WHAT COULD COME FROM THE MASTERPLAN:
A leisure centre or sporting attraction – known as the “leisure box” development – could become the largest number of facilities of their kind in the North East, with Hay Street identified as a potential location. Potential attractions could include an indoor climbing wall, ice arena, velodrome, trampolining, skate venue, soft play, indoor athletics and basketball, with the suggestion many could be housed within a sports hall which could also be a conference and music venue.
former engine shed on Hay Street and old Railway Stables, in Easington Street, are proposed as a base for food and drink business or creative industries or startup firms.
New hotels and events spaces to support the stadium, the Beacon of Light, Hilton hotel and Vaux site as venues for national and international sporting and cultural events are planned. A “striking new” hotel and conference centre is proposed for the south west side of the football ground. A 4* boutique hotel, conference centre and wedding venue on the south east corner of the south stand could take advantage of views across the river thanks to its “dramatic cliff top setting.”
Up to 200 new homes, such as apartments, townhouses, duplex, bungalows and Tyneside-style flats, could be built in the Sheepfolds area. The area’s rail heritage could be used to inspire designs of homes for couples, families and first-time buyers, as well as downsizers, empty nesters and students, with cycle paths and green spaces to be incorporated into the estates.
Restaurants, entertainment, culture and performance venues, with eating places looking onto Stadium Way and the route from St Peter’s Way. The former Railway Stables is touted as a potential building to become a bar and restaurant, with the suggestion become a micro-brewery. It could also host a series of businesses and pop-up stalls, with Newcastle’s Boilershop noted as an example of how it could work.
A base for arts, media and publishing firms, generating jobs and supporting the housing plans, with projects such as the Toffee Factory and Hoults Yard, in Newcastle, highlighted as a success. Again, the former stable block and engine shed could be used to house businesses, with exhibition spaces and a gallery also mooted for the area along with help for graduate start-up businesses.
Improved and connected green spaces, with pedestrians and bikes to be given priority over vehicles. A clifftop walkway would serve the area and take advantage of the river views, with areas for residents and the public, with the riverside space to be the “green lungs” of the area. Play areas, outdoor gyms and fitness trails, climbing areas and bouldering walls, tree-top platforms, den making and education on wildlife are detailed. A Stadium Plaza to the south east area of the South Stand would create a flexible outdoor space and fan zone – although Sunderland AFC shut down its effort to run one at the end of last season.