Plans for a new “operational training facility” for Northumbria Police have been given the green light by Sunderland city councillors.
Sunderland City Council’s Planning and Highways Committee have approved an application for an industrial unit on Alston Road, in the Pattinson Industrial Estate in Washington.
The site has recently been occupied by manufacturer Ulster North East, but under new plans, the building is set to become a key training hub for the region’s police force.
Plans for the investment were recently publicised by Northumbria Police as part of a range of initiatives to modernise the force’s estate.
The submission of a formal planning application from the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) for Northumbria earlier this year set out key information on the Washington-based training hub.
A planning, design and access statement submitted to council officials noted the plans would “create an operational training facility with ancillary office space” and would help “support Northumbria Police’s workforce development”.
Planning documents confirmed the site would be used to “provide high quality spaces” for a number of “essential training needs”, including “public order training” and “public order police dog and mounted tactics (approximately 20 times per year)”, as well as “officer safety training”, “taser instruction” and “driver training”.
It was noted that external training activities would take place in areas to the “north, east, and west of the existing building” and that “there will be up to 50 staff/trainers onsite each day” as part of the development.
Submitted planning documents confirmed current operational training for Northumbria Police is provided at various sites, including facilities provided by Durham Constabulary, and at fire stations in Northumberland and Newcastle.
It was noted that “this arrangement is not sustainable long-term for the force, and does not align with the national guidelines from the Government on the expectation for officer training”, as well as current “lease arrangements” potentially creating a “risk to training requirements”.
Those behind the Washington training hub scheme said the proposed site was identified after an 11-month search and that the police force needed a premises that could be “delivered in a single phase” with “associated outdoor training space.”
Sunderland City Council’s planning department, in a report published ahead of a decision-making meeting this week, had recommended the scheme for approval.
The planning report noted Northumbria Police “are required to have their own dedicated training facility to align with the Government requirements” and that “the delivery of the training facility is therefore critical”.
It was noted that the “proposal will support wider public safety” and that “the location of the site and extensive land around the site provides appropriate outdoor training”.
On highways impacts, council planners said that “comings and goings [at] the site would largely operate as it has done in the past” and that a travel plan had been prepared to encourage walking, cycling and shared travel.
In addition, no concerns were raised by the council’s environmental health section around impacts on residential amenity, and it was noted that the site sits “directly adjacent to the A1231” and “450m minimum from the existing residents at Kimberley and Horsley Road.”
Council planners presented a report on the development to the Planning and Highways Committee on 29 September at City Hall.
Councillors were told the site would operate seven days a week and that the maximum number of people on site is expected to be around 80 staff and students, with the majority of trips to the site being made independently by private car, or students being brought to the site in police vans.
Hannah Thompson, principal planner at DPP Planning, also spoke in support of the application on behalf of applicant, the Northumbria PCC, at Monday’s committee meeting.
She said the “dedicated police training centre for the force” was a “critical element of the force’s long-term estates strategy” and would “address a clear operational need whilst also delivering community and sustainability benefits”.
It was noted that the site had been marketed for more than 18 months with “little interest” from occupiers for conventional employment uses and industrial uses and that the current occupier is “due to vacate imminently.”
Supporting planning documents previously said that plans to “centralise and improve the training facility arrangement” would “ensure officers are well-trained to respond to public safety needs, supporting the delivery of essential public services”.
It was also noted that the “premises identified at Washington will ensure that the current and future operational demands of the force can be met whilst also giving the force ultimate control of their facility, timetabling, and ability to meet future training needs”.
The applicant’s planning, design and access statement adds: “There is no alternative, suitable premises within the force’s estate to accommodate this operational training facility.
“Ownership and occupation of their own premises in Washington will enable the force to mimic and recreate real-life situations inside and outside the building, which is not always possible with the lease arrangements that are currently in place.”
After being put to the vote, the plans won unanimous support from members of the Planning and Highways Committee.
Councillor Dianne Snowdon, chair of the Planning and Highways Committee, welcomed the development. “I know this site well and it has been getting slowly run down over a number of years,” she said.
“I’m pleased to see something happening in that area, especially if you can stop the fly-tipping in the car parks.”
