Sunniside is a district of

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

North East England North East England, commonly referred to simply as the North East within England, is one of nine official regions of England. It consists of County DurhamNorthumberland, , Northumberland, Tyne and Wear and part of northern North Yorkshire. ...

, towards the eastern side of the city centre, bounded to the west by Fawcett Street, to the south by Borough Road, and to the north and east by the Inner Ring road. A significant programme of urban development has established Sunniside as a centre of culture, film, dining, entertainment and art in the city. It is also known as the historic heart of Sunderland's legal and real estate sectors, with many solicitors and estate agencies based in the area.

History

Sunniside grew up in the

Victorian Era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the reign of Queen Victoria, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. Slightly different definitions are sometimes used. The era followed the ...

as the original business centre of Sunderland. At the height of Sunderland's power as a shipbuilding centre, most of the mercantile insurance and reinsurance companies and other associated business functions were based in Sunniside, as were a substantial number of foreign consulates, including the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

and

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

. Situated between West Sunniside and Norfolk Street is the old

General Post Office The General Post Office (GPO) was the state postal system and telecommunications carrier of the United Kingdom until 1969. Established in England in the 17th century, the GPO was a state monopoly covering the dispatch of items from a specific ...

building, now converted to residential use. As the economic fortunes of Sunderland waned in the 1980s, however, many of the lucrative businesses left Sunniside and many others moved westward to new locations in the city centre and out of town, leaving the area to become plagued by

urban decay Urban decay (also known as urban rot, urban death or urban blight) is the sociological process by which a previously functioning city, or part of a city, falls into disrepair and decrepitude. There is no single process that leads to urban decay. ...

. In the late 1990s, the Sunniside district was earmarked by the local council as a priority for urban renewal.

Regeneration

In 2003, Sunderland's area regeneration company, Sunderland Arc released 15 year long proposals for

Urban regeneration Urban renewal (sometimes called urban regeneration in the United Kingdom and urban redevelopment in the United States) is a program of land redevelopment often used to address real or perceived urban decay. Urban renewal involves the clearing ...

in the area, and they worked with the

One Northeast One North East was the regional development agency for the North East England North East England, commonly referred to simply as the North East within England, is one of nine official regions of England. It consists of County DurhamNorth ...

regional redevelopment corporation and the city council to begin improvements on Sunniside with an investment. In 2007, the first redevelopment was completed; bringing the old Sunniside Gardens back to life with a complete makeover and a modern iconic sculpture to go along with it. and the following year after that new bars and cafes in the area were opened, along with the new £6 million development arts centre, "ThePlace".

Awards

The regeneration projects of Sunniside have won two national awards for their revival of that area of the city. In 2007, the area won an award from the Landscape Institute Awards and in 2008 Sunniside the North East Renaissance Award from the

Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) is a global professional body for those working in the Built Environment, Construction, Land, Property and Real Estate. The RICS was founded in London in 1868. It works at a cross-governmental ...

Film-making

Sunniside is home to the film company Tanner Films Ltd. which was set up in 2008. The company's first film, a crime drama called "King of the North" starring

Angus MacFadyen Angus Macfadyen (born 1963) is a Scottish actor. His roles include Robert the Bruce, both in ''Braveheart'' and ''Robert the Bruce'', Komodo in '' Warriors of Virtue'', Vice-Counsel Dupont in ''Equilibrium'', Jeff Denlon in the ''Saw'' franch ...

, is currently under production after it secured a £6 million deal from MonteCristo International at the

Cannes film festival The Cannes Film Festival (; ), until 2003 called the International Film Festival ('), is the most prestigious film festival in the world. Held in Cannes, France, it previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around ...

Attractions

Because of the regeneration projects and other private investment, Sunniside now has a strong range of attractions: * Sunniside Gardens * ThePlace modern art centre *

Northern Gallery of Contemporary Art Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art (NGCA) is a contemporary art gallery which is based in Sunderland, England. The gallery focuses on producing exhibitions of new work by emerging and established regional, national and international artists. ...

References

{{T&W places City of Sunderland suburbs Sunderland