Sponsored by
Tesco plan would create 800 jobs
Up to 800 new jobs could be created by the mammoth superstore and retail development planned by Tesco.
The supermarket giant is working with the owner of the run-down Sunderland Retail Park in Roker to transform it into a massive Tesco store with four smaller shops and 1,000 parking spaces.
Hopes are that 98 per cent of jobs at the store will be taken by Wearsiders living within three miles , with about a third going to the long-term unemployed.
A planning application submitted by Mountview Securities, which owns the site, is due to be considered by councillors soon – and council members are eager to see the development press ahead.
Conservative councillor Graham Hall, who represents the Roker area, said: "There will be 6-800 jobs on the site, which will be more than welcome and benefit not just North Sunderland, but the whole of the city."
Labour councillor Tom Wright said Tesco was an employer of good standing and he hoped that 30 per cent of jobs on the site would go to the long-term unemployed.
Vince Taylor, Sunderland City Council's head of strategic economic development, said Tesco had achieved some success with such employment schemes in Leeds and hoped to expand those elsewhere.
The discussion on jobs at the site took place at a meeting of the council's Policy and Coordination committee, and came after councillors learned that another 4,000 jobs could be lost in Sunderland by the end of the year.
Fears are that as the recession bites, the total number of unemployed Wearsiders could reach 13,000 by December – more than three times what it was in 2004.
The new Tesco development is one of the projects seen as having the potential to give Sunderland's economy a much-needed boost.
But regeneration chiefs also hope that if the development in Roker does get the go ahead, Tesco will agree to sell the Vaux site to Sunderland arc.
The regeneration agency is already on-track to appoint a developer to work with its team on the former brewery site, and hopes to put in a detailed planning application for the site as early as next year.
The arc wants to create a mix of 1,000 new homes, 47,000sq of offices, two hotels and civic buildings, which it says could create 3,500 new jobs.
But it cannot proceed with its plans unless Tesco – which bought the site in 2001 – sells up.
Tesco has similar ideas for the site – but with the inclusion of a large-scale supermarket. Planning rules for the area, however, make that impossible.
Sunderland arc and Tesco are continuing with negotiations on the site, and it is hoped that the long-running dispute could come to an end if the supermarket sets up shop in Roker.
David Walker, chief executive of Sunderland arc, has not ruled out the use of a compulsory purchase order to force Tesco to sell up – but has said this would only be a last resort.
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Sunderland
Tuesday 07 February 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: -3 C to 6 C
Wind Speed: 9 mph
Wind direction: South west
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: -2 C to 1 C
Wind Speed: 10 mph
Wind direction: South
