Riverside Sunderland, Sunderland for Sunderland City Council, Legal & General, Canada Life, Igloo Regeneration Limited, The Cairn Group, Placefirst Limited with Proctor Matthews Architects, FaulknerBrowns Architects, Building Design (Northern) Limited

This 32-hectare redevelopment project revitalises a long-unused industrial and former brewery site in the city’s heart, featuring £650 million of live projects currently on site. Upon completion, it will include 1,000 homes for 2,500 residents and 90,000 sq m of office space for 10,000 workers, doubling the city centre’s population and boosting employment by 50 per cent. The sustainable, carbon-neutral urban quarter emphasises zero-waste construction, with 135 homes already developed and 165 more slated for approval during 2025.

Who is on the project team?

Designers -   Proctor Matthews Architects, Faulknerbrowns Architects, Building Design (Northern) Limited, Arup, Ryder, Mawson Kerr Architects, Cundall

Investors / Developers -  Legal & General, Canada Life, Igloo Regeneration Limited, The Cairn Group, Placefirst Limited

Public Sector - MHCLG, Homes England, South Tyneside & Sunderland NHS Trust

Contractors - Sir Robert McAlpine, Kier Construction, Volker Stevin, Brims Construction, Bowmer & Kirkland

Describe the context of this project and the point it has reached in its development. Who was there in this place before development, where have they gone, who is there now and who will be there in future? When is the project expected to be complete?

Riverside Sunderland is a 32-hectare site at the heart of the city, with £650m worth of live projects on site now. When complete, the development will include 1,000 homes where 2,500 residents will live, and 1m sq ft of office space where 10,000 people will work. New leisure spaces will create magnet destinations that will attract thousands of people to Sunderland, with venues like the Fire Station and Sheepfolds Stables already open and a new digital library – Culture House – under construction, a place that will draw residents and visitors alike. It’s all part of a masterplan that will double the resident population of the city centre and increase employment by 50%.

How are you seeking to foster community, welcome visitors and attract tenants? How are you responding to changing demographics, behaviour, market context, policy, transport habits and the climate crisis since winning planning?

The Expo Sunderland programme is actively engaging the local community, visitors and prospective tenants in the Riverside Sunderland regeneration and showcasing the new lifestyle opportunities that will be created. Post COVID, there is increased demand for homes which support flexible working with better access to open space to improve activity and social interaction. The homes at Riverside Sunderland are designed to support flexible independent living and through the incorporation of and 2025 Future Homes, Homes of 2030, and Longevity Homes the development is seeking to create long term sustainable communities where people of all ages can live, work and play. Riverside Sunderland underpins the repopulation of the city centre, diversification of the housing tenure mix and creation of ultra-low carbon homes with zero bills solutions to tackle the impact of climate change and the energy crisis and drive housing market growth. It addresses specific demand for open market sale and private rental accommodation and increases the availability of high-quality apartments to attract graduates and younger working age people to prevent outward migration and increase affluence. It will also attract downsizers, providing low maintenance properties with comprehensive local services, and will free up under-occupied family housing.

Please explain the governance of the project, such as its viability, purpose, motivation and any consultation and community engagement undertaken. 

Riverside Sunderland will be a sustainable carbon neutral urban quarter created by zero-waste construction. Its residential neighbourhoods will be built using modern methods of construction (MMC), promoting digital technology, off-site manufacturing, and improved whole-life performance of new homes. aA new eco-system is developing, centred around the new Housing Innovation & Construction Skills Academy (HICSA) , which will train the next generation in MMC enabling them to build homes on-site, creating low carbon communities. The masterplan for Riverside Sunderland outlines how to reduce material lifecycle impact by using components that will not become obsolete and may have the benefits of future use in other areas. Exploration is underway to assess the viability of utilising a former colliery at Riverside Sunderland as a heat source, and decentralised energy networks will support decarbonisation at Riverside Sunderland, with individual homes generating and sharing energy to balance community demands. A community designed around energy reduction and clean energy, the project will boast intuitive systems to allow for local energy management and sharing by residents and building users. New homes will deliver high levels of efficiency, following recommendations from the independent Committee on Climate Change (CCC). Orientation and massing of buildings balance daylight and solar gain, and heating and hot water generation in all new developments will be fossil fuel-free.