Leadership blog - 24.01.20

It's been a really busy couple of weeks to start the year and January feels like it's flying by with continued developments and announcements, as I predicted at the end of 2019.

We certainly ended last year on a high, demonstrating that we're already delivering our new, ambitious City Plan with gusto.

2020 promises to see further, significant economic regeneration on the back of the launch of Riverside Sunderland including major developments on the former Vaux site. That part of the city centre comes more to life by the day and it's really exciting to watch.

Soon we will also see the STACK at Seaburn be completed and welcome its first businesses, and we will start to feel the benefits of Sunderland being the first city in the UK to deploy 5G ready wi-fi.

The council's sole purpose is to deliver the best possible services and opportunities for all our residents.

So this year, we will continue to play a strong role in creating the right conditions for the city and its people to flourish, ensuring Sunderland is at the forefront of new infrastructure development.

The signs are incredibly positive with major investors including Legal and General (who announced £120 million worth of investment in Riverside Sunderland in the Autumn) demonstrating huge confidence in the city's future and our potential to contribute to UK plc.

All of these developments and the many others taking place, have our residents and communities at their heart - they are about creating high quality jobs, training and learning opportunities that enable people to access those jobs, good health, great places to live and generally an excellent quality of life for everyone.

I want to emphasise though that ours is not a council that is about doing things 'to' people, but instead 'with' and 'for' them, so I place the greatest importance on the work that's taking place to talk with and listen to residents about investing in neighbourhoods.

As part of the 'Let's Talk' initiative launched in the Autumn, the next set of conversations in each of the five areas of the city will be taking place in early February and I would urge as many people as possible to get involved and have your say - details can be found on our Let's Talk Sunderland page.

We can then ensure the Neighbourhood Investment Plans to be published in the Spring, truly reflect the issues that matter to you in your area, and give us the framework to develop the great neighbourhoods all our residents deserve.