Farringdon Row will form part of 1,000-home Sunderland Riverside regeneration masterplan

Sunderland City Council has approved build-to-rent property developer Placefirst’s planning proposals for a 165-home clifftop community.

Farringdon Row CGI

What Farringdon Row could look like

Farringdon Row will be built on a 4.6-acre brownfield site, with work expected to start by June 2025.

The new homes will include 67 two to three-bedroom houses and 98 one to two-bedroom apartments for private rent completed to EPC A standards.

Although the council’s planning committee said it would be “desirable” for the scheme to include affordable housing, it accepted Placefirst’s viability assessment showing it is unable to do so.

Residents will have access to private and communal gardens, as well as the nearby River Wear and Riverside Park.

The new development is the second of four new neighbourhoods in the council’s wider Riverside Sunderland masterplan, which aims to build 1,000 new homes and one million sq ft of office space in the former industrial heart of the city.

Wates is due to complete the majority of homes for Vaux, the first phase of the Sunderland regeneration, this year. 

Newcastle-based architect ID Partnership, development consultant IC Planning and engineering consultant Cundall were involved in developing the masterplan.

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Kevin Johnston, cabinet member for business, housing and regeneration at Sunderland City Council, said: “Riverside Sunderland is a critical driver for the regeneration of the whole of the city centre, as we know that – by increasing our residential population and driving more businesses to locate here – we can deliver the critical mass of people needed to support our retail core and leisure venues, in turn uplifting the whole area. It’s a massive step forward in a part of the city that is – quite simply – unrecognisable from the place it once was.”

Greater Manchester-based Placefirst worked with Sunderland City Council, the North East Combined Authority and Homes England to secure funding for the scheme.