The state of the City centre

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There's worse town centre than Sunderland
I agree about parking
Brought this up a few months ago on here and got slaughtered
Charging to park on vaux site on a night is crass when noocazzle is free after 5 all those people forking out to go to,the empire and then being charged a petty £2 is a real pisser.
It might be only £2 but it's bad marketing and a deterrent especially now that they have traffic wardens working until 10 and parking on the street is nearLy impossible

Whilst true, there is free parking after 6pm at the smaller car parks which have plenty spaces. And it is free on a Sunday which Newcastle isnt.
 
Whilst true, there is free parking after 6pm at the smaller car parks which have plenty spaces. And it is free on a Sunday which Newcastle isnt.
Why would you want to,park at Nile st for the empire
Agree re. Sunday parking so why aren't council pushing this
The whole,city centre marketing is rubbish and disjointed
 
Why would you want to,park at Nile st for the empire
Agree re. Sunday parking so why aren't council pushing this
The whole,city centre marketing is rubbish and disjointed

Cos its free. Theres Boughton st car park which is more at that end of town. Can understand st marys charging for nights but vaux should be free. Maybe you could hassle your local councillor to try and push for change
 
I know.........love Sunderland but the city centre has been neglected. They really should have located more office jobs in the city centre rather than the periphery. More people living AND working in the city centre needs to be the goal......No retention of cash from workers at doxford or rainton bridge. They're more likely to jump in their cars to go home and spend money in other city centres. Also the economy of the city centre is primarily retail......more people shop online, so they need to diversify what the city centre offers
I do think they are trying to rectify this with the vaux site and siglion but it's going to take time. Love them or loathe them the new student accommodation might help also.
I worked in a pub opposite Ladbrokes HQ in Rayners Lane and the pub was packed every dinner time and early evening. The £s kept the kitchen open in the pub and me in a job. The knock on isn't to be underestimated
 
Stopping the concerts and relegation has to be one of the worst things going for the town in recent years thats a lot of cash the city will now be missing out on. People coming in for the football (less unfortuanately than before) is the main thing keeping it going theres very little shopping wise to go into Sunderland for.

I used to think it was a shithole but having spent a weekend in Slough and seeing how that has 'developed' in the 15 years since I moved back up here made me realise that it's not that bad. Seen a couple of comments about the train station too and again it's not the shit hole that people make out. I rarely go shopping anyway but the bridges is no different to most shopping centres really

I did see Dave the rave for my first time ever on Friday though so I may be mentally scarred
You must be joking surely it is awful and it creates a terrible first and last impression of the city. When your leaving you have to drive up a back lane to get to it thanks to the daft one way system. There are no toilets, the concourse is a mess and it looks like an East German concrete bunker on the platforms. Its easily one of the worst stations in the UK and the worst thing about the city imo.
 
I worked in a pub opposite Ladbrokes HQ in Rayners Lane and the pub was packed every dinner time and early evening. The £s kept the kitchen open in the pub and me in a job. The knock on isn't to be underestimated

Yea thats what im saying.....there are businesses at doxford park and rainton bridge are sustained by the offices built there as primary generators of cash.......people's cash is retained there, next to their work.
The Sunderland city centre's general appearance and the knock-on effect to businesses like cafes/restaurants/bars would have been helped had the opportunity to build a doxford park or rainton bridge had occurred on the sheepfolds....or down hendon....or on farringdon row...or vaux...or on the riverside i.e. in close proximity to where visitors go and subsequently the impression that leaves.
The criticism of Sunderland wouldnt occur as much as those areas would be developed
 
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Yea thats what im saying.....there are businesses at doxford park and rainton bridge are sustained by the offices built there as primary generators of cash.......people's cash is retained there, next to their work.
The Sunderland city centre's general appearance and the knock-on effect to businesses like cafes/restaurants/bars would have been helped had the opportunity to build a doxford park or rainton bridge had occurred on the sheepfolds....or down hendon....or on farringdon row...or vaux...or on the riverside i.e. in close proximity to where visitors go and subsequently the impression that leaves.
The criticism of Sunderland wouldnt occur as much as those areas would be developed

The Vaux site is on its way. As I keep saying, for 20 years or so this was the crown jewel of council criticism. Now, it's getting developed into office blocks. I agree that Sunderland needed what you are talking about and this is what we've been waiting for.

Double that with the new Tombola HQ being built in the old east end next to the riverside. This is breathing life into an area which was the city centre and has lay pretty much dead.
 
The Vaux site is on its way. As I keep saying, for 20 years or so this was the crown jewel of council criticism. Now, it's getting developed into office blocks. I agree that Sunderland needed what you are talking about and this is what we've been waiting for.

Double that with the new Tombola HQ being built in the old east end next to the riverside. This is breathing life into an area which was the city centre and has lay pretty much dead.

Those developments are great news. I think the student accommodation will also help. Hope the momentum continues and Sunderland turns around. It needs to be a holistic approach involving the public, the council and businesses. Other towns and cities are really good at self promotion, we should do the same
 
The Vaux site is on its way. As I keep saying, for 20 years or so this was the crown jewel of council criticism. Now, it's getting developed into office blocks. I agree that Sunderland needed what you are talking about and this is what we've been waiting for.

Double that with the new Tombola HQ being built in the old east end next to the riverside. This is breathing life into an area which was the city centre and has lay pretty much dead.
Yes it's good to see something happening on the aux site however at the moment it's only one building and it's infrastructure.
 
If you want to be depressed read this

https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2017/aug/22/bolton-decline-northern-town-centre-slump
I keep saying there's worse places to live and Bolton doesn't have a lovely coastline
We are one of the few cities in the uk with a proper beach
Aberdeen, Swansea and possibly Brighton or Edinburgh at a stretch
The mags of course will claim Tynemooth or south sheilds as there's

similar problems, too close to Manchester & Trafford centre.
 
Stopping the concerts and relegation has to be one of the worst things going for the town in recent years thats a lot of cash the city will now be missing out on. People coming in for the football (less unfortuanately than before) is the main thing keeping it going theres very little shopping wise to go into Sunderland for.


You must be joking surely it is awful and it creates a terrible first and last impression of the city. When your leaving you have to drive up a back lane to get to it thanks to the daft one way system. There are no toilets, the concourse is a mess and it looks like an East German concrete bunker on the platforms. Its easily one of the worst stations in the UK and the worst thing about the city imo.
This. It's the main thing that truly lets down our city centre.
 
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