Plans for new £1.5m road to improve cultural quarter in Sunderland city centre unveiled

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Don't build roads that the city doesn't need, and you've got £1.5m in the bank to start.

I'm 51 years Sunderland born and bred, and that station is a fuckin embarrassment, always has been. You go up the road to theirs, or York, even Darlington and see the difference.

It is needed. That bit of High Street West is like a cul-de-sac atm since they built Keel Square and awkward for long vehicles.
 


The current station is anything but ok at platform level, the original refurbishment was a cut price refurb, the original plan was to incorporate the hidden platform which would of enabled extra capacity for trains to stable (Grand Central and Virgin East Coast) there and not cause the lines to be blocked every few minutes due to the Metro, come on if you think this is ok, you must be easily pleased, it's a dark and desolate dangerous shit hole.
Spot on.
 
Where on earth are you going to get the money to do that? People aren't going to be put off visiting Sunderland because the station is a bit shit. Spending hundreds of millions redeveloping it would be fantastic but it wouldn't see an increase in visitors, it wouldn't generate anything for the economy (aside from the development itself) and therefore is a complete nonstarter.


The station above ground is absolutely shite, at platform level it's perfectly fine. It's clean and modern looking. Yes there needs to be a few touch ups, i.e. fix the bloody elevators (!) and put a toilet in, but aside from that it's okay. The upstairs is the problem, if that looked more like a normal train station I doubt anyone would care about the platform level anyway.

You're easily satisfied!

For a city of around 270,000 people, that train station is a complete and utter embarrassment. It's just appalling. Durham's station is an example of a decent, smallish station. We don't have to have a huge, elaborate building, just something more pleasant.

Above ground would be the priority IMO.
 
You're easily satisfied!

For a city of around 270,000 people, that train station is a complete and utter embarrassment. It's just appalling. Durham's station is an example of a decent, smallish station. We don't have to have a huge, elaborate building, just something more pleasant.

Above ground would be the priority IMO.
There's a positive suggestion I agree with. Either the Monkwearmouth Station site where there can be parking and other developments or some other site with potential. The current site has none whatsoever save that of demolishing the Poundland / Littlewoods old building and building a half decent station there which would regenerate the City Centre.
 
There's a positive suggestion I agree with. Either the Monkwearmouth Station site where there can be parking and other developments or some other site with potential. The current site has none whatsoever save that of demolishing the Poundland / Littlewoods old building and building a half decent station there which would regenerate the City Centre.
Surely Monkwearmouth would only need two new platforms and a car park at the back where the Sheepfolds is located, 2-3 million and nearly everyone would be happy.
 
Surely Monkwearmouth would only need two new platforms and a car park at the back where the Sheepfolds is located, 2-3 million and nearly everyone would be happy.

This is completely unrealistic. Monkwearmouth station is a Grade 2 listed building and cannot be significantly altered from its current form. It is also inconvenient for the town centre.
If you want to spend 1.5 million , build some shops so that there is something for people to go to. Don't spend 1.5 million on building a road to an area which has no shops and people can already get to anyway.
 
This is completely unrealistic. Monkwearmouth station is a Grade 2 listed building and cannot be significantly altered from its current form. It is also inconvenient for the town centre.
If you want to spend 1.5 million , build some shops so that there is something for people to go to. Don't spend 1.5 million on building a road to an area which has no shops and people can already get to anyway.

The road is an exit road. See my previous post as to the reason why it is being built.
 
This is completely unrealistic. Monkwearmouth station is a Grade 2 listed building and cannot be significantly altered from its current form. It is also inconvenient for the town centre.
If you want to spend 1.5 million , build some shops so that there is something for people to go to. Don't spend 1.5 million on building a road to an area which has no shops and people can already get to anyway.

I would not want Monkwearmouth station museum altered, it superb the way it is, just put back to a railway station (how hard can it be). You could actually do pretty much anything you wanted on the Sheepfolds side, it is only the from that is listed. The argument about being inconvenient for the city centre (it has not been a town for 25 years) , this is the same argument all the old biddies had for keeping Crowtree Bus Station - "Crowtree handy for the shops pet" despite it being a carbon monoxide, pollution hole. With new student accommodation, university campus, the SOL, Sheepfolds, Tesco etc the city is expanding that way so why not put the railway there ? Most places can't fill the shops they have so building more shops is probably not the answer. At least is you arrived at Monkwearmouth station it would fell like somewhere not the hole in the ground the current station is.

The 1.5 million road is totally needed, you ever tried picking someone up from the Empire when something is on ? We have the new arts centre and auditorium as well to consider. Some of the lorries parking for the Empire shows must struggle big time around there. The stupid thing is if this was road outside Newcastle City Hall costing that much, everyone on here would be saying what a great idea.
 
I don't think the platform at monkwearmouth station would be long enough for a 5 carriage 125T.

It's impractical to develop Monkwearmouth. As has been mentioned previously, it's a listed building, not Grade II but Grade II*.

The council should encourage that quid shop to move into the old BHS store and knock that eyesore down, then build a nice open plan station. There's not the need for city centre retail space anymore (the reason why the original station got boxed in).
 
The current train station is a complete money pit. It has refurb after refurb and still requires another refurb. There is no redeeming features about it. They've reduced the platform capacity by building the glass wall artwork.
I think moving the station elsewhere is the best option in the long run. I think a greater focus on services heading south out of Sunderland is essential. And if there was a way to link the Durham coast line to the east coast main line, this would be immense
 
The current train station is a complete money pit. It has refurb after refurb and still requires another refurb. There is no redeeming features about it. They've reduced the platform capacity by building the glass wall artwork.
I think moving the station elsewhere is the best option in the long run. I think a greater focus on services heading south out of Sunderland is essential. And if there was a way to link the Durham coast line to the east coast main line, this would be immense

There won't be any more local trains, even if they jazz the station up. One of the conditions of extending the metro to Sunderland was to reduce train services.

The station is one big fuck up, it is owned by Network Rail and managed by Northern Rail or whatever it's called and the biggest user is Nexus. Not exactly harmonius and all pulling in the same direction.
 
It's impractical to develop Monkwearmouth. As has been mentioned previously, it's a listed building, not Grade II but Grade II*.

The council should encourage that quid shop to move into the old BHS store and knock that eyesore down, then build a nice open plan station. There's not the need for city centre retail space anymore (the reason why the original station got boxed in).
Sports direct moved into BHS, Ashley bought the building a few years back.
 
There won't be any more local trains, even if they jazz the station up. One of the conditions of extending the metro to Sunderland was to reduce train services.

The station is one big fuck up, it is owned by Network Rail and managed by Northern Rail or whatever it's called and the biggest user is Nexus. Not exactly harmonius and all pulling in the same direction.

Is that why they never acknowledge the London trains at the station?

The Grand Central pulls in to the platform and the board says it's going to Nunthorpe in 20 minutes......only in Sunderland

Sports direct moved into BHS, Ashley bought the building a few years back.

Disgraceful...........Rafa could have had that money for transfers
 
There won't be any more local trains, even if they jazz the station up. One of the conditions of extending the metro to Sunderland was to reduce train services.

The station is one big fuck up, it is owned by Network Rail and managed by Northern Rail or whatever it's called and the biggest user is Nexus. Not exactly harmonius and all pulling in the same direction.

Does the reduction in train services include those on the Durham coast line? I think our focus should be increasing passenger numbers via the east coast mainline>durham coast line >sunderland. That way the metro system isn't included.
 
There's a positive suggestion I agree with. Either the Monkwearmouth Station site where there can be parking and other developments or some other site with potential. The current site has none whatsoever save that of demolishing the Poundland / Littlewoods old building and building a half decent station there which would regenerate the City Centre.
First impressions count and at the moment people visiting Sunderland for the first time by train will be thinking that the place must be shit if the train station is anything to judge it by. Not good for business.
 
We will never have a hope for change in Sunderland City Centre if people keep talking it down like on this thread.

If we keep holding these negative attitudes and take our business elsewhere, then how can things ever change? I know Sunderland is in many ways a shadow of its former self, but I don't give up my inner belief that this place can be better and can change, for the better. For example, people are laughing at the idea of a "cultural quarter", but why is that funny? The old fire station is being rennovated, we have a new music centre which will be built next to it soon, the Empire Theatre.

Have some pride in your city man, it's not about political parties or colours, it's about being Sunderland through and through.
We will never have a hope for change in Sunderland City Centre if people keep talking it down like on this thread.

If we keep holding these negative attitudes and take our business elsewhere, then how can things ever change? I know Sunderland is in many ways a shadow of its former self, but I don't give up my inner belief that this place can be better and can change, for the better. For example, people are laughing at the idea of a "cultural quarter", but why is that funny? The old fire station is being rennovated, we have a new music centre which will be built next to it soon, the Empire Theatre.

Have some pride in your city man, it's not about political parties or colours, it's about being Sunderland through and through.
Absolutely spot on people need to support our city and see the future developments in the city centre as a catalyst for change.
 
This is completely unrealistic. Monkwearmouth station is a Grade 2 listed building and cannot be significantly altered from its current form. It is also inconvenient for the town centre.
If you want to spend 1.5 million , build some shops so that there is something for people to go to. Don't spend 1.5 million on building a road to an area which has no shops and people can already get to anyway.
more empty shops just what the city needs, theyll be new empty shops mind
 
Does the reduction in train services include those on the Durham coast line? I think our focus should be increasing passenger numbers via the east coast mainline>durham coast line >sunderland. That way the metro system isn't included.

From all over the north of England. We used to have direct services to Liverpool and Manchester. We still have services on the Durham coast line, Boro to Hexham/Carlisle. Sunderland is already connected to the ECML, at Newcastle and Eaglescliffe way.

The subsidy from running train services from Sunderland to Yorkshire/Lancashire was transferred to Nexus to run the Metro. Get the Metro to Newcastle then the train onwards. It's a long time ago but that was the gist of it in the business case.

more empty shops just what the city needs, theyll be new empty shops mind

The proposed road is to serve the Empire, something that is one of the few things that bring people from throughout the region to Sunderland. But yeah, lets build some more shops.
 
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From all over the north of England. We used to have direct services to Liverpool and Manchester. We still have services on the Durham coast line, Boro to Hexham/Carlisle. Sunderland is already connected to the ECML, at Newcastle and Eaglescliffe way.

The subsidy from running train services from Sunderland to Yorkshire/Lancashire was transferred to Nexus to run the Metro. Get the Metro to Newcastle then the train onwards. It's a long time ago but that was the gist of it in the business case.



The proposed road is to serve the Empire, something that is one of the few things that bring people from throughout the region to Sunderland. But yeah, lets build some more shops.
more 'empty' shops its an important distinction..... as you say the city has to be a point of difference not try to be the same
 
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