Sunderland railway station.

[SAFCTEES]

Some daylight would be nice.

 

[Football Dinosaur]

I understand the sentiment however if people have to drive into Sunderland then they also have the choice of whether to drive anywhere metro, Newcastle, Durham. If there was a more comprehensive metro service which created a loop south of Sunderland linking Durham etc then you’d have to go through Sunderland to get to Newcastle for argument sake.

if the council, the region and the country are serious about sustainability then a more comprehensive light rail system is paramount. Hopefully there is a way to enjoy both. I think this would also be a big sell to business to relocate to Sunderland. Also there needs to be an understanding of what justification there is to put more national services through Sunderland as effectively Sunderland would be a terminus.

Having sunderland as a terminus is no bad thing. Make us a destination rather than a point you'd pass through to go elsewhere. The metro is and always was a way of drawing people to Newcastle. We need to be rid of this imo and be better intergrated with Durham and the rest of the country.

Cutting off Sunderland from Newcastle would be to our advantage? Really? We should mine the A1231, Felling Bypass and Tyne Tunnels too.

Not a bad idea. Maybe a wall along the Tyne, we could even get the mags to pay for it

 

[Osklen]

Having sunderland as a terminus is no bad thing. Make us a destination rather than a point you'd pass through to go elsewhere. The metro is and always was a way of drawing people to Newcastle. We need to be rid of this imo and be better intergrated with Durham and the rest of the country.

yes I agree but for us to be a destination then we need attractions / reason to come here but equally it’s relatively east for people travelling to Sunderland to change at Durham or Newcastle and commute in. It’s a bit chicken and egg when it comes to that as major attractions will want that connectivity in advance but transport infrastructure are complex and time consuming to deliver as capacity on east coast mainline is relatively high from what I understand.

 

[Football Dinosaur]

yes I agree but for us to be a destination then we need attractions / reason to come here but equally it’s relatively east for people travelling to Sunderland to change at Durham or Newcastle and commute in. It’s a bit chicken and egg when it comes to that as major attractions will want that connectivity in advance but transport infrastructure are complex and time consuming to deliver as capacity on east coast mainline is relatively high from what I understand.

We've already got a great stretch of coastline. We're developing other areas and it can only be strengthened by more footfall. Detering people from the city from spending elsewhere and attracting others in should be the number one aim.

 

[Osklen]

We've already got a great stretch of coastline. We're developing other areas and it can only be strengthened by more footfall. Detering people from the city from spending elsewhere and attracting others in should be the number one aim.

I agree but just because we have a coastline doesn’t mean we are an attraction. Most coastal cities and towns across the country are some of the poorest and most deprived for a reason as people tend not to visit them anymore which is a real shame of course. I think our coastal location can be a regional attraction much like tynemouth can be but struggle to see it being a national one - hey I hope I can be proved wrong.

as you say keeping people in the city centre is the key issue here and to do that we need to concentrate our efforts / development there so that attractions are closely related and food,beverage and retail can pop up in between generating high footfall to support all. Spreading development everywhere will make it harder.

 

[Football Dinosaur]

I agree but just because we have a coastline doesn’t mean we are an attraction. Most coastal cities and towns across the country are some of the poorest and most deprived for a reason as people tend not to visit them anymore which is a real shame of course. I think our coastal location can be a regional attraction much like tynemouth can be but struggle to see it being a national one - hey I hope I can be proved wrong.

as you say keeping people in the city centre is the key issue here and to do that we need to concentrate our efforts / development there so that attractions are closely related and food,beverage and retail can pop up in between generating high footfall to support all. Spreading development everywhere will make it harder.

I don't know if you've been to the sea front recently (last year it was doing well and being developed) Seaburn Stack and a hotel have since been build. We shoudl be advertising ourselves nationally and puching what we have now to build on in the future. People do us down a lot but it's a great city with a lot to offer and would be even better if not starved of funding.

 

[Osklen]

I don't know if you've been to the sea front recently (last year it was doing well and being developed) Seaburn Stack and a hotel have since been build. We shoudl be advertising ourselves nationally and puching what we have now to build on in the future. People do us down a lot but it's a great city with a lot to offer and would be even better if not starved of funding.

I have and try to use it regularly but I still don’t think it’s sufficient enough to promote itself nationally on the back of those developments (just my opinion of course). I think Sunderland is a great city and think it’s a great place to live and the coast line is great and we need to promote that rather than it just as a tourist destination. It could be promoted as a base to see the wider region i just don’t think on its own it quite has enough (yet).

 

[James]

I don't know if you've been to the sea front recently (last year it was doing well and being developed) Seaburn Stack and a hotel have since been build. We shoudl be advertising ourselves nationally and puching what we have now to build on in the future. People do us down a lot but it's a great city with a lot to offer and would be even better if not starved of funding.

What do you hope to achieve from advertising the city nationally?

 

[Football Dinosaur]

I have and try to use it regularly but I still don’t think it’s sufficient enough to promote itself nationally on the back of those developments (just my opinion of course). I think Sunderland is a great city and think it’s a great place to live and the coast line is great and we need to promote that rather than it just as a tourist destination. It could be promoted as a base to see the wider region i just don’t think on its own it quite has enough (yet).

Until we start to see ourselves as a great stand alone destination we'll always be hamstrung imo.

What do you hope to achieve from advertising the city nationally?

Bringing people in as tourists from outside the region. We've a lot to offer and once you get a few speaking possitevly you'll get more. A lot of visiting supporters don't even stay here! and most of the country doesn;t know were on the coast ffs. We should be using events like the air sho, concerts at the SOL or Herrington Park w and pier to pier run to draw people in.

 

[Obvious Mag]

Seriously, if you’re a tourist, what would you do in Sunderland?

I could barely stretch time in Newcastle past two days if pushed. The North East needs to move past its regional xenophobias and focus on what it can be and attract investment as opposed to trying to sabotage other parts of the reason.

Sunderland can never be Newcastle, Newcastle can never be Manchester but they can be their own thing

 

[EDGE]

Seriously, if you’re a tourist, what would you do in Sunderland?

I could barely stretch time in Newcastle past two days if pushed. The North East needs to move past its regional xenophobias and focus on what it can be and attract investment as opposed to trying to sabotage other parts of the reason.

Sunderland can never be Newcastle, Newcastle can never be Manchester but they can be their own thing

I agree. Regionally it can become a destination with SOL concerts, Theatre and coast. Doubt it could do so on a national scale.

 

[Solero]

Seriously, if you’re a tourist, what would you do in Sunderland?

I could barely stretch time in Newcastle past two days if pushed. The North East needs to move past its regional xenophobias and focus on what it can be and attract investment as opposed to trying to sabotage other parts of the reason.

Sunderland can never be Newcastle, Newcastle can never be Manchester but they can be their own thing

Newcastle should have bid for the Channel 4 studio works, instead it went to leeds.

 

[Paddy O'Dors]

Its excruciatingly slow from eaglescliffe to sunderland, takes nearly an hour! And £10 return for the privilege.

Imagine that happening down south!

Takes nearly 2 hours to travel the 70 miles from Waterloo to Pompey mind. The line can't take high speed trains due to it twists, turns and tunnels and stuff. It's just as quick using National Express and about a quarter the cost.

 

[Osklen]

Newcastle should have bid for the Channel 4 studio works, instead it went to leeds.

I think they did but failed to Leeds bid.

Seriously, if you’re a tourist, what would you do in Sunderland?

I could barely stretch time in Newcastle past two days if pushed. The North East needs to move past its regional xenophobias and focus on what it can be and attract investment as opposed to trying to sabotage other parts of the reason.

Sunderland can never be Newcastle, Newcastle can never be Manchester but they can be their own thing

you are right but greater Manchester only works with the likes of Salford etc...sadly if the region doesn’t begin to work together it may be the region declines as a whole. It’s difficult to say where investment will go but at least there would be a regional plan for infrastructure and you can elect someone based on their proposals unlike the development corporations which have been previously imposed.

 

[Paddy O'Dors]

A lot of the old direct rail links to other northern town and cities from Sunderland ended when the Metro came here. The subsidy for them was removed and given to that instead. I very much doubt those trains will ever come back.

 

[Wilfy]

£26m secured for the south entrance.

 

[EDGE]

£26m secured for the south entrance.

RIP Burger King.

 

[southstander]

Good value at 10*Downing Street press room.

 

[Weremuthe]

£26m secured for the south entrance.

Any chance of an artists impression/plan and ETA Wilfy?

(No Claude Monet's comments/puns please peeps)

 

[Paddy O'Dors]

£26m secured for the south entrance.

WDSC