Work starts on Sunderland’s new City Hall on Vaux site

The building, on the former Vaux brewery site, will house Sunderland City Council alongside a range of public sector partners including Gentoo and the DWP.

Bowmer + Kirkland, which has its North East regional office at Rainton Bridge, won the contract to build the new City Hall last month after fending off competition from other bidders. The project is due for completion in Autumn 2021.

The contract will create a number of benefits for local residents and companies, including full time and apprenticeship opportunities for local residents and a £29m spend in local supply chains and £9m with local SMEs.

Designed by award winning architects Faulkner Brown, the building will span 190,000 sq ft - the size of two and half football pitches - more than twice the size of THE BEAM, the first building to be constructed on the brewery site.

Council Leader Coun Graeme Miller said: "City Hall is a real game changer for the regeneration of Sunderland city centre and I'm delighted to see it going ahead.

"Its development is an essential element of our £500m transformation plans to create a dynamic, healthy and vibrant city centre and deliver the step change that we know our residents want to see.

"It's also a further indication of the real sense of momentum building in Sunderland, with so many new developments either planned or underway and a renewed sense of confidence in the city."Project manager Paul Anderson added: "We have been looking forward to working with Sunderland City Council on this project and it is really good to now be on site, getting the project underway and continuing the regeneration of this area of the city centre."When complete, the building is expected to be used by up to 7,000 customers a week allowing the seamless delivery of services to residents from birth right through to later life by housing a wide range of council and other public services under one roof.