Experience Cambridge from the Sky
Cambridge residents and visitors are right now experiencing the thrill of a Ferris wheel in Parker’s Piece in the city.
Similar to the London Eye wheel, the City View Wheel has gondolas, including a special VIP booth where guests can enjoy sipping champagne while reclining on leather seats.
Bronson Thurston, a director at the City View Wheel Company, said the company had chosen to set up in Cambridge due to the “spectacular views” the area offered.
He added: “On a clear day you should easily be able to see as far as Ely Cathedral.”
To avoid queues at the wheel, those who want to try out the attraction, are encouraged to buy tickets online at the company’s website. Tickets can still be booked at the attraction on the day but the ride will take longer to access.
Could the Wheel prove an annual event?
Thurston – whose company is already running the fair on Jesus Green – said he’d wanted to bring the Wheel to Cambridge well before this year. Like many businesses though his plans had been thwarted by the pandemic. Now he hopes the Ferris wheel will be an annual event during spring and summer – something the city residents can look forward to appearing every year.
The City View Wheel – which was made in Turkey and constructed here in the UK – opened at the end of May. Thurson said he was hoping to get planning permission to stay until October for this year at least. He has already applied to the council for a licence. In the meantime, planning laws state that under permitted development rights moveable temporary structures can stay for 56 days.
A spokesperson for Greater Cambridge Shared Planning Service confirmed they had received a planning application for the wheel on Parker’s Piece until October 31. He said a backlog of applications meant that the consultation for planning permission had only just begun at the end of May so there was no decision yet as to whether the Ferris wheel would be allowed to continue as an annual event.
But the Wheel already has the local Cambridge City Council leader @lewis_herbert’s vote. “I don’t want to pre-judge any planning decision but given that we have had to cancel all events on Parker’s Piece this year… this may be something for people to enjoy,” he said.
“I’m sure many local businesses will welcome the wheel if it brings people to the area.”
London Eye is Europe’s tallest Wheel
Interestingly, although the Cambridge City View Wheel is incredibly similar to the London Eye, the latter’s organisers dispute the fact it is a Ferris wheel. Instead, they describe the Capital’s 135-metre high attraction – which sits on the south bank of the River Thames – as “Europe’s tallest cantilevered observation wheel.” It has 32 capsules, compared to the Cambridge wheel’s 24 gondolas.
World’s tallest Wheel now in Dubai
The world’s tallest Ferris wheel is currently in Dubai and reaches 210 metres. Built in 2019, it sits on the city’s Bluewater Island near the Jumeirah Beach Residences (JBR) beachfront.
If you plan on coming to Cambridge to visit or stay on business then why not take a look today at the smart and contemporary apartments we have on offer here at CheckedInn?