CITY leaders in Sunderland have finally bought up the key regeneration site formerly occupied by the Vaux brewery in a £22m deal.
The long-running battle with owner Tesco will see the supermarket paid for land considered as vital to the city’s economic growth.
For 10 years the council and Tesco have been locked in a legal battle, with the council refusing to hand over permission for a giant supermarket, and instead being forced to find an alternative site for use by Tesco for the development.
Now that the 26-acre Vaux site is in the hands of council leader Paul Watson – who admits it is a great first step – there is still a while to go before any further building work can be carried out.
It is thought concerns over who would end up owning the site once the development agency One North East is closed prompted a quick decision to buy up the land.
The Homes and Communities Agency provided £20m worth of the cash, with the council and One North East providing £1m each.
It is thought that the Vaux site is one of the North East’s most significant brownfield regeneration sites with hopes of expanding the city centre, including plans to send the St Mary’s Way road underground. The regeneration plans come with the possibility of creating some 3,200 new jobs through mixed-use development on the former brewery site comprising offices, residential, retail, hotels and civic buildings with a new central square.
Coun Waston said: “We can now look to major development at both the Vaux site and the Roker Retail Park. Vaux is a regionally significant site and this is the largest redevelopment opportunity that the city centre has ever seen.
“I give great credit to colleagues in the city council and our partners who have worked tirelessly over many months behind the scenes to help bring this day about.”
But Sunderland Conservative councillor Lee Martin said the good news could have come much sooner.
He said: “I welcome this announcement, everyone will, but we could have done a lot more if we had really pushed for this.
“It is great news for Sunderland but we have missed out on years of economic activity here.”
The council has said it will initially look at other uses for the site as it awaits the cash to kick start the regeneration work.
Tesco will now go ahead with plans for a new superstore in Wearside.
Doug Wilson, corporate affairs manager for Tesco, said: “We have continued to work closely with Sunderland City Council and other public sector bodies to resolve the future of the site.
“Tesco remains committed to making further major investment into the city and this announcement means we can now move forward with our exciting plans for a new store at the Sunderland Retail Park.”
Staff at the agency have sent the Government a list of regional assets that it suggests need to be kept in the hands of local councils rather than sold off to help tackle the national debt.
This includes various Sunderland sites.
