New road infrastructure and industrial units for IAMP set for approval as site continues to grow
Plans for new road infrastructure and industrial units at a key employment site on Wearside are due to go before councillors for decision next week.
Sunderland City Council’s Planning and Highways Committee will rule on an application for part of the International Advanced Manufacturing Park (IAMP) site.
The area, which is a joint project between Sunderland and South Tyneside Councils, has been developed in recent years as a hub for the advanced manufacturing and automotive sectors and aims to create thousands of jobs.
The proposals from Hedley Planning, submitted on behalf of Town End Farm Partnership Ltd, aimed to secure permission for three new industrial units.
Those behind the scheme said the units would offer 17,220 sqm, 14,600 sqm and 49,190 sqm of potential warehouse-style space with modern ground floor office accommodation, vehicle and HGV parking facilities and associated yard space.
Plans for landscaping, which would be finalised at a later date, also included new trees, hedges and woodland planted along the perimeter to the northern and eastern edges of the site, with an aim of offering enhanced visual effects and environmental benefits.
As part of the hybrid planning application, applicants were seeking outline planning permission for the three industrial units, and to establish the principle of industrial uses on the site.
However, applicants stressed that “all matters” would be reserved until a later date, with specific details of the buildings and landscaping expected to be submitted in a formal “reserved matters” application in future.
The hybrid planning application also sought full planning permission for a “A1290 junction arrangement” which, planning documents state, is needed due to the “road widening works along the A1290 (dualling of the A1290 between the A19/A1290 Downhill Lane Junction and the southern access from International Drive)”.
Council planning officers, in a report published ahead of a decision-making meeting on January 27, 2025, have recommended the plans for approval.
The council committee report states that “given IAMP’s international status and this being the last significant parcel of development land, it is vital that the local planning authority supports the development and creation of further jobs for the city and the wider northeast region”.
Council planners said that the “proposal has demonstrated that the impacts of the development would not cause any significant adverse harm” and that the plan “as a whole is considered acceptable”.
It was also noted that the application had been reviewed by the local highways authority, National Highways and active travel, “who have all worked together in a proactive manner to achieve a positive outcome for this application”.
The council committee report adds: “The proposed development has submitted a comprehensive environmental impact assessmentand associated information to justify the need for the proposed development on an allocated site within the IAMP AAP (area action plan) boundary.
“It is clear that the proposed development will have very substantial benefits to the continued development at IAMP with the continued support of future commercial development and additional jobs being created for the city.
“In this context, it is considered that the proposed development is acceptable in terms of the planning balance based upon the submitted information and mitigation proposed, and as such the proposed development is considered acceptable.”
A decision on the plan rests with councillors on the Planning and Highways Committee, who will discuss the application on Monday, January 27, 2025.
The meeting is scheduled to start at 5.30pm at City Hall and will be open to the public.
For more information on the planning application, or to track its progress, visit Sunderland City Council’s website and search reference: 24/01705/HE4