Doxford International Business Park

Doxford International is a 125-acre (51 ha) business park located at the A19 / A690 interchange on the outskirts of Sunderland, in the North East of England. Previously it was a greenfield site, it was designated as an Enterprise Zone in 1990 in response to the decline of the area's former ship building and coal mining industries. A partnership between Sunderland City Council and Goodman Property (formerly Akeler Developments Ltd.) has seen the creation of 1,350,000 sq ft (125,000 m2) of high-specification offices, with the private sector partner investing around £200 million. The first buildings were completed in 1992, providing accommodation for a range of businesses that have played a key role in the regeneration of the City. At the entrance to the development stands the sculpture Quintisection by the sculptor Robert Erskine FRSS. Standing 26 ft in height (7.9 m) and 14.5 ft wide (4.4 m), it is made in wrought stainless steel, and is based upon a huge cross-section of an ocean liner. Commissioned by Doxford International Business Park, Quintesection is a sculpture to mark the shipbuilding industry of the North East. The availability of telecommunications and a skilled workforce has been instrumental in the success of Doxford International, which is now a location for corporate HQs and contact centres serving the financial and customer service sectors. Around 8,000 people are now employed by a range of blue chip companies. One business that located on Doxford International is mobile phone operator EE Limited, which has a customer support centre that now employs around 1,000 people. The site operates as a switching centre, underpinning the company's network between Leeds and Edinburgh. Also on Doxford International, EDS has established a secure data centre. Citifinancial – part of the US-based CitiGroup – was one of the businesses that has reinvested in Doxford International, with an expansion project that brought additional jobs to Sunderland. CitiGroup no longer have a presence at Doxford, leaving the site in 2009. EDF Energy has based its main contact centre at Doxford, originally trading at the site as London Electricity. As well as small retail outlets such as Greggs the bakers and a Subway outlet, the Sunderland Health & Racquet Club operated by David Lloyd Leisure provides leisure facilities.

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Doxford Park

Doxford Park (known locally as Doxy Park) is a suburb of Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, located to the south-west of the city centre. Once part of the historical township of Silksworth in the Middle Ages, Doxford Park consisted of agrarian land and a manor before being constructed into a modern housing estate in the 1960s. Surrounded by the A19, the suburb now houses one of the city's largest business districts, the Doxford International Business Park.

Herrington

Herrington is an area in the south of Sunderland, in Tyne and Wear, England, historically in County Durham. The Herringtons are split into East & Middle and West and New villages. East and Middle Herrington is now a largely residential area just off the A690. West and New Herrington are across the A19 road from East and Middle Herrington near Doxford International Business Park. In Herrington is a small burn named Herrington Burn, which is a tributary of the Lumley Park Burn, which itself is a tributary of the River Wear.

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Farringdon Community Academy

Farringdon Community Academy is a co-educational secondary school with academy status, located in the suburb of Farringdon in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, England. The school was built along with the estate of Farringdon in 1956. The school has undergone a number of changes, including the construction of new blocks of classrooms and a sports hall. It currently has 885 students. It once acted as the main secondary school for the suburbs of Farringdon, Doxford Park, Silksworth and East Herrington. Its catchment area was reduced in 2003 following the completion of The Venerable Bede Church of England School in Tunstall. In 2002, the school became the site of the Farringdon Jubilee Centre, a community centre for the residents of Farringdon partly funded by the school. The building includes facilities such as training rooms, computers and a crèche. It offers training and courses to local residents and is a meeting point for local residents and community groups. It hosts a regular community day four times a year, hosting the army, the RAF and many other organisations there. Following the Education Act (2002), Farringdon became a specialist Sports College, which had always been a focus of the school in the past. Formally, it became known as a Farringdon Community Sports College. As a result, floodlit tennis courts and a pavilion with a dance studio and a large multi-gym have been built. The school converted to academy status on 1 July 2013 and was renamed Farringdon Community Academy. In 2018 the headteacher, Mr H. Kemp, retired and a new headteacher, Mr N. Holder, joined the school. In September 2023 Farringdon Community Academy joined the Northern Education Trust.

Farringdon, Sunderland

Farringdon is a suburb of Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, England. Originally a Monastic grange and manor estate for hundreds of years, Farringdon was rebuilt as a post-war council housing estate in the 1950s. It is approximately 3 mi (4.8 km) south of the city centre along the A690, close to Thorney Close, Silksworth, East Herrington, Gilley Law and Doxford Park. Electorally, the area comes under the St. Chad's ward of the City.