Housing plans altered after club's opposition
SheepfoldsPlans to build hundreds of homes near a football stadium have been amended after the club warned of "catastrophic consequences".
A revised application for 450 homes has been submitted to Sunderland City Council for the former Sheepfolds industrial estate, near the Stadium of Light.
When the plans were initially drawn up last year, Premier League club Sunderland said the proposed homes were too close to the stadium, risking hemming it in and preventing future expansion.
Leader of the Labour-led Sunderland City Council Michael Mordey said the amended project would enable the club to "realise its own future ambitions".
He said: "As a lifelong Sunderland supporter, it's great that these plans leave open the prospect of expansion of our magnificent football stadium."
Sunderland City Council/SiglionLast year, chairman Kyril Louis-Dreyfus said while the club acknowledged the city needed new homes, he was concerned about the impact on the stadium's operation.
The authority said the key change to the original planning submission was the inclusion of new offices to create a "larger commercial buffer zone" around the Stadium of Light.
The club said it acknowledged the submission of the new plans.
A spokesman said: "We look forward to seeing the proposals progress through the planning process."
Sheepfolds is the largest of four residential communities being created as part of the Riverside Sunderland scheme, which aims to build 1,000 new city centre homes on a 79-acre (32-hectare) brownfield site along the River Wear.
It would double the area's population from 2,500 to 5,000 and increase employment opportunities, the council said.
The plans are due to be discussed by the planning committee in the spring, with work expected to start by the end of 2026.
Funding for the project is provided through a multimillion-pound fund administered by the North East Combined Authority, with support from Homes England.