A long-underused industrial site beside the River Wear is moving closer to becoming a new neighbourhood after Homes England committed £27.7 million to the Sheepfolds in Sunderland.
The investment will fund needed to unlock more than 350 homes, including roads, utilities, and active-travel routes connecting the neighbourhood with the city centre.
A further £10 million has already been invested through the North East Mayor. Sheepfolds forms part of the wider Riverside Sunderland programme, which is bringing homes, workplaces and leisure uses back onto former industrial land on both sides of the river.
The first residential phase is expected to include a mix of townhouses and apartments. The wider neighbourhood will also connect with Sheepfolds Stables and the Keel Crossing pedestrian bridge.
Regeneration announcements can sometimes feel like very large numbers floating above an artist’s impression. This one is more : the money is specifically for the infrastructure that turns an empty site into somewhere homes can actually be built.