In a £130m plan to return a city heart to former glory, the traditional heart of Sunderland some 200 years ago is about to become one of the city’s most vibrant new quarters with plans for 500 new jobs and a £130m vision of gardens, cafes, galleries, homes and creative businesses.

A lively and varied restaurant and café quarter is already starting to emerge in the regeneration area and the evening economy is strengthening.

New homes currently being developed will be desirable, centrally located and offer excellent choice. Apartments on upper floors and in time, town houses and lofts will cater for different household types, further enhancing the richness of the community, say Sunniside Partnership, set up to kick-start the area’s regeneration.

Sunniside is 35 acres of the eastern part of the City Centre and has over 100 listed buildings. The main purpose for the creation of the Partnership is to lead the regeneration, improve, restore and bring back the status, style and finesse that Sunniside once knew.

The detailed report proposes to expand the area’s business base, from the current 350 firms, up to 450, encourage environmental improvements such as £2m to revitalise the gardens, provide a new car park and develop a media and arts cluster complemented by a new Sunniside Gallery.

Ian Wardle, director, Sunniside Partnership said: “The legacy of Sunniside’s former glory is everywhere you look, from the grandeur of the former Water Board building to the quirkiness of the Elephant tea rooms.”

“However, there are sizeable numbers of buildings which need attention to maximise their potential. This plan is a very practical way of changing perceptions of Sunniside, to create a framework to help attract much-needed investment and change its fortunes for the better.”

The Partnership’s plan includes investing £7m on various initiatives including bringing 100 vacant and underused properties back into use by giving private developers advice on funding, liaising with the council on their behalf, awarding grants and when appropriate buying key properties and assembling sites.

The document also stresses the Partnership team will encourage the development of small scale retail units and offices with residential apartments, townhouses and lofts, art galleries and cafes as well as a £1m business incubator space project for fledgling companies.

In particular the business plan says creative industries regeneration will be helped by a Sunniside Gallery, a live music venue, with a small dance studio, gallery space, cafe and artist space to be developed with the private sector and other agenices.

The Sunniside Partnership plan also outlines creating a £300K lighting scheme for the area to further encourage an evening economy.

A new cinema complex is already underway in the area and it has helped to inject new life, with the vacancy rate, currently at approximately 25 per cent, now reducing.

The city of Sunderland saw the biggest property price rises in the north this month according to Rightmove. Some properties have increased by 20% in the first four months of the year.