New Sunderland car park named best in Britain at awards

Sunderland's new living-wall car park has been named the best in Britain.

 The 657-space Riverside Sunderland Multi Storey Car Park at Farringdon Row was named Best New Car Park Award at the British Parking Awards.

The car park was built by Sunderland City Council, which contracted architectural firms Ryder Architecture and Tonkin Liu, and construction company Sir Robert McAlpine to carry out the work.

The car park, which opened earlier this summer and is split over 11 levels, is illuminated in the evening and features two living walls containing more than 50,000 plants.

The car park competition, run by Parking Review magazine, recognises leading examples of car park management, enforcement, design and teamwork.

Councillor Kevin Johnston, dynamic city cabinet member, said: “This is yet another award for Riverside Sunderland, which we know is world-class development that is transforming the cityscape with developments that will create jobs and opportunities for our residents.

“We are proud to be leading on developments that are of a standard and quality that leads to national recognition.  It is what the city and our communities demand of us and deserve.”

The car park is one of a number of new buildings emerging at Riverside Sunderland and is part of a plan to boost the number of people living and working in the heart of the city. 

The ambition is to double the resident population of the city centre from 2,500 to 5,000 and increase employment by 50% to 18,000. 

For the latest developments from Riverside Sunderland, visit www.riversidesunderland.com.