£9.1m redevelopment project to support Sunderland’s low carbon ambitions

A new multi-million pound development in the heart of Sunderland is set to support the city’s ambitions to achieve carbon neutral status by 2040.

Sunderland City Council has unveiled plans for a £9.1m redevelopment of the Parsons Vehicle Workshop and Depot in Washington.

The existing workshop will be demolished and replaced with a new council depot building, which will house workshop spaces and office accommodation to support the introduction of low carbon vehicles.

A security gatehouse will service the site entrance, which leads to fleet, staff, and visitor parking facilities, a fuel station, and a storage barn which can store up to 7,500 tonnes of gritting salt.

Construction is set to begin in early summer 2021 and will be delivered by Esh Construction in partnership with Howarth Litchfield Architects, Portland Consulting Engineers and Desco.

Leader of Sunderland City Council, Cllr Graeme Miller, commented: “Our City Plan is about delivering a more dynamic, healthy and vibrant Sunderland, and it includes a commitment to making the city carbon neutral by 2040.

“As the council invests in new and lower carbon technology, including its vehicle fleet, we are looking to the new facilities and structures that are needed to support frontline services and their important work.

“The redevelopment of Parsons is helping to ensure we continue to deliver and have the capacity for further frontline service investments. We look forward to this partnership and redevelopment work at Parsons with Esh.”

Chris Hale, estimating director at Esh Construction, added: “We are delighted to be delivering this development on behalf of Sunderland City Council who is one of our valued and long-standing clients within the region.

“This is a key win for Esh and further strengthens our commercial build portfolio with over £72m of projects underway or due to commence.”