This is Sunderland

Living in Sunderland

  • Regeneration projects totalling more than £2 billion are underway across the city.
     
  • More than £600million is being invested in housing in Sunderland creating the most affordable houses and flats in England.
     
  • Sunderland was recently rated as one of the top five ‘greenest cities in the country’ by Jonathan Porrit’s charity Forum for the Future.
     
  • Sunderland is one of the coolest places in the country, according to top music magazine NME.
     
  • At least £1bn is being invested into enhancing quality of life for Sunderland people during the next few years. The arrival of more luxury apartments, designer shops and cafés hint at the level of wealth now being generated in the city. This eclipses the amount investment in the European Capital of Culture, approximately £820,000.
     
  • Sunderland has 690 listed buildings and 13 conservation areas. The Sunniside area of the city centre is a stunning historic quarter which is undergoing an £130m regeneration programme. As well as 160 listed buildings it is home to high quality, niche shops, award-winning restaurants, bars and cafes, the Sunniside Leisure complex and stylish homes.  
     
  • Sunderland is one of the safest cities in the North with crime lower than the national average since 2005/2006.
     
  • Every community in Sunderland has its own Neighbourhood Policing Team tackling crime and anti-social behaviour, promoting public safety and helping to reassure local people.
     
  • 833 new homes were created across the city in 2007.
     
  • Council tax in Sunderland is the lowest in the whole of North East England and one of the lowest in the country.

Education

  • The region is home to five internationally acclaimed universities - Sunderland, Durham, Newcastle, Northumbria and Teeside.
     
  • In 2006 the University of Sunderland was named ‘best English university for student experience’ (The Times) and since 2001 has held the title of ‘best new university in England for research’ (The Times).   www.sunderland.ac.uk
     
  • The University has a student population of over 23,000 (including off-campus) and has seen an investment of over £60m in recent years. Its St.Peter's Campus was one of five university buildings in the UK to be given a WOW factor rating by the Commission for Architecture and Built Environment (CABE).  Further £75m plans have also recently been unveiled to transform the city centre campus, which will include an iconic sport and recreation facility, a high quality hotel and conferencing and student accommodation.
     
  • The City of Sunderland College has 15,000 students. Its Computer Networking Academy hosts the prestigious Microsoft Regional Centre. It is also home to the Cisco Networking Academy.
  • A new £6.5 million sixth form college opened on St.Peter's Campus in September 2008 and the College also has plans for a skills academy to provide education and training in key vocational areas. 
     
  • Sunderland is part of the first wave of the Government’s Building Schools for the Future programme. The £120 million scheme will introduce cutting edge technology to classrooms and create 21st century buildings, including three Sunderland academies.  www.sunderland-bsf.org.uk
     
  • Sunderland A-Level students are performing the best in Tyne & Wear, with the city rising to eighth position in a league table of 150 local authorities. In 2007 Sunderland schools reached their highest ever level of GCSE results. The percentage of pupils leaving school with a qualification is now at 98%.

Attractions

  • Sunderland boasts stunning, award-winning beaches, parks and nature reserves, which also play host to a number of popular, annual outdoor events including the Sunderland Airshow – the largest in Europe – and the International Friendship and Kite Festival, which hosts a spectacular programme of national and international artists from all over the world.
  • Sunderland has over 53 parks and almost 600 hectares of great open space
  • The Stadium of Light is the magnificent home of Sunderland AFC, widely regarded as one of the best stadia in Europe.
  • Sunderland Museum & Winter Gardens is home to 2,000 of the world's most exotic flowers, plants and trees and was voted Britain’s top tourism attraction outside London at the Excellence for England Awards 2004.
  • The Anglo-Saxon church of St Peter's at Monkwearmouth is one of the UK's first stone built churches, built in 674AD. Together with its twin monastery, St Paul's in Jarrow, St Peter's has been short-listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site.
  • Fulwell Mill is one of the oldest and best-preserved windmills in Britain. An £800,000 restoration allowed the mill to reopen as a visitor centre in 2000.
  • Following a £4.5million refurbishment in 2005, the Sunderland Empire is now the only theatre between Manchester and Edinburgh capable of staging large West End productions.
  • Sunderland’s new £20m Aquatic Centre is home to the North East’s only Olympic-sized swimming pool. It has already been shortlisted as a potential training camp for the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics.
  • There are more than 60km of cycling routes in Sunderland. The city marks the easterly end of the 140-mile C2C cycle trail from Whitehaven in Cumbria to Sunderland. The route is Britain’s most popular long distance cycle route, with between 12,000 and 15,000 cyclists completing it every year.
  • Sunderland is home to Europe’s largest indoor climbing wall.
  • Penshaw Monument (Sunderland's most prominent landmark) stands magnificently above the city on a limestone hill on he middle of the Great North Forest. Built in 1844 it can be seen as far a field a Durham Cathedral and the North Pennines.
  • The Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art is an award-winning gallery and the largest of its kind between Leeds and Glasgow. Playing host to some of the world's leading artists it has a fantastic programme of contemporary art and exhibitions.
  • Sunderland is home to the only UK centre for glass – the National Glass Centre. The centre is internationally acclaimed for its contributions to both heritage and the future of the glass making industry.
     

For more information visit www.visitsunderland.com

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Sunderland in new Light




As it aims to become one of the best places to live in the UK, Sunderland is building a new image for itself, an image that reflects its green environment, its light and airy location by the sea, its technological revolution and its smarter attitude to city living.

Discover Sunderland



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