114 ENLIGHTENED PLANNING (Continued from page 109)


local authorities. But there are still many obstacles in the way. He says, ‘When Goldsmith Street won the Stirling Prize, and Marmalade Lane was a runner-up in all kinds of awards, there was an assumption that the tide had turned, and it hasn’t.’ Tere are pockets of inspirational architecture and development, he agrees, citing inner London boroughs such as Hackney, and interesting infill or small-site housing being facilitated by London boroughs like Lewisham and


‘One of the biggest hurdles to overcome... is a procurement model that emphasises quantity over quality.’


Southwark – such as a recent 33-apartment scheme in Peckham designed by Peter Barber, recently shortlisted for a RIBA Regional Award. But, as Murphy says, ‘Someone needs to hire Barber for 500 units instead of just 80.’ One of the biggest hurdles to overcome, Murphy points out, is a procurement model that emphasises quantity over quality, and places so much power in the hands of volume house builders and their contractors, for whom the bottom line always wins over any consideration of quality of life. But the mood


CASE STUDY RIVERSIDE SUNDERLAND


Sunderland city centre is nestled right on the edge of a cliff, with green hills rolling down to the River Wear below. The scale of this drop – right beside the former Vaux Brewery – has meant that most people whizzing through the city via its extensive road networks don’t even notice its dramatic setting. That will change once the ambitious, £450m Riverside Sunderland regeneration plan is achieved. Already part way through its 15-year gestation, the 32ha site has been described by one of its supporters Neil Murphy of developers TOWN as ‘having the commitment to quality and sustainability that reminds me of northern European regeneration schemes’. High praise indeed. And the former brewery site will be the first to show its colours, in phase one, when 132 out of a promised 1,000 new low-energy homes are completed by 2023.


This quarter, like all the four designated living quarters straddling the River Wear, will be richly endowed with parkland, green routes and community facilities. Those on the far side of the river will be connected by two new pedestrian and cycling bridges, bringing everyone within walking or cycling distance of the city centre, boosted by a million square feet of new or refurbished retail, ofice, leisure and cultural facilities.


Peter McIntyre, executive director of city development for Sunderland City Council, is a key figure in the drive to redefine Sunderland’s city centre as a place to live, work and play. He references the damage that had been inflicted by to 30 years of ill-advised local government strategies pushing homes out to the suburbs. ‘Sunderland is a city that’s been regenerated by roads, and most of those roads have led out of the city,’ he says. ‘Highway engineers have been a powerful voice in the regeneration of the city for a long time. It was obvious the centre was failing miserably, and nobody was mustering the energy to tackle it properly.’


To undo this damage, McIntyre – who has worked on several of those


This image The Sunderland Riverside project, developed at the instigation of the local council, has pivoted regeneration away from the suburbs and back to the city centre


Right The Beam, completed in 2019 by Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios, provides ofice, cafe and retail space in the Vaux Brewery quarter


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