Work has started today on the demolition of a North East car park made famous by seventies gangster film Get Carter starring Michael Caine.
The car park in Trinity Square, Gateshead is being taken down piece by piece as civic leader have revealed they want to remodel the the town to rival neighbours Newcastle. Owen Luder, the architect behind the iconic structure said:
“It’s a sad day; Gateshead is losing its front teeth.”
Mr Luder was speaking as he made his final visit to the car park and it’s amazing rooftop box which was designed to accommodate a restaurant and nightclub but never used.
He rejected Gateshead Councils reasoning that the building had become structurally and economically unrepeatable adding:
“The demand I met in the Sixties with a multi-storey car park still exists today, so why knock it down?”
The demolition is expected to take around eight weeks but it will take the same time again to cleat the site of the 34,000 tonnes of concrete rubble let behind.
Discussions have already started regarding the future of the site and it is thought that a £150 million redevelopment contract from the regeneration subsidy of Tesco Spenhill will be successful in developing accommodation and a shopping centre on the site of the car park.