The north east builder will now design and build the Housing Innovation and Construction Skills Academy, which will upskill local people to deliver factory-built new homes, the first of which will be assembled at Riverside Sunderland.

Planning consent for the academy was granted in March and it is hoped that work will now be able to commence on the £15m project later this year when the technical design is complete.

The facility will be operated by Sunderland College with support from education and industry partners including one of the founding partners, the Ministry of Building Innovation and Education (MOBIE), which is led by Washington-born TV architect, George Clark.

It will form a key part of Sunderland’s ambitious city centre housing ecosystem, enabling Sunderland people to meet the city’s future housing needs, with the skill and expertise to employ modern methods of construction.