An eyesore building that has stood empty for five years is set to be brought back to life, after a local councillor campaigned for its regeneration.
Plans for Farringdon Hall Police Station, and land surrounding it, are expected to be released within days, after its new owner acquired additional land to take forward a redevelopment project.
The building, once a local base for Northumbria Police until budget cuts saw its doors close for the last time in 2015, was sold to the current owners in November 2019, and now a deal with Sunderland City Council to acquire surrounding land means that plans to regenerate the area will soon be able to move forward. The developer who will be seeking planning consent to demolish the building and move forward with plans to bring the site, on Primate Road, back into use.
Labour Councillor Phil Tye, member for the Silksworth Ward, has been calling for the building’s regeneration after a number of incidents on the site. Councillor Tye said he feared that a child would die in the building, after a number of youngsters accessed it and were injured.
Now Cllr Tye has confirmed that plans are advancing to regenerate the site, and that more details of new plans will be released by the owners within days.
Cllr Tye said: “After months of hard work I’m delighted to say that plans to transform the old Farringdon Hall Police Station and adjacent land are almost ready to be revealed.
“I’ve been working closely with the new owners of the site to make sure that fly tipping, vandalism and anti-social behaviour are managed and I’m pleased with the way they have responded to make sure the derelict site is safe.
“We have been waiting for far too long for something to happen to the site but I’m pleased to say that we are only days away from a deal being signed which will be the catalyst for the prospect of a comprehensive re-development of the area that will see millions of pounds invested into the site and the prospect of hundreds of local jobs being created. I’m sure once the deal is over the line, residents will be pleased with what is being considered for the site and I look forward to working with the new site owners to make sure a development comes forward that will benefit the ward and beyond.”
It is understood that a planning application will be lodged by the new owners shortly, with more detail of their proposals to be revealed then.