Sunderland stadium footbridge gets green light

The bridge would connect the former Vaux Brewery site on the south bank of the Wear to Sheepfolds on the north

Plans for a foot and cycle bridge across the River Wear in Sunderland have been give the green light.

The £31m structure will connect the former Vaux Brewery site to Sheepfolds, providing links to the Stadium of Light, and university and residential facilities north of the river.

Planners also approved a multi-storey car park and new riverside housing. 

All are part of the city centre regeneration project, and set for completion in the first half of 2023.

During the meeting of Sunderland City Council's planning and highways committee it emerged several designs were being considered for the bridge's parapets, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

'Move on'

Councillor Denny Wilson suggested that the bridge should make a statement and warned designers about "letting the past design our future".

He said: "I do fight for Sunderland's heritage and there's loads of evidence there to show that, but we have got loads of developments coming to this city that keep referencing back to our past.

"We're not a shipbuilding town now, the coal mines are shut and the glass, it's all gone.

"There is a place to reference all this but it's time to move on.

"This bridge really is an opportunity to be spectacular."

The multi-storey car park at Farringdon Row will feature a 'living wall' with an irrigation system behind it