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Delivering the Future City 2025

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The event aims to report annually on Sunderland's regeneration journey and provide opportunities for sharing knowledge and best practice with other cities and regions as part of the two-day programme every October.

Mark Easton, former Home Editor at the BBC, expertly guides the event with keynote speakers and panellists to a conference audience of 200+ industry leaders each day.

They debate Sunderland’s transformation in the context of Government’s growth ambitions and particularly commitment to housing delivery, planning reform, community building, infrastructure and the skills needed for the future workforce. This project is part-funded by the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.

Event sponsorship packages available now

Delivering the Future City first took place in October 2023 to set the bar for professional business events in a city that's reinventing itself, Sunderland.

A showcase of the regeneration journey in a series of vibrant panel sessions, led by industry, stakeholder and government voices.

Bringing the audience together to discuss Sunderland’s incredible re-invention story, in and amongst heightened levels of staging and conference hospitality.

Visit 2023 event

 

Delivering the Future City 2024 saw an enhanced agenda which demonstrated the progress made and focussed on the key challenges that have arisen, set in the context of a new Government policy landscape, devolution and social and economic circumstances.  

Major projects include Riverside Sunderland which comprises high profile developments such as the Eye Hospital, Maker & Faber, the Sheepfolds Stables leisure venue, and the upcoming new wear footbridge, all transforming the cityscape.

Devolution is seen as vital to unlocking growth across the North East, with £9.8 million from the Brownfield Land Release Fund supporting further regeneration. Sunderland's collaborative approach, working with partners and residents, is key to driving the city’s continued transformation and success.

Our host, Mark Easton, perfectly captured the essence of what Expo Sunderland is all about in his 2024 closing remarks, concluding:

“The whole point is not to listen to speeches or to network, it’s not even to identify problems and risks, as important as those things are, the point is to make a real positive difference and to help write the next chapter in Sunderland’s story.

“Through the round tables, Q&As and speeches, we’ve produced vital thinking which will be invaluable to this city as it overcomes the inevitable bumps in the road ahead.

“Now, we must take what we’ve discussed, and turn it into a narrative that makes people from Sunderland say they are even more proud to say they are from Sunderland.”

Visit 2024 event

Louise

Plenary Sessions

Speakers from across the region and UK are invited to join the key stakeholders in the regeneration of Sunderland on stage in October 2025 to contribute their knowledge and expertise and showcase their best practise on how to: -

  • Amplify economic growth and get building
  • Accelerate infrastructure and housing supply
  • Implement devolution at the heart of economic growth
  • Integrate climate change and technology
  • Raise educational standards

Supplemented with walking tours of the city centre to aid better understanding of achievements and challenges ahead in delivering a future city.

Round Table

Breakout Sessions

The event audience will break out into groups after plenary session scene setting to activate full participation and be summarised in panel discussions, led by the chair of each group.

The discussions are free ranging but aiming for:

  • Practical recommendations related to the project
  • A proposition to address a local or regional issue
  • A proposition for national policy

Themes include how to bring more life to the city centre, accelerate housing delivery, build new cohesive communities, advance technological innovation, further address climate change and develop new skills.

Sunniside

Networking & Side Events

An unrivalled platform regionally for fostering business engagement and inviting combined appetite for the rising infrastructure and regeneration of the Northeast.

Additional activities will be scheduled around the two days to maximise the itinerary for key stakeholders attending from across the UK.

The Stables @ Sheepfolds will host delegates on the evening after Day 1. This historic building and courtyard setting is now home to a vibrant and eclectic mix of independent bars, restaurants, events, live entertainment and leisure operators, all coming together to create a unique and energetic venue on the banks of the River Wear.

 

Speakers and Panellists

Event Partners

Outline Agenda 2025

Day 1 - Growth, Regeneration and Placemaking (14th October 2025)

Day one will set the strategic direction for how cities can grow and thrive in the years ahead. Discussions will be structured around three interconnected topics: Housing, exploring delivery at scale and pace while ensuring quality and sustainability; Community, focusing on placemaking and the creation of cohesive, resilient neighbourhoods; and Infrastructure & Resilience, examining how transport, digital connectivity and low-carbon systems underpin long-term regeneration. This day will establish the foundation for how growth can be delivered in ways that are both ambitious and inclusive.

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08:45
  1. City Hall
    45 mins
09:30
  1. Chamber, City Hall
    15 mins
    • Mark Easton
    • Cllr Michael Mordey - Sunderland City Council
09:45
  1. Chamber, City Hall
    60 mins
    • Pat Ritchie - Homes England
    • Henry Kippin - North East Combined Authority
    • Cllr Michael Mordey - Sunderland City Council
    • Tim Heatley - Capital & Centric
10:45
  1. Break
    Chamber, City Hall
    30 mins
11:15
  1. Chamber, City Hall
    30 mins
    • Andrew Taylor - Vistry
    • Riette Oosthuizen - HTA Design
    • Dominic Waugh - Pegasus
    • Niall Durney - FaulknerBrowns
    • Moderator:  Mark Easton
11:45
  1. Chamber, City Hall
    30 mins
    • Tracy Harrison - Northern Housing Consortium
    • Yolande Barnes - Yolande Barnes Consultancy
    • James Reid - Miller Housing 
    • Joanne Gordon - Gentoo
    • Moderator:  Mark Easton
12:15
  1. Chamber, City Hall
    30 mins
    • Tom Chance - National Community Land Trust Network
    • Pete Swift - Planit
    • Susan Fulton - Gentoo
    • John Nordon - igloo Regeneration
    • Moderator:  Mark Easton
12:45
  1. Lunch and Riverside Sunderland Site and Venue Tours
    City Hall & Riverside Sunderland
    75 mins
14:00
  1. Chamber, City Hall
    30 mins
    • John Saunders - 1energy
    • Julie Kjestrup  - VELUX
    • Hayley Cormick - Useful Projects
    • Moderator:  Mark Easton
14:30
  1. Chamber, City Hall
    30 mins
    • Rachel Hurdman - Arup
    • Phil Blythe - DARe, Newcastle University
    • Heather Jones - North East Combined Authority
    • Mark Wilson - Sunderland City Council
    • Moderator:  Mark Easton
15:00
  1. Break
    Chamber, City Hall
    15 mins
15:15
  1. Chamber, City Hall
    15 mins
15:30
  1. Breakout Rooms, City Hall
    60 mins
    • Planning & Design
    • Housing Delivery
    • Community Building
    • Infrastructure & Resilience
16:30
  1. Chamber, City Hall
    15 mins
16:45
  1. Chamber, City Hall
    15 mins
17:30
  1. Stables @ Sheepfolds
    180 mins

Day 2 - Activation, Repopulation and Opportunity (15th October 2025)

Day two will shift attention to the dynamics of re-energising city centres and creating opportunities for residents and businesses. Sessions will explore City Centre Activation, with a focus on cultural, digital and leisure-led strategies to reinvigorate high streets; City Centre Repopulation, examining how workplace and mixed-use development can drive continuous vibrancy and support thriving business ecosystems; and The Future of Work, considering how skills, innovation and investment will shape new opportunities. This day will provide a future perspective on how cities can be repositioned as engines of opportunity and inclusive growth.

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09:00
  1. City Hall
    30 mins
09:30
  1. Chamber, City Hall
    15 mins
    • Mark Easton
    • Cllr Michael Mordey - Sunderland City Council
09:45
  1. Chamber, City Hall
    45 mins
    • Graham Thrower - University of Sunderland
    • Ellen Thinnesen - Education Partnership North East
    • Samantha McClary - BCO
    • Paul Kingsmore - Sunderland AFC
10:45
  1. Break
    City Hall
    15 mins
11:00
  1. Chamber, City Hall
    30 mins
    • Michael Brown - Altered Space
    • John Wood - The Other Retail Group
    • Louis Lupien - Turner.Works
    • Allison Thompson - South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust
    • Moderator:  Mark Easton
11:30
  1. Chamber, City Hall
    30 mins
    • Peter McIntyre - Sunderland City Council
    • Patrick Matheson - Knight Frank
    • Andrea Walters - University of Sunderland
    • Moderator:  Samantha McClary - BCO

    In collaboration with the BCO

12:00
  1. Chamber, City Hall
    30 mins
    •    Toni Rhodes - Education Partnership North East
    •    Richard Williams - VELUX
    •    Sonya Anderson - Education Partnership North East
    •    Dan Kerr - MawsonKerr
    •    Grant Glendinning - Education Training Collective
12:30
  1. Lunch and Riverside Sunderland Site and Venue Tours
    City Hall & Riverside Sunderland
    75 mins
13:45
  1. Chamber, City Hall
    15 mins
14:00
  1. Breakout Rooms, City Hall
    75 mins
    • City Centre Activation
    • City Centre Repopulation
    • Future of Work  
15:15
  1. Break
    City Hall
    15 mins
15:30
  1. Chamber, City Hall
    30 mins
16:00
  1. Chamber, City Hall
    15 mins

Register your interest for 2026

Delivering the Future City events aim to report annually on Sunderland's regeneration journey and provide opportunities for sharing knowledge and best practice with other cities and regions as part of the two-day programme. every October.

Mark Easton, former Home Editor at the BBC, expertly guides the event with keynote speakers and panellists to a conference audience of 200+ industry leaders each day.

They debate Sunderland’s transformation in the context of Government’s growth ambitions and particularly commitment to housing delivery, planning reform, community building, infrastructure and the skills needed for the future workforce. 

To register your interest in attending the Delivering the Future City Conference in 2026, please click NEXT.

Event Partnership

WANT TO GET INVOLVED? 

Event Partners will be invited to share their expertise & thought leadership in the most appropriate space or place within the event programme. This could include fringe sessions, rolling slides during networking and breakout sessions, round table session sponsorship, inclusion of materials in delegate packs, logo representation throughout the entire event etc, branding and merchandise opportunities etc.  Enjoy advertising space on the event website and during speaker invitations to catapult your reach & influence.

Join our other partners and stake your place on the agenda.

Event Partnership package - £3,000    CONTACT US

 

Future City Regeneration Board

Please click on the profile to find out more about each of our advisors.

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