arc Magazine #1

arc

issue_01 autumn 2007

The official regeneration magazine of Sunderland

industrial

evolution The North East’s largest city is on the verge of economic and social regeneration, all based along the banks of the River Wear

■ sunderland’s story SO FAR ■ high hopes for city towers ■ vaux pops

Unique cities demand a unique approach.

Thornfield's unique approach is helping put the heart and soul into towns and cities across the UK. Thornfield are delighted to be working alongside Sunderland arc, Sunderland City Council and the people of Sunderland to deliver a winning scheme at Holmeside that we will all be proud of.

the official regeneration magazine of Sunderland

Big things are happening in Sunderland. Shaking off its legacy of industrial decline, the largest city in the North East is looking forward to becoming a truly 21st century place to live, work and play, building on its high-tech industry, superb transport links, top university and passionate people.

The rebirth is being led by Sunderland arc (area regeneration company), a partnership between Sunderland City Council, One NorthEast and English Partnerships, transforming the urban landscape, accelerating the redevelopment of Wearside, and creating thousands of jobs.

The arc’s focus is on redeveloping brownfield sites into vibrant new communities, from the spectacular plans for the former Vaux Brewery site to the towering Spirit of Sunderland on Holmeside, taking in historic Sunniside on the way.

Supported by the city council’s Unitary Development Plan (UDP), a strong framework is now in place to push these exciting developments forward. Chief executive David Walker sums up Sunderland arc’s mission: “It is absolutely fitting that the former industrial sites that previously brought economic prosperity to the area are now the proposed sites for development. At the heart of our purpose is putting the city on a new economic footing, creating new jobs but also diversifying. The variety is all part and parcel of place-making.

“This summer an independently appointed government inspector endorsed the city’s overarching strategy for regeneration. This has been a crucial step forward, clarifying the planning framework for central Sunderland and encouraging investors and developers to choose this fast-rising city.”

Above: Spectacular plans to bring the Vaux Brewery site back to life Right: The city’s regeneration will centre on the River Wear

Editor: Sarah Herbert sarah@3foxinternational.com Deputy editor: Kirsty MacAulay kirsty@3foxinternational.com Art editor: Terry Hawes terry@3foxinternational.com Contributors: Alison Jones, Hilary Scott, David Blackman Advertisement sales: Shelley Cook shelley@3foxinternational.com

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Printed by: Trade Winds Images: Roger Coulam, Sunderland arc, University of Sunderland, China National Tourist Administration, Beetham Organization, Sunderland City Council, Sunderland Echo Published by: Lower Ground Floor 189 Lavender Hill, London SW11 5TB T: 020 7978 6840 F: 020 7978 6837

Production: Sue Mapara sue@3foxinternational.com Managing director: Toby Fox toby@3foxinternational.com

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Sunderland arc’s partners:

For Sunderland arc North Sands Business Centre, Liberty Way, Sunderland SR6 0QA 0191 568 9880 www.sunderlandarc.co.uk Subscriptions and feedback: go to www.arcmagazine.co.uk © 3Fox International Limited 2007. All material is ­strictly copyright and all rights are reserved.

Reproduction in whole or in part without the written ­permission of 3Fox International Limited is strictly ­forbidden. The greatest care has been taken to ensure the accuracy of information in this magazine at time of going to press, but we accept no ­responsibility for omissions or errors.

The views expressed in this ­magazine are not ­necessarily those of 3Fox International Limited or Sunderland arc.

06_history:

The story of the North East’s largest city, from the first Roman settlements to its 21st century plans, is built on industry, innovation and its coastal position on the Wear.

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_ sunderland strategic transport corridor: New transport infrastructure, including a new bridge and roads, will underpin the regeneration.

15_Grove:

This former industrial site will become a lively residential district and starting point for the city’s new iconic road bridge.

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_Stadium VILLAGE: A state-of-the-art sports and leisure facility with 50m swimming pool, wellness centre and hotel. Just the first phase of a much larger mixed-use development that will extend to the nearby Sheepfolds district.

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grove

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stadium_village

contents

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_ Farringdon Row: The new gateway to Sunderland will see homes, offices, hotel and retail elements all enjoying fantastic views out over the river.

The jewel in the crown of the new Sunderland, this 10.5 ha riverside site will be transformed into a lively district set around the largest public square in the North East.

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Holmeside: A 40,000sq m retail and leisure development and the towering Spirit of Sunderland residential project, will radically enhance the city centre.

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_ Sunniside: The revival of this historic area is already under way, with the neighbourhood’s classic squares and terraces being given a new lease of life.

32_Port and university: Linchpins of the city’s economy, both the port and the university are investing heavily in major redevelopment plans.

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sunniside

holmeside

vaux 22_Vaux:

34_tall

buildings: All around the world, tall buildings signify a city has arrived. Now, with the planned 33-storey Spirit of Sunderland, it’s this city’s turn in the limelight.

38_contacts: Who’s who in Sunderland’s regeneration, from the executive team at arc to partners in the programme.

History

The Austin shipyard in its heyday. Right, Silksworth Colliery

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industrial evolution Sunderland has an illustrious history of industrial firsts and hard graft, based around the River Wear. Now, the city is looking forward to a new era of innovation. By Hilary Scott

The biggest city between Leeds and Edinburgh, Sunderland has seen it all. There have been good times and bad, but the good have certainly outweighed and lasted longer than the bad. Shipbuilding, glass-making, ironwork, and engineering have all played a part in the rise – and subsequent fall – of Sunderland. Yet hopes remain high that in the 21st century it will remain a thriving, prosperous place to live, work and enjoy life, as it continues to throw off the industrial decline which dogged it in the 1970s and 80s and heads off towards the future.

Sunderland’s economic history has always been linked to its site on the River Wear and, of course, its port. It’s no flash-in-thepan history, either – there is evidence that the Romans used the Wear, or Vedra as they called it, as a supply route for soldiers on Hadrian’s Wall, while the earliest written record of port activity dates from a charter for maritime commerce. Docks, in one form or another, have been present since at least 1382.

Sunderland’s ships initially transported salt to London and the south of the country, but the proximity of coal, both in its own coalfields and nearby Durham’s, made transporting coal an inevitable trade. But it was always held back by rivalry with neighbouring Newcastle, which had the advantage of holding a royal charter, until the Civil War that is, when Sunderland backed the winning Parliamentary side. Newcastle’s support for the losing royalist cause left Sunderland with a virtual monopoly of the coal trade for a number of years.

Both the shipbuilding industry and port were quick to make the most of this advantage, laying down the foundations for continual development through the next two centuries.

In particular, improvements to the port in the 18th and 19th centuries meant larger ships were able to navigate the Wear, meaning more goods could be exported, prompting an expansion in the number of shipyards from 23 in 1814 to 76 in 1840.

By the middle of the 19th century, Sunderland was described as the greatest shipbuilding town in the world, producing almost one third of all ships built in the UK between 1846 and 1850.

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»

History

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1_The once bustling Wearside docks 2_3_Miners at Murton Colliery 4_Wearmouth colliery, now site of the

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Stadium of Light

Towards the latter half of the century, in common with other shipbuilding areas, Sunderland yards started to build ships in iron and steel, and the last wooden ship was built in 1880. At the same time, steam began to overtake sail as the means of propulsion, which in turn prompted growth in related industries such as iron and steel manufacturing, boiler-making and engineering.

The 20th century saw the Wear yards continue to produce large numbers of ships. During the Second World War, they produced 245 merchant ships totalling 1.5 million tons, a quarter of the tonnage of all the merchant ships produced in the UK, which played a vital role in keeping the country’s supply lines open during the war years.

Sunderland’s yards kept up their proud traditions after the war, although competition from overseas saw a gradual decline, with yards either closing or merging. Eventually, the slump came.

In 1978, the year after the industry was nationalised, 7,535 people worked in the yards. This number had fallen to 4,337 by the mid 1980s, and the last yard finally closed in 1988.

The coalmines also declined over the same period. The last mine, Wearmouth Colliery, closed in 1994, and the site now houses the Stadium of Light, splendid new home to Sunderland AFC. A monument to the miner’s Davy lamp stands outside the stadium to honour its mining heritage.

Shipbuilding and coal-mining were, naturally, two major sources of employment. But conditions, particularly in the 19th century, were hard, with death and injury commonplace. Workers were paid for timework – literally, the number of hours worked – so any stoppages, for any reason, meant no money. Workers joined unions to try to improve their conditions, but this brought about disputes, over pay or actual work, with days lost through strikes, from the Sunderland engineers strike of 1883-85, one of the longest on the Wear, to shorter, but more numerous ones after the Second World War. But shipbuilding and coal mining weren’t the only employers on the Wear.

Glass-making was established before both

of them, way back in 674AD, shortly after the establishment of Monkwearmouth Monastery. Glassmakers came over from the continent to help beautify the buildings, which were to be home to the Venerable Bede, a student at the educational establishment attached to the monastery, and built by Benedict Biscop, adopted by Sunderland as its patron saint in 2004.

Glass continued to be made in Sunderland for the next 1,500 years, although the fine tradition will come to an end later this year, when the last manufacturer Pyrex will close.

Sunderland has been at the forefront of developments in the manufacturing world: The mass production of glass, mining inventions, railway development, industrial chemical manufacturing, the design of standard ships, and the electric light bulb all first saw the light of day in Sunderland. What’s more, it’s home to the oldest railway bridge in existence, Causey Arch on Tanfield Railway, which when built in 1727 was the largest arch to be built in Britain since Roman times.

Tanfield Railway itself was established in 1725 and is now the oldest existing railway in the world.

As was the case in many of the UK’s industrial regions, the diminshing of the traditional industries led to unemployment and decline towards the end of the 20th century. The situation in Sunderland was alleviated by the arrival of Nissan in the 1980s, which created the largest car plant in the UK. Nissan was able to benefit from the availability of a large workforce, skilled in manufacturing, and the plant is now the most productive in Europe, producing the Nissan Primera, Micra, Note and the new Qashqai. The arrival of Nissan acted as a catalyst for new jobs in the automotive sector, not only at the plant, but also with firms set up to supply it.

In the past 10 years, Sunderland’s economy has been improving. In terms of unemployment, it has performed better than the rest of the North East, with promising trends in employment, investment and the creation of new firms.

Manufacturing industry has reversed the downward trend, which started in the 1970s, rising from 25% to 30% of the

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proportion of total employment between 1986 and 1996 – in contrast to national and regional figures. The majority of these jobs are in the car industry, and in mechanical, electrical and electronic engineering.

The service sector represents just over two-thirds of total employment in the city, with almost 19,000 working in central or local government. Nationally threequarters of the workforce are involved in the service sector. There has also been considerable growth in the business services sector, with the creation of nearly 10,000 jobs at the Doxford International Business Park since the early 1980s.

And the University of Sunderland, with over 16,000 students, has a growing reputation for business and computer studies. The challenge now is to make sure that high quality graduates remain in the area.

All the positive trends can’t disguise the fact that there is still much to do: Sunderland still suffers from a legacy of unemployment, social exclusion and environmental deterioration, and 11 of the city’s 24 wards are in the top 2,000 most deprived in the country.

However, Sunderland arc is helping tackle these problems, building on the existing high-tech industry and dedicated workforce to create thousands of jobs through accelerating the area’s redevelopment, and improving the physical landscape. In the not-toodistant future, residents and visitors can expect to see the Wearside area once again thriving with new homes, businesses, jobs and landmarks, from the new gateway site of the former Vaux brewery, being transformed into a burgeoning community, to Stadium Village, Sunniside, east of the city centre, Holmeside and the port.

Sunderland’s past prosperity has been inseparable from its site on the River Wear. With the regeneration programme the river will once more be at the heart of this proud city, now looking forward to a bright future. n

city living, sunderland

Gentoo Ventures is the property management and development company of the Gentoo Group. From acquisitions and sales, to commercial, industrial and residential property management, property development and asset management, Gentoo Ventures have a mix of skills to generate solutions to property problems and create opportunities that would not otherwise exist.

Gentoo Ventures have the expertise to tackle a wide variety of different projects including, housing, hotels, shops and leisure facilities.

This flexibility has allowed our clients to tackle a broad portfolio of issues and regenerate areas facing multiple challenges.

In 2002, through the Ventures and Homes brand and with the financial support from Sunderland City Council, English Partnerships and One North East, Gentoo began to re-introduce residential use into the heart of Sunniside, the historic centre of the City of Sunderland. This Sunniside project has already seen the restoration of Athenaeum Building, Maritime Buildings, 40 West Sunniside, the Old Post Office and Foyle Street.

Work has also recently been completed on the restoration of the former Water Board Building and is due to be completed on the redevelopment of the former Mowbray Park Hotel for a restaurant and residential apartments in September 2007.

For further information on Gentoo Ventures and for details on how we can help with your property challenges, contact us on:

0191 525 5000

or visit:

www.gentooventures.com

...living for a new generation

projects: Sunderland Strategic Transport Corridor

Bridging the gap.

An iconic bridge and major new road network will underpin Sunderland’s regeneration programme

The new transport corridor will greatly improve accessibility

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The regeneration of Sunderland is not just limited to buildings; the city’s infrastructure also needs updating and major investments are being made to the road system to ease congestion, ease access to the city centre and provide a link for the strategic sites of regeneration connecting new communities and existing residents.

The Sunderland Strategic Transport Corridor (SSTC) will connect to the £23 million Southern Radial Route introduced to address traffic problems in Grangetown and Ryhope, improving access to the city centre, the port and the A19. Work is well under way on the Southern Radial Route, which will improve connections for road freight traffic to the port from the south, avoiding residential areas, and includes plans to introduce public transport and pedestrian friendly measures. It is hoped the route will be complete by the end of the year, boosting the city’s regeneration.

The jewel in the city’s transport crown will be a new £43 million bridge that stretches from Claxheugh and Castletown, providing a dramatic gateway to Sunderland. Great emphasis is being placed on the bridge’s symbolic status, as it is hoped it will become an icon for the city and its regeneration; something residents can be proud of. David Walker, chief executive of Sunderland arc wholeheartedly agrees: “It will literally be a new gateway to Sunderland and provides an opportunity to rebrand the city through an iconic structure, proving we’re serious about investment and development in Sunderland.”

The four-lane, 300m bridge and first phase of the project (circled above) will be part of the new transport route, which will begin at the A19/A1231 intersection, cross the river into the Grove Cranes development site and head east towards the port.

Sunderland Council has submitted a major business case for funding to the Department of Transport, which has confirmed the scheme as an accepted application, in principle. It is hoped that work will begin in 2010. n

Making visions a reality

The lawyers who deliver on regeneration At Eversheds our legal advisers work as a team to provide bespoke solutions for your redevelopment and regeneration projects.

High profile, award winning experts working at the top of their game for you.

Our leading regeneration team provides access to experts in key areas:

Contact Adrian Stanley 0845 497 6030 adrianstanley@eversheds.com

Whatever the project, we can give you the winning edge.

• development • planning • state aid/procurement • construction methodologies • partnership structuring • environmental and regulatory regimes.

www.eversheds.com © EVERSHEDS LLP 2007. Eversheds LLP is a limited liability partnership.

projects: Grove Cranes

urban living.

A riverside community will breathe new life into the ex-industrial site of one of Sunderland’s largest employers

Residential market

The perfect setting for a riverside residential zone

The housing market in Sunderland is ‘buoyant and busy’, according to Ashley O’Carroll of local agent Peter Heron. “The average price for a family home is £150,000. The cheaper end of the market is very active with family housing, particularly three-bed places, supported by good sales from the first-time buyer market.”

O’Carroll says the great thing about Sunderland is that there is such a selection of housing available.

“We’re seeing a lot of people buying into Sunderland from Newcastle. Property here is more affordable, the quality is superb and it’s a really good city.

With the proposed regeneration we’re bound to see capital appreciation in the housing market, but as it’s very stable we don’t get the peaks and troughs experienced in other cities.”

Grove Cranes was one of the city’s major employers until it closed in 1999. Now, in a new lease of life, its 35ha site on the south bank of the River Wear will provide the perfect location for a new riverside, family-orientated residential zone, described by planners as an exciting development opportunity. Sunderland arc is working with developer O&H Properties to provide up to 1,000 new homes, 10,000sq m of commercial space, neighbourhood shopping and 4,000sq m of community facilities, which could include a primary school, doctor’s surgery and children’s hospice.

The idea of the £240 million scheme is to breathe new life into the old industrial site by creating a lively urban village of international quality. A variety of housing options will attract new people into the area and encourage local residents to stay in Sunderland, rather than moving out of the city in search of appropriate accommodation.

Although the prime motivation behind the proposals was the need for new housing, they also include substantial space for businesses and community facilities, providing local employment for residents who will be able to walk to work. The site is integral to the Sunderland Strategic Transport Corridor (SSTC) and will benefit from its excellent links, including the new road bridge, which will run through the district. n

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projects: Stadium Village

Let there be light.

A new, state-of-the-art sports park to benefit both professionals and the local community

The city’s much-loved Stadium of Light, which opened to critical acclaim in 1997, will be at the heart of a new sports-centred development on the north bank of the river. The £75 million Stadium Village scheme will provide state-of-the-art sports and health facilities, including a 50m pool and wellness centre and a 150-bed hotel.

The project will create a centre of excellence for sport in the North East region, providing exemplary facilities for local teams as well as inspiring residents to get fit and healthy. It is hoped that the new facilities will result in a Wearside Olympic champion at the 2012 games, attract Olympic training camps in the run up to the event and host regular competitions in

The proposed 50m, 10-lane pool, next to the Stadium of Light

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projects: Stadium Village

The pool, stadium and wellness centre at the heart of the site

the future. The spectacular 50m pool will have 10 swimming lanes with two moveable floors, and be complemented by a diving and multi-purpose pool. Construction of the pool and wellness centre, led by Sunderland City Council, is already under way and is expected to be complete in early 2008.

Plans for further sporting and fitness facilities are also well advanced.

Stadium Village will extend into the nearby Sheepfolds area, covering a total of 30 ha, incorporating 300 residential units and a proposed footbridge linking the site with the larger Vaux site on the other side of the river (see page 22).

The large, flagship scheme is described as ‘very much a

long-term project’ by Sunderland arc chief executive David Walker. “We are confident that with careful planning Stadium Village will deliver its massive potential,” he explains.

Sunderland arc is leading the development on behalf of the landowner One NorthEast and working closely with Sunderland AFC and other strategic partners, including Sunderland City Council, the University of Sunderland and the City of Sunderland College.

Sunderland AFC’s vice chairman, John Hays, says: “This development will be vitally important for the region and echoes the world-class facilities we have already created at the Stadium of Light.” n

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A transformation is happening, Sunderland is revealing its true face.

Together with you, we’re turning Sunderland into a truly 21st century place to live, work and play. Follow our progress on www.sunderlandarc.co.uk North Sands Business Centre, Liberty Way, Sunderland. SR6 0QA Telephone: 0191 568 9880 Email: info@sunderlandarc.co.uk

projects: Farringdon Row

Location, location, location.

Overlooking the River Wear, this new gateway development based around a dynamic masterplan will raise the bar for design, living and working

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The development of a prominent FIVE-hectare cliff-top site at Farringdon Row on the banks of the Wear will become a symbolic gateway into the city, giving visitors a glimpse of the quality cutting-edge design that lies ahead as the city undergoes its transformation.

“This project sets the context for the rest of the regeneration schemes,” says Michael Black, Sunderland arc property development manager. “It is a quality development, which will create a step change in its high standard of accommodation and architecture, injecting new vibrancy and wealth into this area.”

Sunderland arc acknowledges the attraction of riverside living. The Wear is integral to the city, with great locations for residential, high-value commercial and leisure development.

The design work for the prominent site by both Hypostyle Architects and Faulkner Browns has captured the city’s imagination, and gathered critical acclaim. Of Faulkner Brown’s designs for the first phase the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE) says: ‘We welcome the clarity and simplicity of this proposal, and think that it has the potential to become a beacon for the future development of this area’.

The site’s natural formation was integral to the design of the project, the first phase of which includes a hotel, office space

and 124 residential units within two crescent-shaped high-rise blocks with stunning views across the grassy gorge of Galley’s Gill and over the river out to sea. The plan is based on enhancing the quality of the working environment and creating communal open spaces to complement the site, providing a sense of place and community for residents and workers. Regeneration of the park and Galley’s Gill to establish an ‘urban park’ will create excellent leisure facilities and a natural link to the nearby Vaux development site.

The £130 million mixed-use scheme will comprise up to three phases over 10 years, offering 450 homes, 4,700sq m of leisure space, a 124-bed hotel, 8,000sq m of office space and 1,250sq m of retail. Aspects of the masterplan are being addressed to reflect demand for family housing and to align with the supply of other property types across the city.

Manchester-based developer CTP will manage the first phase of this development, for which site assembly is complete, and the planning application submitted. Construction is hoped to start by the beginning of 2008.

The site for subsequent phases of development is mainly controlled by Sunderland arc, which is discussing the potential of establishing appropriate development for the site, within the overall masterplan, with the landowner. n

These crescent-shaped buildings, planned for phase 1 of Farringdon Row, will have enviable views out over the river to the sea

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projects: Vaux

jewel in the crown.

With its dramatic position and stunning architecture, a £300 million scheme will transform this former brewery site into the new heart of the city

Vaux provides a social, economic and cultural focus

Central to the transformation of Sunderland is the comprehensive redevelopment of the former Vaux brewery on the north side of the city. Previously cut off from the activity and bustle of the centre by the existing road network and the high walls around the brewery, the area will now be reconnected with the thriving heart of the city, and give local people a real sense of ownership. Set dramatically on a cliff edge above the River Wear, with views over the city and towards the port and North Sea, this prominent 10.44ha site will bring the city back to the river and the river back to the city.

The scheme has quite a history: following the establishment of Sunderland arc, world renowned architect Piers Gough was commissioned to produce a visionary masterplan. A major

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community consultation exercise was undertaken and an outline planning application lodged in 2002 and subsequently ‘called in’ by the deputy prime minister. At last – following a public inquiry in 2006 – it was approved in late March 2007. Further endorsement of the scheme was given following a public inquiry into planned alterations to Sunderland City Council’s UDP. An independently appointed government inspector concluded major retail development should be confined to a central retail core, strengthening arc’s plans for a mixed-use development and reinforcing its support at local, regional and national level.

Vaux Village will become a lively community, set within a dramatic, international-quality development with all pathways converging on a magnificent public square, the biggest in

the North East, lined with bars, restaurants and other public facilities, dominated by a public building, which can be used for anything from expos to concerts. Ramps around the square will lead to a multi-level public performance space, and the whole area will be covered by a huge glass canopy.

Meanwhile, the area towards the river will see slender residential towers, edged by new gardens connecting to the exiting riverside to create a parkland setting. A new footbridge across the River Wear will link the site, and hence the northern edge of the city centre, to Stadium Village (see page 17).

The development of distinct building sites will reinforce the urban grain and create new connections to and from the heart of the city by bisecting the ring road St Mary’s Way, which currently

cuts the site off from the city. Housing, public realm and civic spaces will sit alongside the commercial, retail and leisure buildings needed to generate jobs, and diversify employment.

The ÂŁ300 million proposal comprises 1,000 new homes, 6,850sq m of civic space, around 47,000sq m of office space, 15,450sq m of leisure including two hotels, 2,450sq m retail space and 4,300sq m of food and drink outlets, and will generate around 3,000 job opportunities.

As the Vaux site is so central to the future prosperity of Sunderland it has to be considered in a city-wide context, taking into account the property market, and thinking big enough to make an impact. The site and its strategy will dominate both the city and the work of Sunderland arc for some time to come. n

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Creating Places for People BDP is delighted to be playing a key role in the design of the Holmeside development, one of Sunderland’s flagship regeneration projects as masterplanners and architects.

The Holmeside development will bring to Sunderland a new kind of shopping environment which is sure to attract attention on the international stage.

The new streets and squares which are arranged above a below ground car park will form a natural extension to the existing street pattern in the city centre. Although

external spaces, they will be sheltered by a stunningly designed curved transparent canopy which soars above the eaves line of the buildings. This will provide protection from the rain whilst ensuring that the sunlight floods in. People will be able to move around the area in comfort and even take coffee at a street cafĂŠ in the central square during the winter months.

At Building Design Partnership we have built up a wealth of experience in the design of mixed-use city centre redevelopment projects. We are delighted to now have the opportunity of working in Sunderland on a project which undoubtedly explores new frontiers of design.

Offices in Bristol, London and Winchester; Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester and Sheffield; Glasgow; Belfast and Dublin.

Building Design Partnership Architects Designers Engineers Sunlight House, PO Box 85 Quay Street, Manchester, M60 3JA Tel: +44(0)161 834 8441 Fax: +44(0)161 832 4280

projects: Holmeside

The heart of the matter.

Vaux provides a social, economic and cultural focus

The Holmeside development will introduce dramatic design alongside quality shopping, leisure and residential elements in the city centre

Providing much-needed retail space, apartments, leisure facilities, public space and parking, this mixed-use development is on a prime 3ha site in the heart of Sunderland, to be dominated by the tallest building in the North East – the Spirit of Sunderland.

Attracting high-level investment, the innovative and exciting plans for Holmeside will revolutionise the core of the city, creating a high-quality living, and working environment. Its extensive retail element will dramatically enhance city centre shopping, complementing the Bridges shopping centre and providing a major boost for the city. With a supermarket and large retail units, the range of shops will encourage local residents and visitors to shop in Sunderland, rather than

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projects: Holmeside

heading for the Metro centre in nearby Gateshead.

The leisure element could offer a variety of entertainment options, including bingo, bars, cafés and restaurants set around a central piazza. And on the residential side, the proposed 150 high-quality apartments in the 33-storey Spirit of Sunderland will add options to Sunderland’s city centre living. The development could create 1,800 jobs, consolidating city centre facilities for local people and visitors, and enhancing the city’s attractions for investment and as a focus of income generation.

The recent inspector’s report into Sunderland’s UDP fully endorses the proposals for the site, which are being brought forward by developer Thornfield Properties. The £147 million scheme will be easily accessible, on key pedestrian routes and just a few minutes from the train station and Sunderland’s bus and metro transport hub, one of Britain’s biggest transport interchanges and used by two million people each year.

Following a series of acquisitions, around 75% of the site is now owned by Sunderland arc’s partners English Partnerships and One NorthEast, which are exploring the possibility of relocating remaining businesses on the site into the new development. A detailed planning application is expected in 2008. n

Commercial market According to Phil Heads at Pattinson Commercial Property Services, Sunderland’s commercial market is “fine, but a little bit on the quiet side” at the moment. “The emphasis is on people buying rather than letting, perhaps because it is relatively easy to get finance.” He continues: “Business parks and industrial estates are popular at the moment with people looking to move into larger buildings with more modern facilities.

“The regeneration will increase the number of new-build commercial properties and may edge prices up, so it’s important to incorporate a place for smaller businesses in new developments.”

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INTEGER

CONSULTING planning + regeneration

Integer Consulting has been providing strategic planning advice to Sunderland arc since the genesis of the city’s urban regeneration company in 2002.

PLANNINGTHE URBANRENAISSANCE Sunderland is a city in transition – with a great past and an exciting future. Powerful changes are reshaping the city’s economy, social structure and physical form over an extensive area focused on the River Wear corridor and the City Centre.

The mission is to make Sunderland a vibrant, economically sound, attractive and socially inclusive city.

To achieve this effectively requires a ‘step change’ in the quality, pace and scale of regenerative action.

This makes Sunderland arc one of the most exciting regeneration initiatives in the North East. Sound planning advice is critical to ensuring its success.

Small is beautiful Integer Consulting is a small, independent consultancy, working at the interface of planning with urban regeneration, transport, economic development, environmental and management issues. Since its inception in 1999, Integer Consulting has advised clients across the local government, universities, transport, community and development industry sectors.

Specialising in Sunderland We are ‘Sunderland specialists’: we have an unrivalled in-depth knowledge and understanding of the planning issues and opportunities in Sunderland as a whole and Sunderland arc’s target areas in particular. Working alongside other strategic advisors and project consultants, our aim is to ensure that the requirements and opportunities of the planning process are fully integrated into the development and delivery of Sunderland arc’s regeneration strategy.

As strategic planning advisor to the arc, Integer has delivered several key planning assignments in Central Sunderland. These have included preparing the Master Plan Strategy for the Vaux-Farringdon Row area and securing the Secretary of State’s planning consent for Sunderland arc’s mixed use scheme for the flagship Vaux Brewery site - as well as advising on a wide range of other major strategies and projects in the Sunderland arc area.

Integer has also undertaken highly effective, research-based commissions in the wider region, focusing on economic, social and environmental issues, notably for the European Union’s EQUAL Programme and the URBAN II Programme Connecting the Coalfield. These have been instrumental in levering significant European resources into the North East. Other planning and regeneration commissions in the city-region have included those relating to the extension of the Tyne and Wear Metro and leading a multidisciplinary planning and regeneration study of a local centre in the south west of Sunderland.

Integer Consulting looks forward to continuing to contribute to the urban renaissance of Sunderland and the wider region.

For further information contact Richard Arkell, Integer Consulting, telephone 01697 476039, email integer@arkell.sol.co.uk or visit www.integer-plan.co.uk.

projects: Sunniside

the bright side.

Elegant listed terraces and squares are being given a new lease of life, as a forgotten gem becomes a vibrant living hub and creative quarter Âť

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projects: Sunniside

As Sunderland’s City Centre gears up for a major overhaul, one of the key schemes already under way is the plan to improve the historic Sunniside district. Stretching across 17 ha of the eastern part of the city centre, Sunniside contains the largest concentration of listed buildings in the city, including many Georgian and Victorian houses.

The area was originally developed as a residential and business district, linking the historic port and riverside in the settlement of Sunderland to the settlement of Bishopwearmouth, and was once fashionable and thriving. Work has now started on regenerating the area to restore it to its former glory. The organisation leading the way is the Sunniside Partnership, which has been in operation since October 2003, and comprises four founding members – English Partnerships, One NorthEast, Sunderland City Council and Sunderland arc.

The partnership’s business plan outlines how the area’s heritage and urban environment make it an ideal location for culture and the arts. It also highlights how cultural activity can help provide the catalyst for physical and environmental renewal, attracting new investment and jobs. Investment of £130 million is planned for Sunniside, and £44 million has already been spent on breathing new life into the area’s elegant streets.

Sunniside Gardens (previous page) and the area’s elegant streets

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The restoration of the area will give the people of Sunderland something long lacking in the city: an area with lively and varied restaurants and cafes, niche fashion and designer shops, together with stylish apartments, townhouses and loft style living. It is hoped that the district will serve as a drive-to destination for people from outside of the area – attracted by the uniqueness and variety that Sunniside has to offer. And it’s working. Already, beautiful historic buildings are starting to bustle with new businesses, and niche shops – including a holistic spa – are starting to dominate retail activity in the area.

At the heart of the project, Sunniside Gardens, a stunning £2 million public realm venture, opened in March 2007. Funded

by English Partnerships, this relaxing modern oasis is breathing new life into the area.

Overlooking the gardens is the new Argent Business and Conference Centre, which opened at the beginning of the year.

And a £6 million arts centre called thePLACE is currently being constructed at the corner of Athenaeum Street and West Sunniside opposite Sunniside Gardens. Once complete in spring 2008, it will provide managed business spaces, incubator units, a café, artists studios, an art gallery and performance centre. The result will be a self-sustaining centre in the heart of Sunniside.

Stuart Ainsley, project manager at the Sunniside Partnership, says developments to date have been very well received. “The local people are proud and pleased that they can see things happening,” he explains. “Sunniside sits strategically with other key sites in the regeneration process.”

Accessibility is key to Sunniside’s success. The area has many commercial opportunities, and is the only part of the city centre that offers immediate potential for city living in its regal Victorian and Georgian streets. Ainsley isn’t far off the mark when he compares it to ‘a northern Notting Hill’. n

projects: PORT & UNIVERSITY

Port The Port of Sunderland, which dates back to Roman times, was exporting coal as early as the 1590s, and today operates as a short-sea specialist with eight operational quays. Sunderland City Council gained control of the port as the Statutory Harbour Authority in 1972 and is now in the early stages of planning a regeneration programme for the large section of nonoperational land on the site.

The 107 ha area comprises the largest brownfield site in the North East and one of the biggest in the UK, providing major opportunities for a mixed-use development, with the transport corridor’s new southern radial route creating new access points to the site, maximising redevelopment potential.

A study by Halcrow, funded by One NorthEast and English Partnerships, to determine market demand for redevelopment of the area identified several possible future uses. Upon completion of the study, Sunderland City Council will engage with a private sector partner to deliver its aspirations for the port.

forward focus.

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The focus for the 15-20 year regeneration programme will be on providing business and employment opportunities, although plans to realise the area’s potential for water-related leisure activities have also been mooted.

University The University of Sunderland is undertaking a comprehensive programme of refurbishment and redevelopment in line with the city’s wide-reaching regeneration plans. Ian Gray, the university’s director of estates and facilities, comments: “The future success of the university contributes directly to the economic success and prosperity of the city. Recognising this, St Peter’s and City campuses have been designated as areas of strategic location for change under the city’s local development framework plan.”

The recently completed university city campus development framework plan includes the major refurbishment of integral buildings. Plans to further develop the site are being formulated and should be announced later this year.

Since 2004, the campus has seen £15 million of investment: the Murray library, Priestman, Hutton and Edinburgh buildings have undergone external and internal refurbishment, while the 1960s Gateway building has been completely renovated. Way-finding, urban realm, lighting and infrastructure across the campus have also been upgraded.

North of the river the £60 million St Peter’s campus boasts a new media centre with state-of-the-art teaching, learning and research facilities, and incubator space for small start up businesses. Phase one of the £2.2 million St Peter’s Gate building forms part of the city-wide science park network. Plans for a new college building for up to 600 students aged 16 to 19, in partnership with City of Sunderland College, recently received planning permission.

The university is working with Sunderland arc and Sunderland City Council on an area-wide masterplan for the St Peter’s riverside area to expand and further develop the facilities and improve both accessibility and the urban realm. n

The university’s St Peter’s campus. Left, the port

At the mouth of the Wear, and integral to both the city’s history and its future, the port and the university are undertaking major redevelopment programmes to reaffirm their position in the city -033arc

Tall buildings

Spirit of Sunderland (inset) would be Britain’s tallest building north of the Beetham Tower. Shanghai (opposite) has declared its ambitions with a mass of towers

The 33-storey Spirit of Sunderland puts the city among the ranks of cities celebrating their success with a tower. By David Blackman

tall stories.

For most of recorded history tall buildings have been a crucial badge of civic pride: from Renaissance-era Bologna, which drawings depict as a forest of towers, to today’s booming cities of the Far East and the Gulf, all in a frenzy of skyscraper construction. And India’s richest man, Mukesh Ambani, has just unveiled a proposal for a 27-storey tower in Mumbai, which he is proposing for the sole use of his family.

Sunderland looks set to join these ranks if plans by developer Thornfield Properties bear fruit. The company, which specialises in regenerating brownfield sites on the edges of city centres, is drawing up plans for a 33-storey tower that it has dubbed the ‘Spirit of Sunderland’.

Housing 150 flats, the building forms the centrepiece of a bigger scheme, designed

by Building Design Partnership (BDP) to redevelop the rundown Holmeside triangle city centre site (see page 25).

Spirit of Sunderland, if it goes ahead, will be the tallest building in the North East. The tallest building north of the Beetham Tower in Manchester city centre, as Thornfield chief executive Mike Capocci points out, it will also outstrip anything being built or planned in Edinburgh or Glasgow.

A tall building could provide the city with a powerful emblem of its civic

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renewal, insists Capocci. “We want it to become an icon, a symbol of Sunderland, a physical landmark that people can see for miles around.”

Sunderland’s location, surrounded by flat land, makes it ideal for tall building, he says. Just a few storeys up will give views as far as the eye can see. “We hope that in 10 years time, it could be enough of a symbol of the North East to be featured on a new range of stamps, say. We want it to be something that the people of Sunderland can be proud of.”

High-rise buildings can have a direct impact on regeneration by concentrating large numbers of residents in the city centre, Capocci insists. And he knows a thing or two about the dynamics of urban renewal, having overseen the Victoria Quarter scheme, one of the key projects that has transformed Leeds city centre over the past 15 years. “It [the tall building] can have an impact on the surrounding area,” he says. “Attracting people to live in the city centre creates a 24-hour economy which can have a calming effect and then attract other retailers.”

The Spirit of Sunderland itself will feature a 24th-floor cocktail bar, offering spectacular views over the surrounding area, which Capocci believes will become an essential stop for visitors to the city or region. Drawing people in with the

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Tall buildings

view will benefit the rest of the scheme.

“Once people are there,” says Capocci, “they are bound to want to spend some money.” He wants them to sample some of the wares on offer in the 33,250 sq m of retail space in the scheme’s lower levels.

Spirit architect David Page, co-founder of Glasgow based practice Page and Park, says that the buzz generated by the tower is part of Thornfield’s wider plan to attract top-notch retailers to Sunderland, thus increasing the rents that the scheme can fetch. Capocci wants his development to lift the whole city centre.

What’s more, Page believes that the scheme will knit together Sunderland city centre’s fractured urban fabric. “It’s a bridge between the town centre and the civic centre, the bus station and the market. The whole BDP development is the missing piece of a jigsaw,” he says.

The public spaces at the foot of the tower will, he hopes, create stronger links between these key civic institutions and encourage greater use of the city’s public transport services.

Concentrating spending power in highly accessible city-centre locations can also help to make more efficient use of land, as pointed out in Lord Rogers’ influential 1999 Urban Task Force report, which highlighted the environmental impact of low-density development on England’s precious green-belt. Page says that the homes being provided by the Spirit of Sunderland will cut out the need for 150 houses in the countryside.

Until recently, tall buildings suffered from a major stigma. Several of Britain’s top 10 least popular buildings, voted by viewers of Channel Four’s Demolition programme, were high-rise. The North East has not been immune from anti-highrise sentiment, with planners rejecting plans for a 32-storey residential tower

by George Wimpey next to the Sage in Gateshead. Mark Bottomley, a partner at the tower’s architect BPTW, believes that antipathy to high-rise living is a curiously British phenomenon. “You only have to look to elsewhere in the world where highrise housing is mostly successful.”

Public space at the base of Spirit of Sunderland connects to the surrounding city

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But attitudes are changing. The City of London’s Gherkin has been a big hit with the public. And new, city-centre residential blocks have proliferated in recent years – if developer Beetham has its way, no British provincial city will be complete without one of its towers by the end of the decade. According to a survey by Savills at the end of last year, 127 towers of more than 20 storeys are being developed, accommodating a total of 30,466 units, with nearly half (43%) of the schemes in the North of England.

The impact of this shift can be seen in the government land-use statistics, which show that the average density of development has increased by more than 50% in the past four years, by up to 40 dwellings per hectare. National House Builders Council figures show that 51% of homes completed in the first quarter of last year were flats. Even council blocks in some of Liverpool and Manchester’s grimmest addresses are being refurbished for private sale.

Such developments are also due to the trend towards city centre living, which has been particularly noticeable in the North of England. A recent survey by estate agent Knight Frank showed that more than 16,000 city centre apartments have been completed in the North’s core cites of Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle and Sheffield in the past decade.

So what explains this turn-around in attitudes? Firstly, more people will want to live in apartments, if population forecasts showing an increase in the number of single-person households are to be believed. And the refurbishment of buildings like Erno Goldfinger’s West London Trellick Tower has shown that the most unpromising council block can become a highly fashionable address. It’s not hard to see why, says Mark Bottomley, a partner at architecture practice BPTW. “The flats are fantastic with wonderful layouts and good space standards.”

Architect Piers Gough, who has got to know Sunderland through his practice’s work at the nearby Vaux site (see page 22), says that high-rise is relatively popular in Sunderland. “The interesting thing about Sunderland is that they have a lot of tall buildings, but they are popular. They have refurbished a lot of them.” Page agrees, noting that the existing social housing

Height of good taste “We want something that is not just tall, but which draws on the heritage of Sunderland,” says Thornfield managing director Mike Capocci of Spirit of Sunderland. And they got it. Award-winning Glasgow-based architect Page and Park has produced a design that consciously refers to the Venerable Bede, who spent his childhood in Wearmouth, near Sunderland, by evoking the shape of two scrolls standing up. The design also includes a nod to the town’s rich nautical history, via a lantern at the top which will change colour as the sun hits it at different times of the day.

blocks in Sunderland city centre will complement the Spirit.

And today’s high-rise blocks are much better built than some of the disasters of the past, thanks to improvements in construction techniques since the 1950s and 60s, when councils threw up towers as a quick-fix solution to acute housing need after the Second World War. Alan Cherry, chair of volume housebuilder Countryside Properties, says: “Highrise costs money, but as the skills and the ability to build at higher levels have advanced considerably, it has become more cost effective.”

The main extra cost of building tall is the expense of installing lift cores, needed in any building of more than 10 storeys.

But Capocci says that after these costs have been taken into account, the sky is almost literally the limit. “Once you have gone above 10 storeys, you might as well keep going. Above a certain level, the cost increases are marginal.”

Gough believes that Thornfield’s proposal represents a major vote of confidence in what has traditionally been seen as the North East’s second city.

“The economy in Sunderland must be good if they are proposing a tall building.

By and large tall buildings come to cities which are already quite successful because they are very expensive to build.

It’s a celebration of success, rather than something to put the place on the map.” n

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contacts.

Arc executive team

Arc board

David Walker Chief executive

Bryan Sanderson CBE Chair

David is a chartered surveyor with 20 years’ development experience across all sectors in the North East. Since arc’s inception in 2003 he has been involved in setting the strategy for delivery of its projeects and has overseen their implementation.

Former chair of BUPA, chair of Standard Chartered Bank, and a non-executive director of Sunderland AFC. MD of BP from 1992-2000.

John Anderson QA CBE Deputy chair Chair of the North East Business and Innovation Centre, among many directorships and board positions.

Michael Black Property development manager Michael, a chartered surveyor with 20 years’ experience in property and regeneration, has contributed to some of the North East’s biggest regeneration projects.

Kevan Carrick More than 35 years experience in property consultancy, and currently a director of storeys:ssp.

Helen Campbell Property development manager

professor Peter Fidler, MBE Vice-chancellor and chief executive of the University of Sunderland, chair of the board of trustees of the National Glass Centre, past chair of Universities for the North East.

With experience in private practice in London, and 14 years at Gateshead Council, Helen has been responsible for a variety of major residential and commercial development projects.

Steve Gawthorpe

Alan Vipond Operations manager

Area director North East for English Partnerships, and involved in the Grainger Town Initiative, Newcastle upon Tyne and North Tyneside City Challenge.

Alan, who has previously worked in asset management and procurement and as a site engineer, now manages the implementation of key regeneration projects.

Jocelyn Maxfield Has created and refurbished high-end hotel and leisure facilities in the North East, and is on the board of a number of design companies.

BEN HALL Director Sunniside Partnership Ben is a professional project manager with extensive experience across a range of development sectors. In addition to promoting development in Sunniside, Ben has also been involved with the creative industries.

Sir Geoffrey Mulcahy Formerly finance director of British Sugar and Norton Abrasives, group managing director of the Kingfisher Group, adding Comet, Superdrug and B&Q to the Woolworth chain’s portfolio. Retired in April 2003.

Michael Stephenson oBE Founder and MD of Helena BioSciences, the largest Bioscience company in the North East, and chair of Nstar Limited.

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Arc’s partners SUNDERLAND CITY COUNCIL Phil Barrett, director of development and regeneration, Civic Centre, Burdon Road, Sunderland SR2 7DN Tel. 0191 520 5555 phil.barrett@ sunderland.gov.uk ENGLISH PARTNERSHIPS Steve Gawthorpe, area director, St George’s House, Kingsway, Team Valley, Gateshead NE11 0NA Tel 0191 487 6565 stevegawthorpe@ englishpartner ships.co.uk ONE NORTHEAST Ed Rowley, director of regeneration, Stella House, Goldcrest Way, Newburn, Riverside, Newcastle Upon Tyne.

NE15 8NY 01642 853604 ed.rowley@ onenortheast.co.uk

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