NEWCASTLE LANDMARK TO BE DEMOLISHED

It’s been an icon on Newcastle’s landscape for almost three decades, but next year the Queens Wharf Tower is set to be demolished.
Newcastle City Council last night signed off on the landmark’s demolition, which will take place mid-2018.
Council says the tower’s design and exposure to salty air has cost ratepayers millions of dollars to maintain its paintwork over the past few decades.
It also says that when it was designed in 1988, no consideration was given to the accessibility of emergency services or people with a disability, and that it’s been the subject of many complaints to do with cleanliness and vandalism.
“There really is no other way to describe the Queens Wharf Tower other than as an embarrassment to the City. I look forward to not having to answer the inevitable question of ‘why’ from guests and visitors when they first see the Tower,” said Interim CEO Jeremy Bath.
The tower is part of the city’s history, with Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II opening the wharf during her bicentenary visit to Australia in 1988.
Council will now start speaking with the community about how the space should be used once the landmark is removed.