Contract for new £34million Sunderland eye hospital goes out to tender

The hunt is on for a contractor to build the replacement for the city’s Eye Infirmary which will be built on the Riverside Sunderland site – the former Vaux brewery – after a planning application was submitted in June. A decision by Sunderland City Council’s planning committee is expected later this year.

The four-storey building was designed by North East architects Ryder, with Turner & Townsend on board as project manager, and the development is being led by Sunderland City Council, working with South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust, who will occupy the building.

It will replace the Trust’s 75-year-old Eye Infirmary in Ashbrooke. Work on the new building is due to start in the spring, and the new hospital is expected to be completed in 2024.

As well as assessing the technical and commercial advantages of rival bids, the council will also assess tender submissions based on the social value they are able to deliver. This includes a focus on local supply chain used and jobs created through the contract, as well contributions to community groups and supporting good causes through volunteering.

Council leader Coun Graeme Miller said: “Proposals to move the Eye Hospital to Riverside Sunderland are really exciting and feedback from the public suggests it will deliver significant advantages, thanks to its central location in the heart of Riverside Sunderland.

“We want the advantages for our local communities to be felt from the moment construction starts on this important building, so we’re looking forward to working with a partner who can deliver the world-class hospital the city deserves, engaging the support of local people and businesses in the process.”

The new Eye Hospital will stand alongside The Beam; the council’s new home City Hall, which is nearing completion, and two further commercial properties that are being developed as part of Legal & General’s £100m commitment to Riverside Sunderland. The building is one of a number of large-scale development projects progressing in the city centre, part of an ambitious vision to double the residential population in the city centre and increase employment by 50 per cent.

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