Major Sunderland riverside housing development gets green light - hopes it will bring economy a boost

Sunderland City Council’s Planning and Highways Committee, at a meeting this week, approved plans for land at Farringdon Row, near the recently constructed Riverside Sunderland multi-storey car park.

Developer Placefirst previously consulted on plans for the 165-home rental development and recently exchanged contracts with Sunderland City Council to develop the proposed neighbourhood.

The submission of a planning application last year marked a key milestone for the proposed housing scheme, with a decision on the plan initially expected from the local authority by the end of 2024.

During a council consultation exercise on the plans, there were no public comments or objections submitted.

After being put to the vote at a meeting on January 6, 2025, the plans were given the stamp of approval by the council’s Planning and Highways Committee, allowing work to progress.

Placefirst previously said the plans would deliver a “high-quality residential neighbourhood” with 67 houses and 98 apartments amongst a network of open spaces, as part of the wider Riverside Sunderland regeneration site masterplan.

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A range of house types, including “terraced and detached units” were proposed, as well as “four, six-storey apartment blocks”, which would be “interspersed with green space and communal gardens”.

The Farringdon Row site would offer views over the River Wear and the new Riverside Park, with a cliff top walkway proposed around the eastern edge of the site, as well as publicly-accessible green space, informal play areas and drainage improvements.

Of the 67 houses proposed, there would be five different house types and 11 of the houses would include ground floor apartments, while remaining apartments would be based across “four six-storey blocks including communal cycle storage and a management suite”.

Dedicated parking and visitor parking was also proposed, as well as “70 spaces within the newly-constructed Riverside multi-storey car park [being] allocated to serve occupants of the apartments should they wish to apply for this”.

A management suite on the ground floor of an apartment block at the centre of the site also aimed to “act as Placefirst’s community hub which will accommodate a full-time resident services manager”.

Planning documents submitted to the council said the”build-to-rent” scheme would “not include any affordable housing”, with developers citing the “significant challenge” to financial viability around delivering housing on a “constrained brownfield site”.

Alun Davies, head of planning at Placefirst, answered questions from councillors at Monday’s Planning and Highways Committee, and said the development represented an investment of more than £33 million into the site.

He added that build-to-rent developer Placefirst had a strong track record of building “sustainable communities”, including schemes in the North East, and that the Sunderland development would cater for a range of people, including professionals, young families and key workers.

It was also noted that the average tenancy would be around three years, with potential opportunities for tenants to move within the development to larger properties, with one-bedroom, two-bedroom and three-bedroom homes available.

Mr Davies added that rent levels would be based on a range of factors, including comparable housing schemes in the area and national ONS statistics, but would aim to be “reasonable” and “attract people” to live in the new homes.

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It was also confirmed that developers and operators had the option to introduce a traffic regulation order in future if parking issues arise within the site on match days, as well as an on-site manager being available to support future residents living within the scheme.

Council planning officers, in a report published ahead of the decision-making Planning and Highways Committee meeting, had recommended the housing scheme for approval.

The committee report said that the “significant positive aspects” of the scheme “outweighed” the absence of some planning obligations sought by the council, including a financial contribution towards education to reduce pressure on school places.

It was noted that the developer’s financial viability assessment, used to justify the absence of affordable housing and education contributions, had been “independently reviewed on behalf of the council” and accepted, but that the scheme’s viability and planning obligations could still be”re-tested” in future.

Council planners added that “significant positive weight” should be given to the “development of a brownfield site with a high-quality housing scheme which integrates good areas of greenspace, landscaping and public access, the development’s accessibility and proximity to sustainable transport options […] and the scheme’s delivery of net gains in biodiversity.”

Councillor Iain Scott said he was “delighted” there was a clause in the scheme to ‘re-test’ its viability in future.

“This is a really exceptional application that will provide a significant positive contribution to Riverside Sunderland and provide high-quality accommodation to its occupants,” he added.

“I’m particularly enamoured by the build-to-rent options that are proposed, which will open up these new city centre homes to a wider demographic of our residents.”

Councillor Michael Dixon, also welcoming the rental scheme, said the new homes would provide an economic boost for city centre businesses.

“There’s been a lot happening in Sunderland over the last few years but there’s still a sort of an average footfall at certain times of the night in certain areas,” he added.

“I think this development will help the local businesses, either nearby, or further into the city centre.”

A planning statement previously submitted to council officials said the site “historically formed part of the Sunderland Power Station site but has been disused since the closure of the power station in the late 1970s and its subsequent demolition”.

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It was also noted that Farringdon Row “forms part of a wider riverside area that was historically the industrial hub of the city but has been in decline since the closure of the shipyards.”

Under planning conditions, the proposed housing development must be brought forward within three years.

At Monday’s Planning and Highways Committee, developers said they hoped to “start on site in coming months.”

For more information on the planning application, visit Sunderland City Council’s planning portal website and search reference: 24/01984/FU4