Sunderland’s smart city programme is delivering measurable economic, social and public-service benefits, with new research showing how long-term connectivity investment, civic leadership and trusted partnerships are turning digital ambition into real impact.
Sunderland has always had a clear north star when it comes to its smart city programme: no-one and no-where left behind. With that mindset underpinning the council’s work, Sunderland’s smart city programme is now producing measurable economic, social and public-service benefits. Full-fibre coverage has risen from 0.2 per cent in 2019 to 83 per cent, almost 200,000 residents have been supported through Digital Health Hubs, and better use of shared data has unlocked approximately £1.1m for schools and families. These are among the key findings of a new impact report that gives greater substance to The Times naming Sunderland the UK’s smartest city in 2024.
These outcomes are the result of a long-term civic vision, essential investment in connectivity and a partnership model designed to translate infrastructure into practical benefits. Sunderland City Council’s 20-year strategic partnership with Boldyn Networks has provided the continuity, expertise and shared focus needed to move beyond short-term pilots and build a programme that brings the city’s residents on a digital transformation journey.
The city’s progress formed the focus of a roundtable hosted by Sunderland City Council and Boldyn Networks at Boldyn’s London offices on 9 July. The event marked the publication of the Sunderland Smart City: Impact Report, produced by Public First in coordination with the city. It evaluates the economic and social effects of Sunderland’s digital transformation and considers what other places might learn from the decisions behind it.
From ambition to impact
Opening the roundtable, Scott Corfe of Public First presented findings that show how Sunderland has moved from ambition to tangible impact. The starting point, both for Sunderland’s smart city programme and the roundtable, was inadequate connectivity. Sunderland’s “network of networks” – combining full-fibre broadband, public Wi-Fi, private 5G and LoRaWAN – created the essential foundation for wider change. CityFibre’s £62m full-fibre investment and the 20-year Sunderland City Council–Boldyn Networks partnership gave the city both the infrastructure and long-term delivery model needed to build beyond isolated pilots.
The impact report shows that this foundation is now translating into outcomes across the economy, communities and public services. Broadband blackspots have fallen by more than 80 per cent since 2020, while close to 3,800 businesses can now access full-fibre or gigabit connectivity – which Public First estimates this could generate around £70m in productivity gains each year. The number of technology businesses in Sunderland has also risen from 108 in 2018 to more than 270 in 2025, while close to £110m in external investment has been secured since 2020.
The benefits extend well beyond economic growth. Sunderland’s 37 Digital Health Hubs have supported almost 200,000 residents in developing everyday digital skills, and more than 1,500 data-enabled SIM cards have been distributed through the National Databank.
Assistive technologies are supporting more than 6,900 people on the city’s adult social care caseload and could prevent around 50 hospital admissions resulting from falls each year. Better data sharing has also helped the council identify more than 670 additional pupils eligible for free school meals, unlocking approximately £1.1m for schools and families.
Operational improvements provide further evidence of how infrastructure is being converted into practical value. IoT deployments are saving more than 80 staff working days and at least 26,000 sheets of paper each year, while connected lifebuoy sensors have reduced the time equipment can remain missing by more than 80 per cent. Taken together, the findings show how the Sunderland-Boldyn partnership has helped the city move beyond installing networks to applying connectivity, data and digital tools to inclusion, economic development and more coordinated public services.
Impact at a glance
| 83% full fibre coverage by March 2026 |
80%+ reduction in broadband blackspots since 2020 |
£70m potential annual business productivity gains |
£110m external investment secured since 2020 |
| Almost 200,000 residents supported through Digital Health Hubs |
6,900+ people supported by assistive technology |
£1.1m unlocked for schools and families |
80+ days staff time saved annually through IoT |
Operational improvements provide further evidence of how infrastructure is being converted into practical value. IoT deployments are saving more than 80 staff working days and at least 26,000 sheets of paper each year, while connected lifebuoy sensors have reduced the time equipment can remain missing by more than 80 per cent. Taken together, the findings show how the Sunderland-Boldyn partnership has helped the city move beyond installing networks to applying connectivity, data and digital tools to inclusion, economic development and more coordinated public services.
Learning the right lessons
The discussion then turned to how other cities might reproduce that progress. The answer was not to replicate individual projects in isolation, but to understand the sequence of decisions that allowed them to reinforce one another.
That sequence begins with essential digital infrastructure and the confidence to invest over the long term. Paul Wakefield, City Manager at CityFibre, outlined how the company’s £62m full-fibre investment provided a core foundation for Sunderland’s wider transformation. Without that connectivity, many of the city’s data-led services, inclusion programmes and connected applications would not have been possible.
The differentiator, however, has been the way that foundation is combined with a partnership built around shared outcomes. Danny Kelly, Commercial Director for Public Sector & Next Generation Infrastructure at Boldyn Networks, explained that the programme’s most significant achievement was establishing a relationship in which organisations were valued for their particular expertise and worked towards common goals rather than through a conventional client-supplier model. The 20-year Sunderland–Boldyn partnership gives both sides the time and certainty needed to develop infrastructure and applications beyond short funding cycles.
Robin Denton, Director of Local Public Services at Microsoft UK, connected this model to Sunderland’s approach to data. The city’s willingness to take a long-term view, treat data as a strategic asset and involve specialist partners such as Makutu has helped turn large and fragmented datasets into dashboards and practical tools that support operational decisions.
Behind those partnerships sits a clear line of civic leadership. Barney Smith, Founder and CEO at Perform Green, highlighted the strength of the vision set by Sunderland City Council Chief Executive Patrick Melia and Smart Cities Director Liz St Louis. St Louis reports directly to Melia – an arrangement that remains unusual among UK local authorities and signals that digital transformation is viewed as a strategic pillar of the city’s development. This senior-level ownership provides the bridge between infrastructure investment, partnership activity and the economic, social and public-service outcomes the programme is expected to deliver.
The city has also recognised that advanced technology must be accompanied by deliberate action on digital exclusion. Katie Heard, Head of Research and Data Insights at Good Things Foundation, highlighted that around one in three Sunderland residents had either been offline or lacked the confidence to use digital tools effectively. The Digital Health Hubs were therefore placed in trusted community settings, while wider support has included devices, connectivity and skills. Good Things Foundation research indicates that every £1 invested in digital skills can generate £9.48 in returns.
The same progression – from infrastructure to data, and from data to skills and intervention – can be seen in public-sector reform. Stephen Aldridge, Director of Analysis and Data Directorate at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, drew attention to Sunderland’s data-sharing arrangements between the council, police, fire service and other agencies. Their shared incident dashboard provides a more complete view of activity across the city and creates the basis for anticipatory governance: identifying patterns, coordinating services and intervening before problems escalate.
As Anthony Breach, Director of Policy and Research at Centre for Cities, noted, this capability is becoming increasingly important as more responsibilities move towards cities and combined authorities. Places will need to demonstrate that they can manage complex, multi-year transformation programmes and use evidence to deliver outcomes. Sunderland’s experience provides an example of that institutional capacity in practice.
The replicable element of Sunderland’s journey is therefore not any single network, sensor or data platform. It is the chain connecting essential connectivity, senior leadership, trusted long-term partnerships, digital inclusion and public-service reform. The Times’ description of Sunderland as the UK’s smartest city is powerful external validation, but the impact report shows what sits behind that label: a partnership that has remained focused on turning digital infrastructure into outcomes for residents, businesses and public services.
For other cities, the clearest lesson lies in the Sunderland-Boldyn model itself. Long-term commitment has created space to invest, learn and scale, while shared outcomes have kept the programme anchored to local priorities. Cities may begin with different assets and challenges, but Sunderland demonstrates that lasting smart city value is created when public leadership and private-sector expertise are joined through a partnership capable of building the foundation and carrying the work through to impact.
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Autor(en)/Author(s): Luke Antoniou
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