Approval granted for £100m Whey Aye Wheel project

Plans for a £100m development on Newcastle Quayside, which will feature a 460 ft observation wheel dubbed The Whey Aye have been given the green light.

The Giants on the Quayside development will cover more than 340,000 sq ft on the former Spillers Flour Mill site, which was demolished in 2011 and has lain vacant since.

This wheel will be 16 ft (5 m) taller than the London Eye, making it the tallest observation wheel in Europe.

A video with a virtual walkthrough was released earlier this year.

The development will also feature a restaurant, family entertainment centre, giant sport deck and virtual golf club called The Quayside Golf Club.

An application for an 820 sq yd LED screen has been deferred.

A competition will be launched for people to propose designs for The Geordie Giant, a human-shaped structure which will be about 39 ft high and feature at the development.

Developer World Wheel Company Newcastle, which is based in the city centre, expects construction to start on next year for a 2023 opening.

World Wheel Company Newcastle chief executive officer, Phil Lynagh, said: