£60 million business park planned for Sunderland

Plans have moved forward for a regeneration scheme in Sunderland that could see around 1600 new jobs created.

Back by Legal & General, the site of the former Hillthorn Farm will see £60 million of investment through the creation of a new business park.

The park will create space for industrial, storage and distribution businesses, and support Sunderland’s economic growth ambitions.

The site will create 620,000 sq ft of business premises.

A range of technical studies are currently underway on the 25-hectare site in Washington, and once complete, they will support a planning application, which, if approved, could see building work state as soon as 2021.

The business park will sit alongside the existing Vantec operation, which has been on site since 2016.

Councillor Graeme Miller, leader of Sunderland City Council, said: “We have developed a strong partnership with Legal & General in Sunderland.

“We are seeing that come to fruition very quickly on Riverside Sunderland and expect Hillthorn Park to move ahead with the same pace and vigour as the city centre.”

Paul Edwards, director of Asset Management at LGIM Real Assets, added: “We are moving forward at pace with our plans for Hillthorn Park, which we know will bring opportunity to local businesses and people, something we are absolutely committed to.

“We understand Sunderland’s vision and we support it. Developments like this will complement the existing economy in the city, creating speculative space that we know will appeal to the market.

“We’re delighted to be delivering this scheme in the North East.”