Row after report branded 'deeply worrying' for Sunderland

Sunderland City Council has hit back at opposition claims that a report published in January is "deeply worrying" for the city.

The 42-page report was published by Centre for Cities, a think tank which aims to improve the economies of the UK's 63 largest cities and towns.

The wide ranging reported provided statistics for 2010-2022 in areas including population, income, jobs, housing, affordability, poverty, population, productivity, business start-ups, skills and air quality. Sunderland finished top for air quality.

Among the dozens of statistics and league tables in the report, Sunderland's Conservatives have highlighted sections which place the city in the bottom 10 for business start ups, the slowest growing population of any English city and the third lowest performing in terms of job creation between 2010 and 2022.

Cllr Antony Mullen, leader of Sunderland Conservatives, said: “This is a deeply worrying report for Sunderland. Not only do not we compare badly to other UK cities, we compare badly with neighbouring North East cities.

“Sunderland has received tens of millions of pounds in Levelling Up funding provided by the government; including for Culture House, the Riverside development and for job creation around the IAMP – and it is right that this report recommends that should continue.

“But there also needs to be a local strategy published by the council to show how it will revive our failing city centre, as a place that combines living, leisure, retail and business.

“We hear on a weekly basis of businesses in Sunderland closing. We need to reverse that trend and make Sunderland an attractive place to live, invest and spend.”

But leader of the Labour council, Cllr Graeme Miller, replied: “Another day, and another misguided and frankly damaging statement from an increasingly desperate Conservative Party about this city, that serves only to advance their own political agenda.

"If only they spent as much time talking up this city and backing our ambitious plans as they do trashing talking it.

“Sunderland is a transforming city. ONS’ Annual Population Survey shows a significant increase in the number of Sunderland residents in employment, up by 14,800 (13.4%) between 2011 and 2023, compared to 7.9% for the North East as a whole and 11.5% for the UK.

"A positive trend that we will build on as we create more space for business – 1million sq ft of city centre office space at Riverside Sunderland – to ensure we are able to welcome more new and growing companies to the city, as well as advancing with developments like Crown Works Studios and the International Advanced Manufacturing Park that will create and sustain tens of thousands of jobs.

"We’re building thousands of new homes at a rate not seen in generations to make this a more attractive place to live, offering a diverse range of homes for people at all stages of their career.

"And we’re driving investment across the city that is making Sunderland an ever more attractive place to call home.

"There has never been a more cohesive plan for growth for this city, nor a more hopeful and optimistic time for the city… you would be forgiven for thinking this is another cynical attempt from Cllr Mullen and his cronies to be selective with the truth and talk down this city for their own political gain.”