New 600 space multi storey car park with living wall opens in Sunderland city centre

Located on Farringdon Row, the distinctive design will be illuminated by night, featuring a blue wave, with coloured displays also being used to mark key moments and awareness days in the city calendar.

The car park was first used on a temporary basis to cater for the additional traffic visiting the city centre during the recent Beyonce and Pink concerts.

Now fully and officially open, Councillor Graeme Miller, leader of Sunderland City Council, said: “Sunderland has a strong association with light, so it’s fitting that the new spaces we are creating as we transform the city centre should feature it so spectacularly in their design.

“There’s a quality to the design of our new buildings that points to the ambition we have for this city. We want our residents to see exceptional buildings, because we want to create an exceptional city. And that applies to every new space we create.”

Groundwork to prepare the area started in November 2022, with construction partner Sir Robert McAlpine and car park specialist Goldbeck working on the main structure of the car park.

Some 10,000 new jobs are expected to be created at Riverside Sunderland, with 1,000 new homes also set to be built and a range of new leisure developments including Culture House - a new interactive, immersive library - and Sheepfolds Stables, an exciting food and drink venue on the edge of Stadium Park.

A new Eye Hospital, replacing Sunderland Eye Infirmary, is also set to be built.

The City Council hopes the additional spaces will help to meet demand for parking as the Riverside Sunderland development moves forward.

Cllr Miller said: “With so many developments taking shape, new places to eat, drink and have fun, and office spaces that will welcome many thousands of people, it is important that we have the facilities to support our transforming city centre to realise its vast potential.”

The extra car park capacity should also reduce current pressure on other city centre parking such as St Mary’s .

The new car park will also operate outside of normal working hours, to support the evening economy in the city centre, and will operate through a combination of pre-paid permits and paid parking.