Decision date for new Greggs, Costa and B&M at Sunderland's former Farringdon Police Station site

Plans to bulldoze a former police station and build a new multi-million pound retail development are due to go before councillors for decision next week.

Sunderland City Council’s Planning and Highways Committee is set to discuss plans for the former Farringdon Hall Police Station site and surrounding land off Durham Road.

The building, which has been empty since it was closed by Northumbria Police in 2015 due to budget cuts, is earmarked for demolition to pave the way for a £10 million investment creating new business units.

If approved, developers have said the plans would create scores of jobs, as well as employment opportunities created during construction and through the supply chain.

Developers have already confirmed the majority of businesses linked to the scheme, including B&M Home and Garden, a Costa Coffee drive-thru, Greggs, a tanning shop and a veterinary practice.

The development will provide a total of 110 parking spaces, including seven accessible bays and an eight-bay electric vehicle charging station.

Plans will also see new access arrangements with a primary access from North Moor Lane with a ‘left-turn only’ arrangement, a second exit point directly onto Durham Road and a connection through to the access road for the neighbouring McDonald’s unit.

In a report prepared for decision-makers ahead of the Planning and Highways Committee, council planning officers have recommended the retail scheme for approval.

The committee report states the development would create a total of 103 full-time equivalent jobs and “increased facilities and consumer choice for residents in the local area and further afield”.

It also notes that the plans would “secure the demolition of a building which is a significant visual blight on the local area”.

In recent years the building has become a hotspot for vandalism and anti-social behaviour prompting warnings that the derelict site could put lives at risk.

Councillor Phil Tye, who has long campaigned for the former police station site to be redeveloped, has welcomed the recommendation from council officers for the retail scheme to move forward.

He said: “I had huge concerns over a number of years that the young people that were getting in it potentially could get trapped [or] cause fires, there was asbestos in the building.

“So not only in my role as a councillor but in my role with Youth Almighty I’ve been coming and encouraging the kids to keep away.

“The issue is around finding a developer and getting the development work done quickly because the land is in private ownership.

“I’m absolutely over the moon that we’re able to take that forward now to a planning committee this month.

“As soon as that’s done then attached to that permission is the demolition of [the police station] and quite quickly from that I’m assured and told that this building will be coming down, and it’s about time as well.

“It’s an absolute blight on the community”.

The final decision on the plans rests with councillors on the Planning and Highways Committee, who will next meet on Monday, June 19 at City Hall.

The council meeting is scheduled to start at 5.30pm and will be open to the public.