Strategic Guidance urges the Tyne and Wear district councils to give special attention to identifying attractive sites for both economic and housing development, with high priority to directing investment to deprived areas.  In conjunction with English Partnershipsand the private sector the re-use of reclaimed sites is required to be maximised.

Proposals of this Plan have sought therefore to utilise the large amounts of derelict and vacant land identified (over 670 ha.) and some 80% of this land is the subject of proposals for development, re-use and improvement.  In particular:-

• Continuing to direct investment to the existing strategically well-placed industrial areas has reduced the need for new greenfield sites - 44% of the new allocations are on recycled land.
• 40% of new sites for housing identified as a result of this Plan (i.e. not previously committed) are on derelict, vacant or other land surplus to current requirements.  Whilst new greenfield sites are proposed so as to achieve an attractive range and distribution, notably at Chapelgarth, Shiney Row and Easington Lane, this has not affected the Green Belt.

Since 1979 there has been increasing emphasis for spending on built development to be funded by the private sector.  Local authority, Government and European funding has been used in the provision of infrastructure - particularly roads, improvements to housing stock, provision of facilities for recreation, education and social needs and the enhancement of the environment.  The policies and proposals of this Plan have been based on an assessment of funding which might be available from both public and private resources, based on past performance and known restraints on Government funding in the short term.

In line with the changing role of local authorities to 'enablers' rather than 'providers' of services, increasing emphasis is placed on using public expenditure to facilitate private investment in desirable projects.  Rather than allocating resources, Central Government is now requiring that funds should be bid for on a competitive basis.  Projects which can demonstrate that public expenditure is being used to 'lever' private finance into schemes are likely to be given more favourable consideration.

Many of the various programmes which had been devised to meet specific objectives in promoting the regeneration of urban areas have now been co-ordinated into the Single Regeneration Budget (SRB).  The City of Sunderland Partnership wasformed to co-ordinate the submission of bids for these funds, by bringing together the City Council, City of Sunderland Forum, Sunderland TEC, Tyne and Wear Development Corporation, University of Sunderland and the Tyne and Wear Chamber of Commerce.

The City has benefited from other programmes of the SRB, in the City Challenge Area, the Urban Development Area and continues to work withEnglish Partnerships, which controls budgets for City Grant, Derelict Land Funding and English Estates.  The City Challenge scheme operated in north-west Sunderland until 1998, and providedapproximately £35M over seven years.  The Tyne and Wear Urban Development Corporation also woundup atthe end of March 1998, with most ofthe main proposals along the River Wear corridor substantiallyimplemented.  It is expected that English Partnerships will continue to support Sunderland's Derelict Land and Urban Regeneration projects, both within and outside the formerUDC area.

European Commission resources are beingrestructured, and it is hoped that they willcontinue to be available to authorities in the Tyne and Wear-South East Northumberland area (TAWSEN).  Bids will be made for projects eligible under Objective 2 of the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) or the European Social Fund (ESF).  These sources are being increasingly organised through special regimes such as RECHAR 2 (for the former coalfield areas), Regional Challenge (for one major scheme in each region), LIFE (a programme for environmental action) and URBAN (for regeneration schemes).

The City Council's direct spending will also be used to implement many proposals.  Since all major schemes must compete for finance from the appropriate Government Department on an annual basis, however, this makes long term financial planning particularly difficult.

• In order to promote those aspects of its work which are considered to be particularly significant, the Council has allocated some £4M to a Strategic Initiative Budget which allows for the implementation of a number of UDP schemes which support the City's Strategies, especially in the fields of urban regeneration, nursery provision and environmental improvement.
• Economic development is assisted by projects, which, whilst largely expected to be funded by the private sector, can be stimulated by site assembly and infrastructure provision undertaken by the City Council's Management Committee.  It is expected that the sites requiring such works can be included in forthcoming programmes and will be supported by additional funding from the sources identified above.  Current spending is about £3M per annum.
• The City's Housing Investment Programme includes enhancement of existing council estates through a range of ‘re-structuring’ schemes, some of which involve joint action with the private sector.  The main schemes are expected to be implemented during the life of the Plan, even at the current level of approved expenditure.  Improvements to the existing areas of older private housing are expected to be undertaken through Housing Renovation Grants.
• Replacement and additional schools are still largely funded by the local authority, though again capital finance is controlled by Central Government.  Proposals have taken into account foreseen needs.  Further education, mainly represented by the University and the tertiary colleges, is now centrally funded, the UDP reflecting known requirements.  Proposals for social facilities, so far as they have land use implications, are related to the appropriate committee targets.  Health policies are derived from the Sunderland Health Commission's strategy, as agreed with the Regional Health Authority and the Department of Health.
• Leisure proposals to meet the minimum requirements for open space and other leisure facilities will mainly be addressed by the local authority, supported by the National Lottery sports and artsfunding, together with English Partnerships finance, where related to derelict sites.
• Environmental improvements are sought using a wide variety of finance from central government, the private sector, voluntary sector, other agencies and local authority committees.  Gaps in funding for certain types of schemes or areas, notably the outer settlements, have been met through the City Council Environment Committee's limited finance for building conservation work (Urban Heritage Grant Scheme with a budget of about £25,000 per annum) and a rolling programme of other projects (c.£200,000 p.a.); these are subject to an annual reassessment and may not always be available.
• The Council's annual Transport Policies and Programme (TPP).provides the main instrument for the finance of transport infrastructure until 1999.  TPPs will then be replaced by Local Transport Plans (LTPs), which allocate finance on a five year rolling programme rather than annually, giving greater security to longer term and incremental improvement schemes.  It will also cover non-capital expenditure and will be the mechanism through which any income from congestion or non-residential parking charge schemes (subject to legislation being enacted) will be allocated.  The cost of the schemes indicated in the Plan for starting during the period up to 2006 (£43M, excluding the Wear Bridge (£22M)), equates to the level of expenditure during the 1980's, but it is acknowledged that Government spending plans is not likely to sustain future funding for transport developments at this level.  Public transport proposals are more dependent on individual bus and rail operators and other agencies (PTA, PTE, Railtrack).  Package funding for more environmentally sustainable transport initiatives is, however, increasing.  The Metro extension is already part of an agreed project being undertaken by the Passenger Transport Authority and will be financed in partnership with the private sector (£65+M).

As indicated in the preceding paragraphs, the traditional boundaries between public and private resources are being eroded, with much greater emphasis on co-operation and partnership between the sectors.  It is expected that an increasing proportion of development activity will be privately financed, with public funds being used primarily to induce investment into those projects which the Council wishes to promote.  In those areas where private investment has traditionally been predominant, such as housing and shopping, planning conditions and Section 106 agreements will be used to minimise the impact that developments of this nature would have on public expenditure patterns (see para. 18.14).  Many larger schemes may require infrastructure costs to be met by the private sector should the developer wish to proceed in advance of the public availability of finance.

Apart from highways proposals, it is not anticipated that there would be any great difficulty in financing the majority of the proposals in the Plan over the period up to 2006, providing that current rates of expenditure are not drastically curtailed.  There are, however, a few large scale developments for which special funding arrangements may be required.  These include the extension of the Metro system into Sunderland, and the new Wear Bridge (see para. 18.11).

Applicants for planning permission will be expected to comply with the relevant policies of the UDP in the design and implementation of their proposals.  In order to ensure that developments are in conformity with the Plan, appropriate conditions may be attached to planning approvals, or Section 106 agreements entered into.  The latter may require works to be done or a financial contribution to be made towards facilities which are likely to be needed, or enhanced, as a result of the proposed development (see policies R3 and S7).

Monitoring systems have been established in conjunction with the other four district councils of the former Tyne and Wear County, in respect of the topics covered by Strategic Guidance.  These include indicators for population, employment economic development, housing, retailing, transportation and the environment.  This monitoring is beingextended to a regional scale so that a compatible system is in place when the Government's Strategic and Regional Guidance is integrated to cover the entire North East.

The information on which the above monitoring is based is prepared by the City Council or by the countywide Tyne and Wear Research and Information Unit.  More detailed monitoring of the Plan will build on existing annual reports prepared in relation to specific topics, supplemented as necessary either with data already collected, but not published annually, or with additional survey work as appropriate.  An assessment will also be made of the effectiveness of UDP policies in Development Control and Planning Appeals together with a review of the progress made in the implementation of specific proposals.  An annual UDP Monitoring Statement will be produced which will identify trends and matters which may need to be considered for review.