Troubled times were lying ahead

The next decade or so will be a time of change and challenge in Sunderland.

New Town Clerk, James Jesse Gardner, warned: “There will be troubled times ahead.

“Change is inevitable, but it can also be difficult to accept and move along with.”

Officers will have to adapt to changes of function and councillors to changes in their powers.

A bigger authority may not necessarily be a better one, but Mr Gardner feels size has something to recommend it, providing it is moulded to the geographical area.

For that reason he welcomes the Royal Commission’s acknowledgement of Sunderland as a separate area with its own historical associations.

This would mean the town centre will be retained as the area’s focal