Plans approved to extend Sunderland's Quay West business park, creating up to 129 jobs

Sunderland City Council’s planning department received an application for land off Crown Road in the Southwick ward.

The proposed site included parcels of land to the west and east of Quay West Riverside Business Village, near the city’s Grade II-listed Queen Alexandra Bridge.

New plans from Adderstone Projects Limited proposed new “flexible commercial units” with associated access points, car and cycle parking, bin stores, landscaping and associated ancillary works.

A submitted planning and economic statement confirmed the scheme would serve as an extension to the business park with an aim of attracting new firms to Wearside.

This included “eight modern and flexible commercial units” with a range of uses including general industrial, storage and distribution and “research and development of products and processes and industrial processes”.

Planning application details said the flexibility of use classes could include “amalgamating units” subject to demand and requirements of future tenants.

While the total job creation would depend on the final mix of uses, planning documents estimate there could be as many as 129 full-time equivalent jobs, as well as jobs created during construction.

Following a public consultation exercise, the plans were recommended for approval by planning officers at a meeting of Sunderland City Council’s Planning and Highways Committee on Monday, November 28.

There were no questions or comments from councillors present at the City Hall meeting, with the application voted through unanimously.

A report prepared by council officers for decision-makers said the plan would have “minor negative impacts” on the setting of the Queen Alexandra Bridge in relation to “very specific views”, as well as resulting in a “net loss in biodiversity”.

However council planners said that the economic benefits of the proposed development, including bringing forward “under-utilised parcels of land” in a key employment area and job creation, would outweigh any negative impacts.

The council report adds: “The parcels of land which relate to this planning application are some of the only remaining vacant plots within the area and so provide an excellent opportunity for new, modern and high-quality development to assist in Sunderland’s growing business community”.

Following planning approval being granted this week, the development must be brought forward within three years.