Sunderland Civic Centre housing scheme gets near £2 million Government cash boost

A Wearside housing scheme has received nearly £2 million Government cash.

Work to transform Sunderland’s former Civic Centre site into a 265-home estate has been backed by the Brownfield Release Fund.

City council bosses say the money – part of the wider One Public Estate programme – is “among the highest allocation granted to any town or city in the UK”.

The cash will allow for groundwork to be carried out on the 1960s former council base, which has stood empty since the authority shifted to City Hall, on the Riverside Sunderland development.

Councillor Graeme Miller, leader of Sunderland City Council, said: “We’re pleased to have secured an allocation of funding that will support us to quickly transform this site.

“The pace of change in Sunderland city centre is undeniable right now, and there can be no mistaking the level of ambition, led by this council, that is driving the regeneration of all corners of the city.”

The housing scheme is being overseen by Vistry Partnerships North East, and will include a recreation of the city’s St George’s Square, which was bomb damaged during the Second World War and subsequently lost to redevelopment.