Fears that Seaburn and Roker could '˜fill up' with homes

Council bosses will also be warned schools, green spaces and leisure facilities risk being squeezed out of areas such as Seaburn and Roker if they are allowed to ‘fill up’ with housing.

Members of Sunderland City Council’s opposition Conservative group will use Wednesday’s (September 19) full council meeting to present a motion calling on the council to take account of this.

Conservative leader Coun Robert Oliver said: “It is about time to have a council debate about the development of the seafront in Sunderland as it is one of the biggest issues in city politics today.

“Many residents fear that Sunderland’s seafront could slip behind that of neighbouring areas, fill up with houses, or even become another Vaux site.

“Council such as South Shields are moving ahead with tens of millions of investment in the seafront, a magnificent new library and leisure facilities.

Also read: Hundreds of objections to Seaburn housing application

“The Seaburn and Roker areas could potentially face a large number of planning applications for housing with two already in the pipeline and others pending.”

Developer Siglion, which is also working on the city centre Vaux site, has plans to build homes in Seaburn.

And in February, Sunderland University named Miller Homes, a housebuilder, its prefered developer for land it owns in Seaburn, with plans recently submitted for 64 homes.

But in April plans were also approved for a range of pop-up attractions including cinemas, restaurants and cycle hubs in Seaburn while regeneration works are ongoing.

Coun Oliver added: “Whilst the city needs both more affordable and executive housing there is a danger that popular residential areas such as Seaburn and Roker could fill up.

“This could lead to a loss of green space; less room for leisure facilities and more pressure on local services such as schools and transport.

James Harrison , Local Democracy Reporting Service