Decision due on city subway plan

Sunderland City Council aims to build 600 homes as part of the Sheepfolds regeneration

Plans for a new "subway and bridge structure" aimed at providing better connectivity as part of a city regeneration will go before councillors next week.

Sunderland City Council’s planning and highways committee will discuss a council application for the project in the north-west part of the Sheepfolds Industrial Estate.

The area is a key site in the authority’s riverside regeneration plan and is undergoing a major transformation.

Entertainment development Sheepfolds Stables is set to open shortly, while old commercial units are to be demolished with plans announced for the construction of hundreds of homes.

Earlier this year, plans were approved to improve links between a new pedestrian and cycle bridge over the River Wear, currently under construction, which will link the former Vaux brewery site to the Sheepfolds area.

Now, another council application has proposed the creation of a "10m-wide (32ft) pre-cast subway and bridge structure" above the historic cobbled path, once linked to the Wearmouth Colliery quay.

It said the new bridge would promote active travel and be "suitable for use by pedestrians and cyclists" only.

The plans would essentially join part of Easington Street, via the new footbridge, to a point near the Millennium Way roundabout, while also retaining access to the footpath below via a subway.

The Labour-led authority’s planning department has recommended the development for approval, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Councillors will make a decision at a meeting on 29 July.