Latest on opening date for 'destination' Seaburn outdoor play park at Sunderland seafront

A new outdoor children’s play park in Seaburn is on track to be completed this summer, council development chiefs have confirmed.

Sunderland City Council’s Planning and Highways Committee granted planning permission for the new play park in February, 2024, and work started on site in March, 2024.

The project forms part of a significant investment into the area and aims to transform the leisure offer for local residents while creating an active destination for visitors of all ages.

The park is planned at a site behind the Seaburn Inn and Prego and its design utilises high-quality materials and vibrant colours with the aim of supporting children’s physical, social and cognitive development.

Play equipment will be sited within landscape features such as play mounds, sand pits, and planted areas, as well as traditional play features such as swings, slides, and roundabouts.

The park will also feature bespoke pieces of equipment such as tall towers, climbing walls, and bridges, to create a visually stimulating and exciting space.

Sunderland City Council worked closely with children from Seaburn Dene Primary School who have actively participated in the design process for the play park.

At a meeting of the council’s Economic Prosperity Scrutiny Committee this week (April 9, 2024) councillors received an update on the work of the council’s regeneration and development company Siglion.

This included a presentation with a high-quality CGI image showing how the Seaburn play park would look once completed.

Neil Guthrie, city council development director, said the project was on track to be completed this summer and that the vision was to make the park a “real destination”.

He told the meeting: “We have recently started construction of the new play area.

“That was designed in partnership with local school children so we have done a lot of work with local schools to come up with a design proposal.

“That’s built around Cut Throat Dene and that area on the west side of the Seaburn regeneration area, we expect that to be complete sometime during the summer this year.

“We see that as being a real destination, as well being a facility for the local community.

“I think it’s a real facility for young people and families that are visiting Seaburn, which is increasing, and that part of the coast is increasingly becoming a destination for visitors, so the play park adds to the offer.

“Siglion is supplementing the funding on top of the council’s investment so Siglion is leading the delivery of that”.

The play park project is being delivered by Gateshead-based firm BCE Northern Ltd.

Working with Sunderland City Council’s smart city partner Boldyn Networks, the park will also feature interactive digital play equipment bringing an added dimension to the play offer.

Councillor Kevin Johnston, cabinet member for Dynamic City at Sunderland City Council, previously said the play park would complement ongoing developments in the area.

He added it would bring the council’s investment in the area to over £15 million with a further £30 million investment by private sector partners in developments including the Seaburn Inn, STACK, and the Tram Shelter.

City councillors, at this week’s council scrutiny meeting, heard about other regeneration milestones in Seaburn over the past year.

This included the completion of the Lowry Park residential development, following Siglion selling a development parcel to Avant Homes to deliver the development.

It was noted that the 82-home development was “fully occupied” and had made a positive contribution to the seafront’s existing residential offer.

City council development director Neil Guthrie added: “As for the wider Seaburn area we’re currently considering options around future development.

“That’s something that we would consider over the course of the year as to where we go next.

“Getting the correct infrastructure in has probably been the priority for the last 12 months or so”.