Having, with a colleague at KKP, worked closely with Sunderland City Council to bring the project to fruition, I had the pleasure of attending the opening of the Sunderland Aquatics Centre on April 17 this year.

In an opening ceremony that effectively balanced showcasing what is a truly impressive landmark facility for the City with some genuine and quintessential local touches the City Council stressed its intention to ensure that the facility really does cater for the full spectrum of users. Even the weather complied by, during the ‘son et lumiere' light show outside the facility, raining consistently to demonstrate how this is collected to fill up the pool!

The tributes made, from the top of the 5m diving board, were laced with references to the regeneration of the City and the desire, while raising its national profile and image, to continue to provide quality, accessible services for residents.

The Aquatics Centre is just one of a series of facility developments across the six regeneration framework areas of the City that are resulting from implementation of the strategy upon which KKP worked with the Council. It is also investing in play and urban games, again an areas of strategic planning in which we were involved, and it is highly motivating to witness the way in which it is putting strategy into practice - in local communities.

While Sunderland has, and continues to face specific problems, it has placed sport (and wider cultural provision) at the heart of the process of regeneration. This is in our, admittedly biased, view, working thus far. The true long-term test will be the extent to which its development and intervention programmes, leisure card and pricing systems and performance assessment ensure that City communities gain full benefit.

John Eady, Chief Executive (john.eady@kkp.co.uk)

For more details on KKP's involvement in this project, view our case study