Remediation works complete at Nile + Villiers
Unanimously approved in 2024, the Sunniside scheme in Sunderland is being delivered by Falcon Fox Construction for the council and will comprise 75 homes alongside 6,000 sq ft of commercial space.
Part of Sunderland City Council’s Sunniside Place Strategy, a 10-year regeneration project, the development spans Nile and Villiers Streets and will be made up of a mix of city centre terraced homes, maisonettes, and creative workspaces.
On completion, 65 of the homes will be acquired by BTR developer Placefirst, with the remaining 10 sold at market rate, while the commercial space will be leased to start-ups and small businesses.
Fronting onto High Street West, the scheme aims to reinstate two streets demolished in the 2000s historically home to printers, cabinet makers, and textile workers.
Since the project commenced in autumn 2025, Falcon Fox has overseen the completion of site remediation and major civil engineering works, with structural timber frames currently being erected on numerous phases of the build and internal fit-out works progressing, using North East-based subcontractors All Floors Services and James Burrell Builders Merchants.
Development manager Town originally worked on the application for Siglion, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sunderland City Council, with the wider project team also including XSite, Create Streets, Apex, Shadbolt Group, Clark Degnan, The Environment Partnership, and Civic Engineers.
Over the next decade, the council is aiming to deliver approximately 2,000 new homes across the city centre in developments at Riverside Sunderland, Sunniside, and at West Park, on the site of the former Civic Centre.
Falcon Fox director, Duncan Bowman, said: “We were delighted to be appointed at the outset of such an ambitious regeneration project for the city of Sunderland and, through our commitment to deliver added social value, we are recruiting new staff and ensuring companies from within the North East are given the opportunity to provide their services and expertise throughout the development process.
“This project combines really striking and innovative architecture with fully tiled façades and EPC A rated homes that incorporate many sustainable features including photovoltaics, timber frames, and air source heat pumps.
“The housing is designed to generate a real community feel with homes located around a central landscaped area with a sustainable
urban drainage system which is buried 4.50 metre below ground.
“The project comprises elements of major civil engineering and housebuilding, making it a technically challenging project, which we are thoroughly absorbed in.”
Patrick Melia, chief executive of Sunderland City Council, said: “It’s fantastic to see work progressing at pace at the Nile + Villiers development, and even more so to see a North East business playing such a pivotal role in its delivery.
“The scheme is a key part of our ten-year strategy to breathe new life into this historic part of the city, developing a strong sense of place and purpose, creating a safe and active neighbourhood, intensifying the population and business uses, supporting the growth of the local cultural and creative community, and sustaining change through cooperative stewardship.
“Completing the civil engineering works is an exciting milestone in the delivery of the development and the ongoing transformation of Sunniside.”
