Parking boost at Herrington Country Park
Plans to boost parking at a popular country park on Wearside have been submitted to city development chiefs.
Sunderland City Council has submitted an application to its own planning department to create “extended car parking areas” at Herrington Country Park.
Planning documents state the park covers an area of almost 200 hectares and is one of the largest parks in Sunderland, as well as hosting major events over the years, from music concerts to charity events and sports.
New plans are seeking permission to change the use of parcels of open space and green space to extend existing parking areas, along with “associated access, landscaping, biodiversity improvements and infrastructure”.
Plans for the country park were previously discussed by city leaders as part of the council’s budget-setting process, with an aim of increasing parking spaces and improving facilities for visitors.
A report discussed by senior councillors last year said proposals aimed to respond to increased popularity and visitors, with existing parking at the park labelled as “inadequate, leading to inconsiderate parking on grassed areas”.
A planning statement submitted to council officials this month provides more details on the proposed project at Herrington Country Park, which is split into three areas.
This includes extending the café car park’s capacity to 129 spaces, including five accessible bays, seven electric vehicle (EV) charging bays and four minibus bays.
Planning documents state the new layout would “rationalise footways, and provide dedicated cycle parking and motorcycle parking”, along with “soft landscaping” including “13 oak trees and approximately 160 metres of native hedgerow”.
The café car park extension is the largest part of the scheme and if approved, it would double the number of car parking spaces at this part of the country park.
The second part of the scheme covers the skate park car park, which would see an increase from nine spaces to 33 spaces.
However, no accessible or EV charging bays are proposed at this location.
The third part of the scheme includes an area of land being earmarked for “biodiversity improvements” in the form of a new “wildflower meadow”.
In conjunction with the car park extensions, “improvements and repairs” are also planned to the existing drainage network near the car parks to “help alleviate existing flooding issues and ensure the car parks are able to operate efficiently at all times”.
Those behind the scheme said the popularity of the park’s new café Love Lily had “outstripped expectations which has led to an increased demand for parking with the car park regularly reaching capacity”.
It was noted that this has led to people parking on grassed areas and that “these green spaces have deteriorated, particularly during the winter months which detracts from the appearance of the country park”.
The planning statement adds: “The development subject to this planning application will increase spaces in the main car park by 67 spaces and in the skate park car park by 24 spaces.
“It is anticipated that these measures will alleviate the pressure on the existing car parks and prevent overuse of the grassed areas.
“The development proposed is the minimum required to accommodate the normal parking demand at Herrington Country Park and thus removing the frequency when grassed areas are being used for informal parking.
“There may still be times during periods of very high demand when events are taking place that grassed areas are used for parking.
“However, as the frequency of use of the grassed areas for parking will be significantly reduced, there will be more time available for the grassed areas to re-establish”.
A decision on the planning application will be made once a period of council consultation has concluded.
Sunderland City Council’s planning portal website lists a decision deadline of September 18, 2024.
For more information on the plan or to track its progress, visit the council’s planning portal website and search reference: 24/01467/LP3