STATIONS

A New Platform to Build Upon

Sunderland City Council’s £100 million aspiration for a redeveloped central station is key to supporting the ambitious growth of this transforming city

Sunderland is a city undergoing rapid change. Yesteryear’s shipbuilding capital of the world is today’s technological pioneer, home to the UK’s first 5G ‘smart city’ testbed and global businesses such as Just Eat, Ocado and Nissan.

The city’s evolution is being led by Patrick Melia, Chief Executive of Sunderland City Council, who is overseeing a once-in-ageneration transformation of the city to the tune of over £2 billion.

From industrial parks to eco-friendly city centre residential development plans supported by TV architect George Clarke, a reinvigorated seaside, and a £1 billion new EV ecosystem, Melia plans to not only establish Sunderland as a desirable place to live and work, but also to visit.

Melia and city chiefs are aware that if their ambitious plans to breathe new life into Sunderland and return it to its former glory are to come to fruition, then the city needs to be accessible, which is why the council, alongside the Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Executive, Nexus, are leading the march to secure the funding required to underpin a £100 million redevelopment of the city’s 1965-built Central station.

The development – which is starting with a £26m revamp of the station’s southern entrance – will see the tired brutalist building completely demolished, with a new 5G-enabled station at the cuttingedge of rail innovation rising from the ground in its place, providing the city with a welcome point befitting of a city with one eye studiously on raising its profile on the world stage.

‘Sunderland is a city evolving’ Melia said. ‘We're ambitious, we're focused on the future and we're delivering the transformation required to become the dynamic, vibrant, healthy smart city we all want Sunderland to be. The station – as the key gateway to the city – has to be central to our plans, and by delivering such an exemplar travel hub, we are in no doubt that it will be just that.’

The first phase of the redevelopment programme is now underway, with the demolition of the station’s southern entrance paving the way for a statement building that will herald the start of its transformation into an integrated public transport network.

Once complete, the new southern entrance will create a prominent visible landmark, with a stunning façade overlooking Market Square. The large glass wrap-around design, creating a light, bright and welcoming concourse, will be set among upgraded public realm.

A new ticket office and reception, public toilets, comfortable waiting areas and retail space and cafes will all be created, as well as infrastructure improvements being made to make it more accessible. Office space on the new mezzanine level will be reserved for railway industry staff and a new four-storey car park will be built just a stone’s throw away from the station.

It’s no secret however that renovation programmes of this magnitude rarely progress without their fair share of challenges, and the redevelopment of Sunderland Station was no exception.

‘With the existing South Concourse building fully closed, we had to decant the businesses in the existing office and retail units and establish a temporary ticket office to ensure the city can remain as connected as possible throughout the project’ he added.

‘A technically challenging project, disruption to passengers and train operators is being keep to a minimum with virtually all of the work being carried out with the station remaining open. Only when the main roof trusses, 36 metres long and weighing 15 tonne each, are erected will there be a need for possession working and this in turn will be overnight.

‘Thankfully, we have close working relationships with our tenants and the project leads did a grand job in establishing the temporary ticket office, so everything so far has gone as smoothly as possible.’

Working in partnership with Network Rail, Nexus, Grand Central Rail and Northern Trains, Sunderland City Council is driving the five-year project, with more than £16 million secured from the Transforming Cities Fund towards the first phase of works and £3.75 million from Nexus.

‘Completion of the first phase of work and the reopening of what will eventually be our very own Grand Central is expected to take place in Summer 2023 however this is just the beginning’ Melia continued.

‘The second phase will see us progress with plans to open a new main entrance facing the city’s Central Business District which will house commercial developments above the ground floor and the reopening of two redundant platforms below the ground to increase capacity.

‘This will see the separation of the Nexusoperated Metro from main line operations,

Patrick Melia, Chief Executive of Sunderland City Council

removing the current bottleneck along the Durham Coastline and matching the improvements being funded just down the road in Middlesbrough to truly connect the North East of England to Leeds and the North West as part of the Regional Transport network.’

In 2019/2020 around 1.5 million Metro trips were made from and to the station, with a further 427,000 trips made using the national rail network. Numbers are expected to grow as the city centre becomes an economic hub and the city will require supporting infrastructure to encourage sustainable travel.

‘Providing sustainable travel into and out of Sunderland will allow us to better connect people to jobs and opportunities in a cleaner, greener way, which will be critical if we want to truly level up the economy here in the North East and rise to the challenge of making Sunderland a carbon neutral city by 2050.

‘Such improved connectivity to areas such as Tees Valley and being plugged into the wider Regional Transport network will provide a significant boost to the local economy, not only by increasing the number of visitors to the city, but by making businesses investing in the city more accessible to potential job seekers. It will be transformational.’

And with funding already secured from the Transforming Cities Fund, Melia is confident that the council will be able to build a strong business case to secure the rest of the funding required to power phase two and bring the entire project in on time. The hope is that the northern entrance – developed in phase two – will become the city’s main arrival point, with the iconic Mackie’s Corner and Elephant Tearooms, two stunning historic buildings of significant architectural quality, ready to greet people when they arrive in Sunderland.

‘Overall, the development will cost well over £100 million however we are confident that our local train operators, who we know are already looking to expand their own businesses to meet demand now that passenger numbers are gradually returning to pre-pandemic levels, will help us build a solid business case to deliver the scheme in its entirety.

‘Quality public transport links like this not only fit in to the Government’s Levelling Up agenda, but they will be key to our growth as a city, helping stimulate private sector investment and gaining the recognition Sunderland deserves as a city that really is a great place to live, work and play. We need to secure the station expansion now to secure the city for the next 50 years of expansion we have planned and we are determined as a local authority to make it happen.’