Plans approved for new council car park at Holmeside in Sunderland city centre

Council plans for a new ‘surface car park’ in Sunderland city centre have been given the green light by councillors.

Sunderland City Council’s Planning and Highways Committee approved an application this week for a site at Holmeside near the city’s central rail station.

New plans from the council include a 196-space car park with associated access, servicing and landscape work and a ‘green retaining wall’.

The new car park is expected to replace a multi-storey car park plan which was previously approved by councillors in 2022, but later shelved by Sunderland City Council.

The council confirmed in a recent statement that a surface car park would offer “better value for money in the short-term” and “keep options open for in the future”.

The new surface ground-level car park will feature accessible bays, motorcycle parking areas and electric vehicle (EV) charging bays.

It is envisaged that the new car park will provide a park-and-ride link for those using rail services in the city, with new signage informing motorists of the “acceptable payment methods and relevant charges”.

Vehicle access to the car park will be “gained from an access point to the west, connecting to the existing road that runs from Holmeside to Sunderland College to the south”.

A new single-storey mobility hub with a ‘green roof’ is also planned within the car park, offering both cycle parking and screens showing nearby bus and rail timetables.

The plans were recommended for approval by council officers at a meeting of Sunderland City Council’s Planning and Highways Committee on Monday, November 27.

Councillors heard the surface car park would help regeneration efforts in the city centre while promoting sustainable transport.

A council report prepared for decision-makers added “Sheffield-style cycle racks will be utilised rather than the two-tiered hydraulic system that was originally planned” and that “key access” could be made available.

It was also confirmed that no consultation responses had been received from Network Rail or Nexus over the new surface car park.

After being put to the vote, the car park plans won unanimous support from councillors.

However, questions were raised about whether the surface car park plans “ruled out” the potential of a multi-storey car park on the site in future.

Plans were approved in October, 2022, for the demolition of buildings at the Holmeside site, including the Railway Club and old Sinatra’s bar, to pave the way for a new multi-storey council car park.

Although demolition works to clear the site have progressed, Sunderland City Council confirmed the car park has not been constructed following a council “review of, and revision to, its parking needs within the city.”

Council planning officers, speaking this week, said the multi-storey “doesn’t now appear to be on the horizon” and that councillors were being asked to determine the surface car park only.

A representative for the council’s planning agent DPP Planning suggested the multi-storey could return, subject to council budgets and construction costs, and that the surface car park was “not a prohibitive factor of what might come forward in the future”.

In this context, councillor Gregory Peacock said he had concerns about the costs of the surface car park if the site could potentially be redeveloped in future.

Cllr Peacock continued: “I just want to put on note the concern that if this development was to be looked at again in future, is it a good use of council money to put in a car park, which if the building costs reduce in future, we then pull up to put in a new multi-storey which has already been passed?”.

During the meeting, councillor Michael Dixon noted the benefits of the surface car park to the Holmeside area and the new rail station.

The councillor asked whether consideration had been given to any possible parking issues linked to the future housing development on the old Sunderland Civic Centre site.

A council highways officer said that the Holmeside car park was “ancillary” to the city’s rail station and that the redevelopment of the former civic centre site “stands on its own two feet in terms of parking”.

Works on the Holmeside surface car park are planned to take place in early 2024.

For more information on the planning application, visit Sunderland City Council’s planning portal website and search reference: 23/02202/LP3