The sixth State of the City Debate was held this year on July 11 at Crowtree Leisure Centre.
Almost 200 people attended to hear a panel of key decision makers from across the city answering questions on some of the key issues facing the city and its future. In addition there were presentations by the Leader of the Council, Councillor Robert Symonds, who gave an overview of the past 12 months; Paul Callaghan, Chair of the Leighton Group, who presented a business perspective of the city; and a speech by Canon Stephen Taylor, Chair of the Sunderland Partnership, who detailed some of the key achievements of the Sunderland Partnership over the previous year and looked ahead in partnership to shape the city’s future.
For the first time members of the public were given the opportunity to submit their questions prior to and on the night of the event. This enabled questions to be answered which were more relevant to everyone rather than individual issues.
The panel answered almost 20 questions on the night on topics ranging from the role Sunderland will play in the 2012 Olympics, the Vaux site, and employment in the city, to anti-social behaviour, litter and dog fouling. Those people whose questions the panel did not have time to answer on the night can be viewed here.
For more information on the event visit:
http://www.sunderland.gov.uk/showFeature.asp?Feature=2