Advertising bill board John Dobson street

Walking along new bridge street west towards the central library, I noticed that the billboards opposite, on the intersection of John Dobson Street and New Bridge Street had been pulled down. 

My first thought was "oh, at last, they are going to build on this piece of waste land" - perhaps the commencement of the ill-fated / ill-timed /considerably delayed "East Pilgrim Street regeneration project. My pulse quickened. Are they proceeding with this scheme at long last?  By they, I mean Newcastle City Council.   A regeneration scheme for the area to the east of Pilgrim Street: an inverted pie slice shaped area bordered by the Central Motorway, was fist mooted back in 2007 /2008 but I think the plans were quietly shelved owing to the worsening financial climate,  credit crunch, impending recession, Government cuts, all of the above (the "Newcastle Council All-Purpose Tick as Appropriate Excuse Form" should be used here).   

I seem to recall in the plans, that this area was to be designated a pedestrian zone, and there was proposed a large public square on the intersection of John Dobson Street and New Bridge Street, which seemed to overlap or even replace the Blue Carpet square.  

The area behind the advertising boards is quite large. Sufficient room for a striking building to complement the new library building opposite. There is a ventilation shaft on this site, however, which may create some restriction on the size and type of structure built here.  Its irrelevant; and I needn't have gotten excited; a quick check on Newcastle's planning website shows that what is planned here is just more advertising hoardings - perhaps even illuminated ones.