We were joined by Sunniside businesses Eauzone Restaurant & Bar and the Empire Cinema to promote the Sunniside area to students. We had lots of freebies on offer as well as a selection of special promotions from hair salons, fashion outlets and stylish new bars.

We must have seen thousands of students througout the course of the day. It was a great atmosphere and we hope to see lots more students enjoying all that Sunniside has to offer.

Thanks to Spark FM for letting us having an on air slot to help plug our stand.

It was a great evening, which coincided with the opening of a fantastic new studio in Nile Street – Creative Cohesion, which is now home to a network of glass makers and fine artists from the area.

As well as improvements to pavements in Sunniside, there is stunning new street lighting and outdoor seating. A short film inspired by Sunderland’s connection to Alice in Wonderland and featuring local dance groups and businesses was projected onto the the BT Exchange building in St. Thomas Street. It will run every hour of every evening during the winter months so make sure you go and take a look.

Produced by digital artists SDNA it stars dancers from Sunniside based Kathleen Davis Dance School and Theatre Restaurant as well as members of Sunderland Martial Arts. Glass objects from the Sunderland Museum & Winter Gardens and images of welders from industrial Marine crane builders Liebherr also feature.

Joining SDNA at the launch were Sunderland street furniture designer Charlie Davidson, internationally renowned sound artist Bill Fontana and architectural urban design practice Kapok.

We are very proud of the improvements and that Sunniside has attracted prestigious, international artists to come and work in what is becoming a vibrant and creative area.

It is helping to make the area a really attractive place to spend time in. It is becoming much more part of the city centre.

With all the Government cuts and current uncertainty surrounding the public sector hitting the headlines recently I thought it would be useful to update you on where we are.
The scale of cuts is something that is affecting all sectors and regeneration is no different.

Clearly we have now got to reassess how we take things forward. We recently received notification from One North East (who themselves will be gone by March 2012) that they will be cutting 10% of our funding this year. Fortunately we are a prudent organisation and whilst this will obviously hurt what we do, we are confident we can take it on board without it impacting on front line delivery.

Sunderland has seen a number of capital projects cut or put on hold and sadly this includes the proposed new bridge. Having worked on this project since our inception it is disappointing to see this happen, particularly given the regeneration impact the bridge would have.

There are reasons to be optimistic for the future though. We now have significant land holdings in the city centre, which we have acquired over the past few years with excellent support from our partners. This provides the opportunity to really shape the way a city can work economically. The Economic Masterplan for Sunderland that is now being finalised has received a high degree of support from the public and partners in the city. The arc is adopting this as its strategy going forward. It focuses on how the city will earn its living over the next 10 to 15 years and focuses on themes such as Low Carbon industries, software and innovation, with the likes of Nissan and the University playing key roles.

The emphasis over the next 12 to 18 months should be about creating demand for future development through business investment. It is going to be tough but Sunderland is well placed to make the most of the economic recovery whenever that comes. The combination of land assets and a plan for the future economy will prove a powerful combination.

All eyes are on the Comprehensive Spending Review, due out in October, but it is unlikely we will receive further clarity on where this places Sunderland until the end of the year.

Nile Street in Sunniside was buzzing with people last night when artists and musicians opened their doors to the public as part of the North East Festival of Architecture.

Over 200 people came down to soak up the atmosphere, it was a fantastic night. Urban Design expert Rob Slinger presented a really interesting talk on the emergence of creative clusters in regeneration areas and Nile Street is a prime example of just that.

Afterwards everyone spilled out to hear music from local bands ‘Night of Sevens’ and ‘The Generals’ and they were treated to a DJ, BBQ and exhibition at Studio Q. Infinite Arts and Ged McCormack Architects invited people into their ‘Inside Out’ installation at 17 Nile Street and Creative Cohesion held a preview of their new studio, showcasing Sunderland glass, cityscape photography and poetry. Local artist Dawn Lehrer also launched her book ‘Site Verify’, which documents a community art project that took place in Sunniside last year, focusing on the theme of regeneration.

It has definitely encouraged us to hold more events like this in the future. Thanks for everyone for their support, especially the Nile Street residents (particularly the Valet Master) and all the team at Northern Architecture.

Today has marked a very positive step for Sunderland and our plans for the Vaux site.
An agreement has now been reached in principle for Regional Development Agency One North East to buy the site from owners Tesco.

We have always envisaged that Vaux will become a thriving business district at the heart of the city centre. It will provide the customers for the rest of the city centre and drive the demand for hotels, new retail and leisure.

We recognise people’s frustrations over the time it has taken to get this far and we can’t promise that there will be diggers on site tomorrow. It will take eight to 10 years to develop out once the economy improves.
Times are tight both in the public and private sector but we are working hard behind the scenes with our partners to ensure that we are ready to implement our plans as soon as there are signs of economic recovery.

I was lucky enough to be among the tens of thousands of fans who packed into the Stadium of Light on Friday night to see Pink in concert.

A truly fearless performer, she opened the show by dropping spectacularly from a box suspended above the crowd, before blasting through a series of hits and finishing dramatically by soaring across the audience on a high wire. It was absolutely fantastic and she was a real entertainer.

Congratulations to everyone involved in getting the concert to Sunderland and for making it such a huge success.

With hugely popular and successful shows from Take That, Oasis and now Pink in Sunderland, I’m sure we can look forward to some more big names in the future.

We have been working with Sunderland City Council and Sunderland University to prepare a framework, which will set out what kinds of development will be appropriate for this area in the future. Important consideration has been given to the fact that it includes the candidate World Heritage Site of St.Peter’s Church.

Plans include the expansion of the University’s St. Peter’s campus for academic, commercial and residential use, and the potential development of new housing, commercial and leisure development at Bonnersfield, Scotia Quay and Numbers Garth.

Exhibitions are being held at the following venues until 7 July:

Sunderland Civic Centre, Burdon Road.

The National Glass Centre, Liberty Way (until 30 June only).

Monkwearmouth Community Library, Church Street North.

Staff from the City Council and Sunderland arc will attend exhibitions at the following times:

The National Glass Centre
Thursday 3 June 10.00 a.m. to 2.00 p.m.
Wednesday 16 June 1.00 p.m. to 5.00 p.m.

Monkwearmouth Community Library
Monday 7 June 1.30 p.m. to 7.30 p.m.
Tuesday 22 June 9.30 a.m. to 12.30 p.m.

City Council staff will also be available at the Civic Centre during normal office hours by appointment – telephone 0191 561 1541 or email implementation@sunderland.gov.uk

Copies of the planning framework document can also be viewed online at www.sunderland.gov.uk/stpeters

I spent Saturday afternoon in Sunniside Gardens watching live bands performing as part of the Sunderland Live Music Fringe Festival! I had a great time, as did the friends and family who joined me. The bands and artists that performed were brilliant, covering songs to suit all music tastes including acoustic performances.

The event was hosted by Eauzone restaurant and was really well attended with a mix of different people from families with young children to students and older people enjoying a drink in the open air. There was a great atmosphere throughout the day and parents could even keep the kids entertained in the activities area, where they could get their faces painted.

I personally felt the event was a huge success and hope many more will be planned for Sunniside and the rest of the city centre. It was really nice going into the city centre to sit in the gardens and listen to great music rather than for just shopping etc……..even the sun had his hat on (which is always a bonus)!

Fans are certainly in for a treat when they go to see her at the Stadium of Light in Sunderland next week.

The photos show her performing a number of original, never-before-tried stunts at the event, including being fired from a canon 100ft above the stadium floor, rolling over the audience in a huge inflatable ball and using state-of-the-art technology to soar above them!

Purchased tickets for the concert are now available for collection from the Stadium of Light ticket office.

There are still a very limited number of tickets available so get your hands on them now before it’s too late.

Call the 24-hour credit card hotline on 0844 847 2450, visit www.ticketmaster.com or visit ticket offices at the Stadium of Light or Metro Arena in Newcastle upon Tyne.

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE WINNER – CHRIS HAGGON

Record breaking artist Pink will kick off the UK leg of her European Funhouse Summer Carnival Tour at the Stadium of Light on Friday 11th June, and Sunderland arc have 2 very special VIP tickets to give away!

VIP tickets include:

• Pink goody bag
• Souvenir laminate
• Food pre and post show
• Drinks reception
• VIP executive padded seat on upper level (top end seats)
• Access to post show disco until late

To enter Sunderland arc’s free prize draw which takes place on Friday the 4th of June please just enter your name, email address and phone number below:

General Ticketing Information

Tickets remain available for the hotly anticipated sole stadium concert in the North East in Summer 2010. The Funhouse Summer Carnival Tour is a blend of the most exciting visual and stunning spectacle with all the fun of the fair, mix in Pink’s special brand of high octane and dazzling performance and this is one tour not to be missed this summer.

Standing tickets- very limited
Seated tickets- available
Hospitality tickets- available but limited

Book Now to Avoid Disappointment!

24 hour credit card hotline: T 0844 847 2450
www.ticketmaster.com

In person:

• Stadium of Light ticket office – Open Mon-Fri 10am-5:30pm, 10-1pm
• Metro Arena Box Office- Open Mon-Fri 10am-5pm, Sat 9:30am to 3:30pm

Hospitality booking information:
Contact the SAFC concerts sales team on: 0871 911 1555 or e-mail pink@safc.com
A range of special offers are available on remaining hospitality for a limited period

General Information

• Tickets will be sent to purchasers approx 2 weeks prior to the even
• Ticket collection will be located in the main SAFC ticket office – location 18 on site map (link to map) – this if for pre purchasers from SAFC in advance of show day only, all ticket collects on show da
• Concert goers who purchased tickets from SAFC ticket office – view this location and media for info on when to collect concert ticket