Sunderland Vaux brewery still getting homes development

A computer-generated image of the the proposed redevelopment of the site

A city council is still committed to building "ultra modern" homes on an old brewery site despite the collapse of a contractor, it has said.

Gateshead firm Tolent had been due to build 135 homes on the site of the former Vaux brewery in Sunderland but went into administration last week.

Sunderland City Council Labour leader Graeme Miller said there would be delays until a contractor was found.

However, he said he was committed to building the "cutting edge" housing.

The Vaux brewery closed in 1999 after 162 years

The 26-acre site of the old brewery has been vacant since it closed in 1999.

It was bought by the council in 2011 and, in 2014, a redevelopment plan was formed in partnership with developer Carillion.

After Carillion's collapse in 2018, Tolent came on board later that year.

The council signed a deal with the firm to build 135 modern homes in the new Vaux neighbourhood at Riverside Sunderland, the first of 1,000 homes planned for the area as part of an initiative to double the number of people living in the city centre.

It had been hoped the properties would be ready for families to move in to by the end of this year.

Mr Miller said: "We always knew there were risks with every construction deal in place so you put protections in place.

"The council won't lose any money out of this, we will have a delay while we sort out a new developer, there's nothing we can do about that and we have to be realistic.

"We have to accept that this is going to be pushed back.

"These houses that we are building on the Vaux brewery site are smart technology homes - right on the cutting edge of what new house building should look like.

"So not everybody would be interested in delivering that, it's not easy or a case of chuck some houses up with some bricks."