News
New £60m
investment for
Sunderland that
could create
1,600 jobs
Pictured (left to right): Helen Golightly from the North East LEP, Councillor Graeme Miller
from Sunderland City Council, Nigel Wilson from Legal & General and Patrick Melia from
Sunderland City Council.
Legal & General, on behalf of its
Industrial Property Investment
Fund, has agreed a deal with
Sunderland City Council to invest £60m
in a regeneration scheme that could create
around 1,600 new jobs in Sunderland.
Forming an important part of the city
and region’s Covid-19 recovery plan, the
investment will see the 25-hectare Hillthorn
Park site in Washington transformed into a
manufacturing hub.
Representing Sunderland City Council’s
second major regeneration partnership
with Legal & General, it follows L&G’s
£100m commitment to invest in Riverside
Sunderland.
The two-phased development plan –
which is subject to planning consent – will
see Legal & General develop a total of
around 620,000 sq ft of industrial space over
nine new commercial buildings.
Each development will be funded,
procured and delivered by Legal & General,
before being marketed to a range of
occupiers who will create jobs for local
people.
Designed to support the needs of
industrial, storage and distribution
businesses in the area and support economic
growth, it complements the International
Advanced Manufacturing Park (IAMP),
which is gathering pace just a stone’s throw
away.
Port work gets under way
major section of a multi-million
A pound programme to prepare Port
of Sunderland for investment is now
underway.
Port of Sunderland, which was bolstered
by an £8.2m investment, has embarked
on an ambitious programme of enabling
engineering works to deliver major
improvements to its East Shore nine-acre
development site.
Areas of its estate were granted Enterprise
Zone (EZ) status just three years ago and
now it is shovel-ready to attract inward
investment.
Councillor Graeme Miller, leader of
Sunderland City Council, said: “This is a
tremendous step forward in our strategy to
supercharge the city economy and a massive
vote of confidence from Legal & General that
will rapidly accelerate our plans for Hillthorn
Park.
“We have worked with partners to ensure
that this site is developed in a way that
creates the greatest economic advantage for
the city, and this is a deal that will deliver
new job opportunities for local people and
attract more businesses to Sunderland.”
Paul Edwards, director of asset
management at LGIM Real Assets, said: “As
a business, we have a strong track record
of working in closely with local councils
and communities to invest in and deliver
important infrastructure and regeneration
which responds to the needs of the local
area, and which enables long term job
creation. We believe that these latest plans
will transform the Hilthorn Park area in
terms of creating jobs which will be essential
for the local economy in the post Covid-19
recovery phase.”
The move will accelerate the
transformation of the Washington site,
part of which has already been designated
Enterprise Zone status, identified by the
Government and the North East Local
Enterprise Partnership (LEP) in 2012 as key
locations for new economic development.
The
municipallyowned
port has
appointed Esh
Construction’s civil engineering division to
undertake work on the East Shore phase of
EZ infrastructure improvements.
It is part of a substantial investment
channelled through the North East Local
Enterprise Partnership (LEP) to make the
port more attractive to potential investors
and providing an added incentive to those
looking to establish a long-term operation
on the port estate.
INSIGHT
DURHAM IS OPEN
FOR BUSINESS
It’s hard to believe that I was first elected
as MP for the City of Durham only last
year, as it seems like a lifetime ago.
This year has presented challenges that
none of us could have anticipated, but I
take enormous pride in representing such a
wonderful constituency.
I believe there is nowhere like Durham
in the country, and nowhere better for a
business to be based.
I was born and raised in Jarrow, and
have lived in the North-East my whole life.
Durham is unique. It has history, culture,
a world-class university and a World
Heritage site at its heart.
It is a place driven by its people, and
this is reflected in the small, family-run
businesses built up through years from
hard work, the exciting new start-ups in
the area, and national and international
businesses that see the region as a strong
base for their operations.
All of this is built upon the heritage of an
area with pride in its heritage ingrained in
its DNA.
Of course, as we look forward, the
future is more uncertain than ever. The
coronavirus pandemic is not only a public
health crisis, it has created an economic
one.
Although we face unprecedented
challenges, I hope that Durham can rebuild
in a way that makes it stronger than ever.
The development at the Integra 61 site in
Bowburn will attract more businesses into
the area; the plans for the Aykley Heads
site will bring high quality jobs to the city,
and the work being done by organisations
such as the Business Improvement District
in the city centre will show that Durham
is open for business, and provide us with a
resilient city centre.
Through working together and
highlighting the positives of the region, we
can rebuild successfully. I look forward to
playing my part in this.
Mary Kelly Foy MP
Labour, City of Durham
wear.business – the voice of business for the Wear region
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