Major plans for a new “state-of-the-art” council depot on the outskirts of Sunderland have been submitted to city development chiefs.
Sunderland City Council has submitted an application to its own planning department seeking permission to develop a site at Cygnet Way in the Rainton Bridge area.
The site at Rainton Bridge Business Park has been earmarked as the new location for the council’s ‘Houghton Depot’, which is currently based at Market Place Industrial Estate around 2km away.
According to planning documents, the existing Houghton Depot is “in poor condition and is no longer considered to be fit for purpose” and the new relocated depot would provide a range of council services for the Coalfields area.
This includes winter maintenance and gritters, refuse collection (including domestic, recycling and bulky waste), local services such as street cleansing, grounds maintenance and parks and arbor services.
A design and access statement notes that a new “state-of-the-art facility” is required due to the “many and varied changes in commercial and domestic circumstances over time” and the “restrictive” nature of the existing depot site.
Issues with the existing depot include the energy efficiency of the buildings, increased traffic and road safety issues in the area, accessibility issues with the depot itself, and the site being “too small to meet needs and demands”.
It was argued that the new depot would allow the council to work “more effectively” and “further support the local community by providing a purpose built depot”.
The new depot would include “offices, welfare facilities, workshops and storage, a garage to house various vehicles such as road sweepers, tractors, grass cutters, trailers and equipment”.
There would also be an “enclosed, covered salt barn and a garage to house the gritter vehicles” and the plans are expected to provide a “safer and greater access to the major road network.”
The design and access statement adds: “Additionally the new location will provide better and greater access to major roads, enabling them to deploy more efficiently and effectively within the local communities, providing a safer and more secure environment for everyone living and working in the Houghton and Hetton areas.”
The proposed depot site is located at the southern boundary of the
Rainton Bridge Business Park, near the Evolve Business Centre, and is largely encircled by fields, council planning documents state.
The council said that “it is unlikely that noise generated from activities at the proposed site would impact existing dwellings within the vicinity”.
It was acknowledged that there was a potential for impacts on occupiers of the business park during construction but the council said a “construction environmental management plan” would be provided to “address the environmental impacts of the construction of the new facility”.
Planning documents confirm that there would be “one proposed vehicular access point to the site from Cygnet Way” and that “immediately adjacent will be the secure access controlled staff gate”.
A 50-space staff car park is also proposed with accessible bays and around 10 electric vehicle charging points, along with cycle parking to serve the wider site.
It was also noted that the depot would be “fully electric with no mains gas provided to the site” and that air source heat pumps and solar panels would form part of the main depot building.
A transport statement submitted with the council plans also states that there would be no “unacceptable or severe impacts” in terms of highways issues linked to the new development.
The transport statement adds: “The existing depot at Gravel Walks, Houghton-le-Spring has reached the end of its service life and is no longer fit for purpose.
“There is insufficient room to support current operations and
with the closure of the South Hylton depot and the transfer of services to the Houghton-le-Spring depot, space will become even more limited.
“In addition to this staff parking is restricted with many staff members resorting to parking ad-hoc on the local residential streets.
“Staff generally begin to arrive at the depot from 0630 with fleet vehicles departing the depot shortly thereafter.
“Consequently, the AM peak hour is generally between 0700 and 0800.
“The PM peak occurs between 1500 and 1600 with the fleet vehicles returning to the depot and staff departing in their own vehicles.
“This arrangement will not change when operations move to the new depot site.
“The proposed depot will provide new office accommodation and garage/workshop facilities along with a new salt barn, gritter store, arbor facilities and parking to accommodate all staff vehicles and fleet vehicles requirements.
“The road network at Rainton Bridge Business Park is well developed and modern with plenty of capacity to accommodate existing traffic flows as well as the small additional flow that the relocation of the depot will generate.
“In addition to this, the depot AM and PM traffic peak hours are offset from the norm and will therefore not impact on the day-to-day operation of the
local road network.”
A decision on the planning application will be made following a period of council consultation.
Sunderland City Council’s planning portal website lists a decision deadline of 30 June, 2025.
For more information on the planning application or to track its progress, visit the council’s planning portal website and search reference: 25/00578/LP3
