Pegida Protest - Info including road closures

Pegida UK plan to protest in Newcastle on Saturday 28th February - a counter march, Newcastle Unites, is also due to take place. Northumbria Police are advising road users in Newcastle City Centre about possible delays on Saturday. As well as the two demonstrations from Pegida and Newcastle Unites groups officers are also expecting large numbers of people to travel into the city for the Newcastle United and Gateshead football matches. This, combined with the extensive ongoing road works in areas of the city, means that officers are warning the public about potential delays on the roads and extra congestion in the city centre. Newcastle Chief Superintendent Laura Young said:

"It will be a busy day in Newcastle on Saturday with a number of events taking place and with lots of people coming into the city centre for things like shopping, socialising and the football. The city is a busy place on a Saturday anyway and with all of the extra things taking place then we are advising anyone who is thinking of driving into Newcastle to give themselves extra time and be aware of how their journey might be affected by the delays. To minimise disruption to the public we will have motor patrols officers out on the roads to ensure traffic flow and we will do everything we can to keep the roads open and to reduce the impact on the public. We have spoken with the local authority and local bus and travel companies about the road closures and we are looking to have all roads re-opened as soon as possible on Saturday."

On Saturday, the following roads will be closed to allow for the demonstrations to take place: - The Bigg Market will be closed to traffic from around 10am. - A small section of Gallowgate will be closed from around 10:30am to 10:45am Newcastle Unites march begins. - A section of Newgate Street will be closed from 10:30am. - There are no plans to close Clayton Street or Grainger Street. Officers may need to temporarily close other roads on the day depending on activity, however we will look to re-open them as soon as possible and keep the city road network flowing. The Pegida demonstration will take place at 11am in the Bigg Market. Protesters will gather there for speeches and a demonstration. Newcastle Unites will meet in Gallowgate at around 10:30am. They will then walk a short distance to Newgate Street where they will hold a demonstration. There will be extra officers in and around the city on the day to ensure the events pass peacefully and that any disruption to the public is kept to a minimum.