The Hendon and East End area of Sunderland has historically suffered from high rates of unemployment; a poor quality, industrial environment; high crime rates; poor accessibility; poor health; and inadequate standards of housing. The New Deal for Communities partnership Back on the Map, set up with £54m of Government funding, seeks to fundamentally address these root problems and turn the area’s fortunes around and together with the City Council commissioned the Area Regeneration Framework seeks to develop a new strategy to establish an integrated package of development, management and promotional measures.

Sunderland is undergoing significant change through initiatives such as ‘Sunderland Arc’, Sunderland Port redevelopment and local neighbourhood regeneration studies. An overarching strategy was called for to integrate these various plans and ensure a coordinated approach to future change. A central focus of the study is to link the former docklands area with the existing city centre and to establish a new character and identity for the eastern quarter of the city.

Proposals are founded on a thorough baseline audit, which included recognition of specific housing problems associated with the ‘Sunderland Cottages’ typology. Integration of the area’s distinct neighbourhoods is proposed through enhancement of an ‘amenity spine,’ which forms the backbone to the Framework and links numerous opportunity areas and individual detailed projects together.