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Tesco plans for Sunderland store receives boost

TESCO’s plans to develop a new store in Sunderland have been given a boost after the Government Office for the North East opted against holding a public inquiry into the plans.

GONE has decided not to call in an outline planning application for the superstore at Sunderland Retail Park, which means that Sunderland City Councilcan now approve the application, subject to a number of conditions being met.

The council has said it was “minded to approve” the application, but due to the scheme’s size was required to refer the application to the regional government office.

Leader of Sunderland City Council Paul Watson said: ““This is a major boost for the regeneration of an important development site at one of the key gateways into the city centre.

“It has been achieved as a result of lengthy but very productive negotiations between the city council, its partners and Tesco.”

Tesco had wanted to build a major retail scheme at Sunderland’s Vaux Brewery site, which it bought from brewer Whitbread in 2001.

But urban regeneration company Sunderland Arc was also pursuing rival plans to develop the 10.4ha brownfield site into a new business district.

The two parties had been locked in a battle over the future of the contested site since 2002.

But in June, Sunderland City Council announced that a deal had been reached for regional development agency One North-East to buy the Vaux site from Tesco.

The supermarket confirmed that it instead intended to develop a store at Sunderland Retail Park in Roker.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .