Sunderland’s big bridge plan submitted

The planning application for what could be England’s tallest bridge has been formally submitted by Sunderland City Council.

The bridge is the centrepiece of the council’s multi-million pound Strategic Transport Corridor (SSTC) initiative and is planned to cross the River Wear from Castletown on the north side to Pallion on the south side.

The application, which allows for a bridge planned as England’s tallest, will be handled by the council’s planning and environment service with a decision expected in the New Year. 

The cable-stayed structure, which could cost up to £133m, would be around 180 metres high and 336 metres long.

The council decided last September that plans for the landmark bridge, designed by local architect Stephen Spence and engineering consultants Techniker, should be progressed.

The leader of the city council, Councillor Paul Watson, said: “As with any major development project, the landmark bridge and its approach roads are being put through the due process and scrutiny of the planning system.”

The SSTC programmed is a new link from the A19 to the Port of Sunderland which is designed to improve access to key employment sites, enhance their development potential and also to relieve congestion on existing bridges.

View an image of the proposed bridge

 

Roger Milne

17 December 2009