Sunderland Stadium of Light superhub: green light for electric vehicle charging plan

Sunderland City Council’s planning department has approved an application for an area of car park near the Stadium of Light.

Applicant RAW Charging lodged an application earlier this year seeking permission to make alterations to the site and to install electric vehicle (EV) chargers and associated infrastructure.

The development was planned at the section of car park running adjacent to Southwick Road and accessed from the Miners’ Lamp Roundabout, which marks a main approach to the stadium.

A planning application said the development would see spaces decrease from 28 to 20 spaces, while site plans described the project as ‘Sunderland Superhub’ and showed how the EV charging development would operate.

This includes around 20 charging spaces, including two “priority bays”, along with associated infrastructure, and council planning documents have since described the EV charging equipment as “DC ultra-rapid bays.”

Check out the latest developments in Sunderland

During a council consultation exercise on the plans, there were no objections from the council’s environmental health team, including on matters of noise impacts, and no objections were raised by members of the public.

Council planning documents noted a noise assessment was provided by the applicant which concluded that the sound of the development would be “below background noise levels at both daytime and nighttime periods.”

After considering the planning application and assessing it against planning policies, Sunderland City Council’s planning department approved it on June 23, 2025.

Council planners, in a decision report, noted the applicant had demonstrated “limited availability of ultra-rapid and rapid electric vehicle charging stations in the surrounding area of SAFC”, with the application aiming to “address this gap in provision”.

It was noted that the “site’s location provides an accessible and convenient location to address this current growing demand for electric vehicle charging stations”.

In this context, council planners said the “loss of the 8 no. car parking spaces is considered acceptable given the very minor effect it would have on overall parking provision for the Stadium of Light and nearby facilities and businesses”.

Go beyond the story - sign up for our Sunderland Echo newsletters

The council decision report adds: “The physical infrastructure associated with the delivery of the charging points will have a limited visual impact given its scale and the surroundings, which are predominantly commercial in nature.

“Infrastructure for EV charging is also becoming more commonplace and is a typical feature of car parks such as this.”

According to Raw Charging’s website, the company provides “EV charging at hospitality, leisure and retail destinations across the UK and Europe.”

Plans submitted to council officials indicate the type of chargers proposed, with proposed models listed as “HYC150 and HYC300 DC chargers.”

The planning application comes following the recent launch of Sunderland AFC’s ‘Ready Eco’ platform last summer (2024).

Get the latest updates - follow us on our Facebook page

This saw the club “reinforce its commitment to becoming energy-sufficient from renewable sources by 2028 and achieving net zero by 2040.”

Following the declaration of a climate emergency by Sunderland City Council and South Tyneside Council, the club is also continuing to develop proposals for a solar farm near the Academy of Light.

A planning application for the solar farm, which falls within South Tyneside Council’s local authority boundaries, was recently amended and is awaiting decision from council planning officials.

Under planning conditions, the EV charging superhub needs to be brought forward within three years.

For more information on the planning application, or to track its progress, visit Sunderland City Council’s planning portal website and search reference: 25/00555/FU4