Member Article

Siglion opens up consultation over earmarked Sunderland sites

Siglion is aiming to move ahead with its £100m plan for the regeneration of Sunderland by entering consultations with the public over two major sites identified for transformation.

The development company is organising meetings and exhibitions in October at Seaburn and Chapel Garth to gather feedback before finalising the planning blueprints for the areas.

Siglion’s masterplan for Seaburn aims to put the area back on the map as a seaside destination, with seafront cafes, restaurants and leisure spaces, plus new houses and apartments for residents.

There will be a public exhibition and consultation event at Seaburn Leisure Centre from 2pm-7pm on Friday 2 October and from 10am-1pm on Saturday 3 October at which everyone is welcome to come along and have their say.

A workshop has already taken place with invited residents, businesses, councillors, a representative from the local MP’s office and police. Their feedback is being fed through to Design Team.

At Chapel Garth, where a major residential development with new shopping, community and leisure facilities is proposed, the consultation process will begin at the end of September with a workshop for invited stakeholders. This will be followed by a public exhibition and consultation event which will take place at The Box Youth Project on Hall Farm Road from 10am to 4pm on Saturday 17th October.

Members of the design team as well as employees from Siglion will be in attendance at both the Seaburn and Chapel Garth public exhibitions and everyone is encouraged to call in and see the emerging proposals.

Siglion development director, Katie Sully, said: “People do have a real say in the plans for their communities.

“The workshops look at what people’s hopes and fears are for the site. We present a very draft masterplan, effectively an outline diagram, and run through that to understand whether people’s hopes have been met or not.

“As result of the Seaburn workshop, we are carrying out more research and looking at how we can accommodate the issues raised by the stakeholders, into the masterplan. We are listening and responding to what people tell us – we’re not here to stand up and dictate designs.”

The public exhibitions also give local people the opportunity to drop in and comment on the proposals. Siglion will work to include feedback in the masterplans, or if the ideas are not viable because of space or cost constraints, it will explain why they cannot be incorporated.

Ms Sully said: “There will be further public exhibitions for the two sites later this year, following which we will hopefully have the schemes ready to submit for planning. The Seaburn planning application is due to be submitted in early 2016 and Chapel Garth at the end of this year.”

Seaburn and Chapel Garth are the second and third of the five sites in the regeneration programme to start the consultation process. The city centre Vaux site, close to Siglion’s head office in the Echo 24 building, has held exhibitions in August and September ahead of a planning application being made in October. It is hoped that work on the site will start in May/June next year.

Siglion is a joint venture company set up by Sunderland City Council, Carillion, managed by Igloo Regeneration.

Councillor Paul Watson, leader of Sunderland City Council, said: “Things are really starting to move with the regeneration programme, which will lead to some of the biggest changes in Sunderland in a generation.

“This is a real opportunity to get your opinions across and play a part in shaping your community.”

Neil McMillan, chair of Siglion and development director of Carillion, added: “It’s important that as many people as possible have their say on the future of their community and I’d urge residents and businesses in Seaburn and Chapel Garth to attend the public exhibitions.