We're aiming to 'bridge the gap' for women's health in Sunderland in revived city centre building

“We want to bridge the gap between the NHS and private healthcare, especially for women’s health,” says the city businesswoman behind a new addition to Holmeside.

Price & Co is the first opening as part of The Printworks, a £1m transformation of the former Masons Amusements - the new name doffing its cap to the building’s time as Northumbria Printing Works, which printed the match day programmes for SAFC amongst its contracts.

Local property developer Darryl Cullerton purchased the three floor building and is busy creating eight executive accommodation apartments in the upper floors, which have been empty for decades, and two ground floor retail units.

Price & Co is the first of the new retail units to open and has been a real labour of love for owner Rebecca Price.

She previously hired chairs at other salons, but quickly grew her client base.

“I actually wasn’t going to take something so big, but Darryl showed me this space and I knew there was so much we could offer here,” said Rebecca.

As well as Rebecca’s own business, which specialises in dermal fillers and skin rejuvenation, Price & Co is home to five other independent businesses, including two nurse practitioners and an in house GP.

There’s a wide range of treatments on offer, including facials and aesthetics, but there’s a particular focus on women’s health, including hormone testing and prescriptions.

“We really want to make women’s healthcare more accessible, especially with issues such as hormone treatment,” said Rebecca. “Sometimes, you have to have symptoms for more than 12 months before you are seen on the NHS and private hospitals are very expensive.

“We want to close that gap between NHS and private healthcare. Women shouldn’t have to travel to Newcastle, Manchester and London to get the treatment they need.”

She added: “We very much offer a holistic approach, looking at diet and lifestyle as well. It’s a space where people can come and talk about themselves and issues they may be facing like vaginal dryness and bladder problems - we want to break down any stigma over topics like that.”

The building dates back to the 1920s and much work has been done to repurpose it for the future.

Rebecca is still putting the finishing touches to her unit and she says she wanted to honour the history of the site in the decor.

“I wanted to create something timeless and classy for Sunderland, I think it deserves it,” she said.

“I think people have been quite surprised when they’ve seen it as it looks different to other salons, but I wanted to use colours inspired by the heritage of the building. Feedback has been great, we’ve been fully booked for the first few weeks and people also like how easy it is to get to.”

She added: “I actually wasn’t going to use my name in the business name, but I have two children and I wanted to create something long-standing for them.”

The Printworks is one of the largest projects undertaken by Darryl and his team at Lemon Property Investment Limited

“I always look for the best deals on the market and saw so much potential in this building. I don’t think people realise just how big it is, because the upper floors hadn’t been used for decades,” explained Darryl.

“I have lots of experience in taking old commercial properties, putting them back together and bringing nice things to Sunderland, which I feel really passionate about.”

Other city centre projects Darryl is working on include The Four Corner Collective, which has converted the corner block of Mary Street and Stockton Road into a mix of commercial units and serviced apartments, due for completion soon, and the former Johns Hairdressing in Frederick Street, which is still in the initial stages.