POWER SHIFT
Sunderland Council to move out of civic centre after 48 years Headquarters to be demolished to make way for family homes Chiefs believes switch Vaux will attract other businesses
Sunderland Civic Centre could be moving to the city’s Vaux site – with the cleared plot to be sold off for family homes.
The city council says its headquarters in Burdon Road will be “functionally obsolete” within five years, with leader Graeme Miller saying a new building is “a necessity, not a legacy” as annual repair bills top £200,000.
The funds needed to cover the cost – whether a building it takes ownership of or a rented property – can be raised through borrowing, while cash will also be generated through the sale of the civic centre plot for housing.
The council says the suggestion has been discussed behind closed doors for a number of years as the 1970s building continues to crumble and leak, with the first step in public view to be next Wednesday before its cabinet.
If given the initial green light, the next six months will be used to firm up proposals, with a timescale of three years suggested for the new complex.
While other land, including part of Holmeside, has been drawn up on a wishlist, the council says the Vaux site is its preferred choice.
Land in phase two of the scheme, to the west of the Beam building under construction, is pencilled in.
The old brewery site is under development by Siglion, which was a partnership between the council and now-defunct Carillion, with Tolent since brought in as a construction partner.
Designs are yet to be drawn up, but the authority wants to create two buildings linked by a central atrium for its 1,200 staff and services, with parking on site.
It says the existing civic centre land would create a new “quality housing” development with shops, transport links and park space on its doorstep.
Councillor Miller said: “The good thing about the Vaux site is it’s ours and it’s in keeping with our aspirations to have a public sector hub as part of the city centre.
“If we use this as a lever and be a landmark anchor tenant, there will be others pulled to the site.
“When you think about all the things which are happening on the Vaux site, what’s going on in the MAC Quarter and what’s going on with the Beam, Sunderland City Council is doing the job of getting people and jobs on the site and this will help.
“It’s going in a great direction that area and that’s where we need to be.”
A survey of the existing centre found the asbestosfilled, leaking and dilapidated building no longer meets modern standards, with the cost of repairs to rise.
Options were drawn up when these were compared, Vaux came out “the strongest.”
Cabinet meets at Sunderland Civic Centre at 2pm on Wednesday, October 17.