Sunderland City Centre Evening Economy Supplementary Planning Document

The government is committed to an "urban renaissance" of Town and City Centres. Centres will be more attractive and vibrant if people live there as well as work, shop and enjoy themselves there. It is important that city centres should not become 'dead' when the shops and offices close for the night. Evening and night-time activities are a fundamental part of the urban renaissance because they ensure the vitality of an area beyond normal working hours.

If the urban renaissance is to succeed, a balance needs to be found between the main function of the City Centre as a shopping and employment destination, the amenity of the residential population and the opportunities for people to enjoy an evening out in the City Centre. The key to striking this balance is management.

The Sunderland City Centre Evening Economy Supplementary Planning Document sets out a strategy to improve and manage the evening and night-time economy by controlling the location and type of licensed premises and hot food takeaways to ensure harm is not caused to the physical and functional character of areas or to nearby residents.

The key aim of the document is to set a direction for growth which:

- Improves quality, choice and diversity of licensed premises within the City Centre
- Minimises problems associated with the City Centre at night
- Differentiates between character areas of the City
- Improves the image of Sunderland City Centre as a place to visit at night
- Maintains a balance between the evening economy and the prime day-time use of the City Centre as a retail destination

The document was adopted by the City Council on 28th January 2008 and as such will become a material consideration in providing guidance for controlling licensed premises within the city centre when submitting planning applications / pre-applications. Any person aggrieved by the SPD may apply to the High Court for permission to apply for Judicial Review of the decision to adopt the SPD. Any such application must be made promptly and in any event not later than 3 months from the date on which the SPD was adopted, this being 28th April 2008.

For further information please contact the Planning Policy Section:
Tel: 0191 553 1538
Email: planningpolicy@sunderland.gov.uk 
 

Adopted Documents	Draft Documents
Evening Economy SPD ( pdf 14.23mb)	Evening Economy SPD (Draft) ( pdf 6.34mb)
SPD Map ( pdf 4.50mb)	Screening Report ( pdf 6.0mb)
Statement of Consultation ( pdf 0.81mb)	Strategic Environmental Assessment ( pdf 0.01mb)
Screening Report ( pdf 1.22mb)	Consultation Statement ( pdf 0.19mb)
Adoption Statement ( pdf 0.01mb)	SPD Matters ( pdf 0.01mb)
Adoption Statement (libraries) ( pdf 0.04mb)
Policy SA74A of Alteration No.2 Sunderland UDP ( pdf 25kb)

Planning Policy Homepage