commuters in Holland.

Slides at Utrecht railway station in The Netherlands

Passengers at the busy Utrecht railway station use them to access one of the platforms.

The slides are the latest idea in NE1’s award-winning 'Pocket Parks' programme, designed to inject new life into areas of Newcastle city centre that are neglected or under-used.

The programme includes NE1’s 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 the surrounding area has seen major redevelopment with the construction of the City Gate, Time Central, Newcastle University Business School and the new Sandman Signature Hotel, located on the former Scottish and Newcastle Breweries site.

Before submitting the plans, NE1 worked closely with the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents to ensure it will be safe for the public to use.

NE1's Quayside seaside project - photo by @mari_stewart1

Adrian Waddell, NE1’s Director of Operations explained: "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."

The slides have been designed collaboratively by Robinson Landscape Design, based in Newcastle, and Henk Verhagen from Dutch architects, HIK Ontwerpers, the firm behind the slide installation in Utrecht.

Tom Robinson from Robinson Landscape Design said: "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."