Before the financial crash of 2008 paralyzed the real estate market for several years, the Sunniside area was the only Sunderland ARC scheme that was able to receive serious investment. To the council's credit, there some strong positives from what they achieved. The new plaza, the creation of "The Place" (now The Looking Glass restaurant), the regeneration of the old post office, creation of other new office space, the creation of Sunderland Bowl and the Casino were all great acquisitions which articulated a new character to the area in what was previously a long forgotten part of town. However, despite this spur of activity around the late 2000s, little has followed since. The demise of the ARC organisation under the watch of government cuts essentially sent any future plans for the district to the grave. This has left a Sunniside which might have been improved, but has nevertheless not became what the actual development plans aspired it to be.
The development of Sunniside sought to create a thriving hub of small businesses, culture, art and recreation which would transform the neglected district into a wider component of the city centre and expand eastwards. Although what has been done can't really be criticized, it has not been enough on its own to achieve this. This is because the development of Sunniside was designed to occur in tandem with other parts of the city centre. In other words, in order to draw life, investment and activity into it, the area was dependent on other projects and larger projects succeeding as well, which as you know have been marred by constant delays, cancellations and setbacks. It relied on increasing numbers coming to live, work and invest in Sunderland. Of course, on its own it cannot achieve that. This leaves it with only a small concentration of the local demographic whom are willing to use its facilities, immediately stunting its growth potential. It shows. The area continues to remain persistently quieter than the "economic core" of the city centre (Blandford/High Street West/Market Square, etc).
A sizeable proportion of new restaurants and bars which come to Sunniside persistently struggle. Particularly on the large high street units next to the cinema. Whilst Frankie N' Bennies and Nandos have been a success story, I've watched over the years a number of outlets come and go. Big Lukes? Closed. Doner Haus and all the preceding facilities in that unit? Closed. Numerous "world buffets" on the corner one? Closed. "Louie Louie" was the latest casualty, although an avalanche of negative reviews on tripadvisor served to be final nails in the coffin. Nevertheless the point stands, restaurants and bars are not lasting long in this area, because the Sunniside regeneration has not been enough on it own to overturn the fundamental lack of appeal to the city and its longstanding image problem to outsiders. Restaurants and bars in the city centre are competing over the same local crowd whom has limited spending power, minus any serious number of visitors. People don't come from outside Sunderland to dine out/drink and most within the city cannot afford to do so on a regular basis. Therefore, in its current state, Sunniside is unable perform any better than present. It is progress, but it is at best only a 40% functioning development.
So the question is posed, just what now? Having turned all attention towards Siglion and Vaux, which is understandable, the local authorities have all but given up on the development of Sunniside and the east of the city centre. Despite that the regeneration did not go as hoped, this does not mean a white flag should be raised. The council should be attempting to market the area to outsiders and give it a brand identity which distinguishes it as something special. This should not just be one off events such as Sunniside Live, but something consistent, focused and lasting. We need to utilize language, imagery and the senses to create a feeling for the area that makes it attractive. In addition, with the expanse of student accommodation in Sunderland city centre, a considerable bulk of it should be placed in Sunniside. Cafes and art galleries will thrive on growing numbers of students.
As a whole, Sunniside should not be a lost cause. In all things we need ambition, vision and leadership.
The development of Sunniside sought to create a thriving hub of small businesses, culture, art and recreation which would transform the neglected district into a wider component of the city centre and expand eastwards. Although what has been done can't really be criticized, it has not been enough on its own to achieve this. This is because the development of Sunniside was designed to occur in tandem with other parts of the city centre. In other words, in order to draw life, investment and activity into it, the area was dependent on other projects and larger projects succeeding as well, which as you know have been marred by constant delays, cancellations and setbacks. It relied on increasing numbers coming to live, work and invest in Sunderland. Of course, on its own it cannot achieve that. This leaves it with only a small concentration of the local demographic whom are willing to use its facilities, immediately stunting its growth potential. It shows. The area continues to remain persistently quieter than the "economic core" of the city centre (Blandford/High Street West/Market Square, etc).
A sizeable proportion of new restaurants and bars which come to Sunniside persistently struggle. Particularly on the large high street units next to the cinema. Whilst Frankie N' Bennies and Nandos have been a success story, I've watched over the years a number of outlets come and go. Big Lukes? Closed. Doner Haus and all the preceding facilities in that unit? Closed. Numerous "world buffets" on the corner one? Closed. "Louie Louie" was the latest casualty, although an avalanche of negative reviews on tripadvisor served to be final nails in the coffin. Nevertheless the point stands, restaurants and bars are not lasting long in this area, because the Sunniside regeneration has not been enough on it own to overturn the fundamental lack of appeal to the city and its longstanding image problem to outsiders. Restaurants and bars in the city centre are competing over the same local crowd whom has limited spending power, minus any serious number of visitors. People don't come from outside Sunderland to dine out/drink and most within the city cannot afford to do so on a regular basis. Therefore, in its current state, Sunniside is unable perform any better than present. It is progress, but it is at best only a 40% functioning development.
So the question is posed, just what now? Having turned all attention towards Siglion and Vaux, which is understandable, the local authorities have all but given up on the development of Sunniside and the east of the city centre. Despite that the regeneration did not go as hoped, this does not mean a white flag should be raised. The council should be attempting to market the area to outsiders and give it a brand identity which distinguishes it as something special. This should not just be one off events such as Sunniside Live, but something consistent, focused and lasting. We need to utilize language, imagery and the senses to create a feeling for the area that makes it attractive. In addition, with the expanse of student accommodation in Sunderland city centre, a considerable bulk of it should be placed in Sunniside. Cafes and art galleries will thrive on growing numbers of students.
As a whole, Sunniside should not be a lost cause. In all things we need ambition, vision and leadership.
No comments:
Post a Comment