City Plan

Sunderland is a fantastic, forward-looking city undergoing significant transformation and economic regeneration. It has a global reputation as a welcoming and inclusive place in which to live, work, invest and play.

To guide further progress we have refreshed our City Plan which provides the blueprint for all partners and communities to work together to achieve our shared economic and social ambitions for Sunderland, which will enable the city and its people to achieve their full potential. Ambitions include ensuring:

• The city and its residents have the resilience to mitigate ongoing challenges, including the cost-of living crisis, and emerge in a healthy and sustainable position
• Sunderland offers the opportunities that families and individuals need to achieve their ambitions
• Families are resilient and resourceful to respond to challenges and achieve the best possible outcomes for their children
• Health and wellbeing outcomes are significantly improved
• Sunderland City Centre will drive city-wide transformational economic growth with Riverside Sunderland demonstrating clearly our investment ambition
• Residents' skills and qualifications enable them to secure good jobs matching the needs of employers in the city's key sectors, and
• Sunderland will play its role in tackling the global challenge of climate change, working together across the city to be carbon neutral by 2040.

In working to deliver on these Ambitions, the City Plan is focussed on our bold and ambitious vision to create a connected, international city with opportunities for all. To achieve this, the City Plan has three themes:

• Sunderland will be a Dynamic Smart City with more and better jobs, a lower carbon economy, a great choice of housing and a stronger city centre. It will be a leading digital city, deploying smart and sustainable technologies for the benefit of all
• it will be a Healthy Smart City with equitable opportunities and the best life chances for children, where people will live healthier, independent lives for longer. It will be a clean and attractive city with great transport links and low carbon and active travel opportunities, and
• it will be a Vibrant Smart City with more resilient people feeling safe in their homes and neighbourhoods and businesses benefitting from a safe and secure environment. There will be a range of opportunities for people to participate in their communities, cultural events and activities and residents will feel proud of the city and the place where they live.

The city's people and communities are at the heart of the City Plan, which is already being delivered at pace with significant investment and developments underway, with more to come.

An important element of the City Plan is the accompanying Indicative Timeline, as it articulates a flavour to our residents, businesses and all stakeholders, of what we are doing to deliver the plan and achieve our vision to create a connected, international city with opportunities for all. To this end it shows key projects that are currently underway and those planned in subsequent years.

The City Plan is our sole strategic plan for the period 2023 to 2035. Progress is managed through the Corporate Performance Management arrangements including the quarterly Corporate Performance Reports to Cabinet.

In line with the council's, and our partners' approach to carbon reduction and cost saving, the City Plan is published electronically only.