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SUNDERLAND CITY COUNCIL is today announcing plans to bring another 4,000 jobs to the city, working with property developers Wilton and Clugston and One NorthEast.
In a groundbreaking partnership Sunderland City Council has brokered a deal which will enable Nissan to go ahead with a £4.5 million expansion of its Sunderland car plant and property developers Wilton and Clugston to build a new business park on part of Nissan's Washington site which could bring more than 4,000 new jobs to the city.
The disposal of land by Nissan - which has been renowned as Europe's most productive car plant for the last eight years - will enable the company to develop a new logistics centre at its Sunderland site enabling it to maintain its competitive edge and safeguarding future investment at the plant.
The 20,000 sq m logistics centre will process thousands of parts each year from around the world, making Nissan's logistics operation more efficient, improving cost and reducing CO2 emissions.
The new centre is being funded by the sale and development of land at the Nissan plant following an agreement brokered by Sunderland City Council with the support of One NorthEast.
This will see the development of a prestigious 690,000 sq ft business park creating more than 4,000 new jobs by developers Wilton and Clugston, complete with office space, light industrial units, a hotel and car showroom.
Said Sunderland City Council Leader, Cllr Bob Symonds: "Sunderland City Council has supported Nissan from day one and this latest deal, which will not only see efficiency improvements at the Nissan plant but a first rate business park with the potential to create more than 4,000 new jobs in the city, is an example of the City Council's business friendly approach.
"Nissan contributes almost £500 million to the local economy each year, while the company and its component suppliers provide over 15,000 jobs in Sunderland and the surrounding area so this is a welcome enhancement of its business.
"We hope that Nissan will continue to thrive and we're also delighted to welcoming Wilton and Clugston to the city as a joint developer. Their new business park will strengthen Sunderland's reputation as an international business location complementing the excellent business facilities we already have available at Doxford International and Rainton Bridge."
Trevor Mann, Senior Vice President - Manufacturing, Europe, said: "The new centre will handle inbound parts for the Sunderland Plant. Increasingly, these are coming from further afield, in bulk volume.
"By bulk sourcing parts we are making significant total cost savings, which helps our plant to improve its competitiveness. This in turn puts us in a stronger position when bidding for future models."
The new business park will be sited on a 45 acre site alongside Nissan's Sunderland plant which has been purchased by Barmston Developments, a joint venture partnership between Wilton Developments and Clugston Developments.
Jason Stowe, Director at Wilton Developments, said: “This site is strategically located on the Sunderland Highway (A1231) at the junction with the A19, between Washington and Sunderland. Our intention is to deliver a vibrant mixed use scheme that will appeal to those looking for a foothold in the north east as well as meeting local occupier needs.
“A masterplan for the site is underway and we are already in discussions with Sunderland City Council about the submission of an early planning application for 700,000 sq ft of commercial development. This will include offices, light industrial, warehouses, hybrid units, motor retail, hotel, leisure and ancillary retail uses.”
Bob Culliford, MD of Clugston Developments Ltd, said: “This is an exciting opportunity to work with Sunderland City Council and our new joint venture partner, Wilton Developments, on a strategic mixed use site which will deliver over 4000 new jobs to the area.
“This scheme forms part of Clugston Development’s planned growth programme, providing an opportunity to use our experience in delivering major developments with significant infrastructure requirements.”
In addition, as part of the development, there will be also be highway improvements to the A19/A1231 junction which will benefit the wider regeneration of Sunderland and the surrounding area.
Construction work on Nissan's new logistics centre, which will be located on the south side of the existing Trim & Chassis shop, will begin later this month. The primary role of the new facility will be to receive, store and prepare for the delivery of in-bound car parts, before they delivered to the production line. The centre is scheduled to be fully operational by February 2008.
A third party logistics provider will staff the facility by operating two shifts. Around 55 employees per shift will be needed to run the centre, creating approximately 15 new posts.
In the future Nissan will make increasing use of the Port of Tyne deep water facility to ship parts in large volume from around the world. In conjunction with the parts centre, this will be more efficient, cost effective and environmentally friendly than operating numerous smaller road deliveries.
Once operational, the centre will reduce the number of truck deliveries to the Nissan Sunderland site by 11,000 per year, with a significant decrease both in CO2 emissions and congestion around the plant.
Trevor Mann added: "The centre is good news for Nissan and good news for our suppliers. Not only does it create some new jobs, it goes some way towards safeguarding around 1,000 posts at our plant by making us more cost competitive at a time the global car industry is becoming increasingly fierce.
"Nissan, the developers, Sunderland City Council and One North East have been working together on this project for a number of months, so I'm delighted with today's announcement."
Ian Williams, One NorthEast Interim Director of Business and Industry, said: "We facilitiated the close working relationship between Nissan, Sunderland City Council and the developers to help bring about this fantastic double announcement.
“The expansion of the Nissan plant strengthens its already world leading position when bidding for new models and Sunderland stands to further benefit economically from a premier business park in a prime location.”