Latest news with #MichaelMordey
BBC News
21-07-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Sunderland pauses purchase of asylum-seeker housing
Buying houses for asylum seekers to live in has been temporarily paused in a leader of Sunderland City Council Michael Mordey said there would be a pause on the purchase of homes for asylum seekers after a Home Office follows a similar pause initiated in County Durham in Home Office said the allocation of asylum seekers to dispersed accommodation in Sunderland had been paused as the city had met its targets. Dispersal accommodation is longer-term, temporary housing where asylum seekers can stay while their claim is being assessed. Mordey said Sunderland was a "welcoming city" but that it was also right that "other places take their responsibility to support vulnerable people just as seriously as we do".As of 31 March, there were 830 asylum seekers housed by the government in Sunderland, which is home to about 275,000 people, according to latest Home Office City Council, which covers an area home to about 300,000 people, houses just over 1,200 asylum purchase of new asylum accommodation in County Durham was paused for three months because the Home Office said it had "sufficient capacity" in the region already. Follow BBC North East on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
Yahoo
19-07-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Lottery grant to help city develop nature access
A lottery grant of £490,000 will help a city improve access to green spaces, the local council says. Sunderland is among 40 areas nationally awarded money from the National Lottery Heritage Fund as part of the Nature Towns and Cities Programme. Plans include a focus on boosting transport and linking community green spaces including the city's coastline and riverbanks. Michael Mordey, leader of Sunderland City Council, said residents would be consulted in the coming weeks and months to help develop schemes. Nature Towns and Cities is a partnership between Natural England, the National Trust and the National Lottery Heritage Fund. Sunderland's council will also work with Durham Wildlife Trust and organisations from the voluntary sector as it looks to allocate the funding. Measures are set to include new conservation and horticulture courses, ecological surveys for local Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), such Tunstall Hills and Claxheugh Rocks, and community grants. Welcoming the funding, Mordey said the aims of the forthcoming projects were "all about improving our residents' access to nature and helping them to enjoy some of the fantastic greenspaces, coastline and riverbanks on their doorstep". He added: "As we all know, getting out into the fresh air can really help us to clear our minds and take time for ourselves. "So we'll be looking to work with residents and partners over the coming weeks and months to help us develop the plans further and make sure that we're making the most of this grant funding." Follow BBC Sunderland on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram. More on this story The UK's first Nature Towns awarded green funding Related internet links Sunderland City Council Nature Towns and Cities
BBC News
19-07-2025
- General
- BBC News
Sunderland handed Lottery grant to develop nature access
A lottery grant of £490,000 will help a city improve access to green spaces, the local council is among 40 areas nationally awarded money from the National Lottery Heritage Fund as part of the Nature Towns and Cities include a focus on boosting transport and linking community green spaces including the city's coastline and Mordey, leader of Sunderland City Council, said residents would be consulted in the coming weeks and months to help develop schemes. Nature Towns and Cities is a partnership between Natural England, the National Trust and the National Lottery Heritage council will also work with Durham Wildlife Trust and organisations from the voluntary sector as it looks to allocate the are set to include new conservation and horticulture courses, ecological surveys for local Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), such Tunstall Hills and Claxheugh Rocks, and community grants. Welcoming the funding, Mordey said the aims of the forthcoming projects were "all about improving our residents' access to nature and helping them to enjoy some of the fantastic greenspaces, coastline and riverbanks on their doorstep".He added: "As we all know, getting out into the fresh air can really help us to clear our minds and take time for ourselves."So we'll be looking to work with residents and partners over the coming weeks and months to help us develop the plans further and make sure that we're making the most of this grant funding." Follow BBC Sunderland on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
BBC News
07-07-2025
- BBC News
Sunderland-wide anti-social behaviour hubs a step closer
The creation of an anti-social behaviour (ASB) hub in every part of a city is a step closer after three new facilities were confirmed, a police force has hub scheme is expanding to Hendon and Pennywell in Sunderland and Concord and Sulgrave in Washington after data showed higher levels of ASB follows the project's success in Southwick, Hetton and the city centre, where ASB incidents dropped by up to a third, Sunderland City Council leader Kelly Chequer said the new hubs were expected to open in the late summer or in the autumn. Ch Supt Mark Hall of Northumbria Police said: "Launching these additional hubs means we are one step closer to having hubs that cover every ward area in Sunderland."He said similar projects in other parts of the city had been "extremely successful". The local authority said over the last year, incidences of ASB had dropped by about a third in the city centre and Southwick areas and by a fifth in the Hetton and Easington Lane hub area."Dozens of community protection notices, warnings and acceptable behaviour agreements have also been issued across the three areas," a council spokesman council leader Michael Mordey urged people in the newly identified areas to get in touch about their ASB concerns."Residents have seen real benefits from these projects as the issues that matter to them most are tackled," Mordey added. Each hub will have its own community officers, safety specialists and dedicated police support. Follow BBC Sunderland on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
Metro
04-07-2025
- Sport
- Metro
Inside the UK's new 200-seater 'ambitious' gaming and esports arena
A new flagship gaming and Esports arena is set to open next year. Multi-million pound funding has been secured for the 15,000 square foot arena in Sunderland and will be Europe's first-of-its-kind 5G facility. The 200-seat arena will be built alongside the city's famous Stadium of Light, the home of the Premier League football team. Work will begin as soon as September and will open in 2026. Its main function will be to support competitive video game players in tournaments like the Esports World Cups and Olympic Esports Games. Athletes will be able to practice under tournament conditions, replicating the conditions of a live esports competition. The arena will also play host to students and future talent, which will help train them for school and college tournaments. The Gaming and Esports Arena will also play host to live music events, esports community events and national competitions. The city already has links to esports with the National Esports Performance Campus (NEPC) opened in the city in 2023. It has hosted an array of esports teams, including Esports World Cup winners Team Falcons, national Great Britain teams in NBA 2K and Rocket League. Adam Payne OBE, chair of British Esports, said the new arena would be 'our St George's Park for esports' that will 'help train the next generation of esports talent'. More Trending He added: 'The flexibility of the arena will be what makes it a sustainable facility that drives value back to British Esports, so that we can do more work for our community.' Councillor Michael Mordey hailed the development as 'one of the most ambitious regeneration schemes in the UK right now.' He said: 'It is a game-changing development which will cement Sunderland's reputation as the home of esports in the UK.' Mordey added that it would be a boost to the economy by creating high-skilled jobs for local people and attracting visitors from across the globe. Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page.
