Plans to build new Sunderland Civic Centre on Vaux site in radical shake-up of city centre

Sunderland Civic Centre could be moved to the Vaux site as the council looks to replace its crumbling, leaking HQ with a smaller, purpose-built base.
The council says Sunderland Civic Centre, built in the 1970s, is no longer fit for use.The council says Sunderland Civic Centre, built in the 1970s, is no longer fit for use.
The council says Sunderland Civic Centre, built in the 1970s, is no longer fit for use.

Sunderland City Council's cabinet will consider the idea next week, with members set to hear how the current building has a limited lifespan, is too big for the council which has downsized by 40% in the last 10 years, and is expensive to operate and maintain

The report to cabinet on Wednesday, October 17, also outlines how the move to the Vaux site would help anchor the wider regeneration of the city centre, which includes the development of a new railway station, new homes in the city, retail and leisure opportunities.

The council says Sunderland Civic Centre, built in the 1970s, is no longer fit for use.The council says Sunderland Civic Centre, built in the 1970s, is no longer fit for use.
The council says Sunderland Civic Centre, built in the 1970s, is no longer fit for use.
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Council leader, Councillor Graeme Miller, said: “This is all about helping us to modernise the way we work so we can make sure our communities have access to the excellent services they deserve.

"It's also about spearheading the regeneration of the city centre by investing in the landmark Vaux site.

"And it's a further demonstration of confidence in the city, building as it does on the successful development of the MAC quarter and Keel Square.

Council leader Graeme Miller.Council leader Graeme Miller.
Council leader Graeme Miller.

"The current civic centre just isn’t fit for purpose.

"It’s too big now that our workforce has shrunk by 40%.

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“It’s costing us upwards of £200,000 a year just to carry out essential repairs, and we’ve been told by independent assessors that the building will be functionally obsolete within the next five years.

"Building a new civic centre on the Vaux site would help lead the regeneration of the city centre, which is a priority for the council, by signalling to other developers that Sunderland is a good place to invest.

"It would also free up land for a mixed residential development to be built on the site of the current civic centre, helping generate additional footfall in the city centre."

A condition survey on the civic centre carried out by Gleeds Cost Consultants found the building no longer conformed to modern standards of efficiency and required significant ongoing repairs which are likely to rise year on year.

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It also said the building would become functionally obsolete within the next five years.

An options appraisal and economic impact assessment commissioned on the back of the Gleeds report examined three possible options:

*Relocating approximately 1,200 staff to a brownfield city centre site at Holmeside, requiring a new office building with approximately 13,225 sq m of office space and 900sq m of retail space.

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The vacant civic centre site would then be sold off for potential mixed residential development.

*Relocating approximately 1,200 staff to a city centre site at Vaux site, requiring a new office building with approximately 13,22 5 sq m of office space.

The vacant site would then be sold off for potential mixed residential development.

*Repairing, refurbishing and improving the current civic centre and mothballing just under half its 25,700 sq m floor space.

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The council says when these were compared against suitability, build cost, 25 year life-cycle cost, timescale to deliver, risk factors and their regeneration benefits, the Vaux Site came outthe strongest.

It also worked out the cheapest option - £1.4million cheaper over 25 years than relocating to Holmeside and £4.7million cheaper than remaining in and refurbishing the current civiccentre.

Cabinet is being recommended to approve in principle the development of a new civic centre on the Vaux site and once this is complete, close and demolish the current civic centre.

It is also being asked to authorise the development of a detailed business case for a proposed new civic centre on the Vaux site for further consideration and to approve the necessary steps over the next few months to assemble the detailed business case.

Cabinet meets in Committee Room 1 at Sunderland Civic Centre at 2pm on Wednesday, October 17.