The historic Spanish City utilised flooring solutions from Flowcrete UK in its 2018 restoration project that saw its Edwardian features brought back to life.

Starting life in 1906 as a makeshift theatre with temporary stages painted like Spanish streets, the Whitley Park area was a place for William Simcocks’ North East Toreadors group to perform. With rising popularity, the area quickly became known as Spanish City.

It’s dome was the second largest in the country at that time after St. Paul’s Cathedral.

Almost eighteen years after its closure, North Tyneside Council has reopened and restored Spanish City.

Graham Sword, Senior Manager, Regeneration, North Tyneside Council, said: “We worked closely with a number of contractors throughout the restoration project to ensure the iconic building was sympathetically restored and remained true to its rich history.

“The choice of flooring to be used inside the Dome was a really important consideration and we are pleased with the end product, which looks great.”

Kevin Potter, Flowcrete UK’s Managing Director, said: “The careful renovation of the Grade II listed building’s iconic dome, reconditioned into a restaurant, was paramount to the success of the project. Every inch of the space, from the floor to the ceiling, had to be carefully considered to deliver on the required aesthetics and functionality".

First, over 500 m2 of the semi-dry cementitious Isocrete K screed and Isocrete K Screed HDP was installed alongside underfloor heating, in order to provide a heavy-duty base for the resin flooring.

To pay homage to the twentieth century glamour, 200 m2 of the decorative seamless terrazzo system Mondéco Earth was chosen in two complementary colours to form concentric circles around the dome. The neutral colours, separated by metal borders, provided a harmonised contrast to the dark timber flooring used in the centre of the dome.

To keep both staff and diners safe even with the risk of dropped foodstuff or beverages, slip resistance was incredibly important within this space. To fulfil this, 200 m2 of Flowcrete UK’s Flowseal PU Matte (Ultra) with anti-slip aggregates was utilised to coat the Mondéco system.