Patrick Melia

Patrick is driven by a desire to ensure the delivery of high-quality services that enable residents to access opportunities and live healthy, happy and independently economic lives, safely in their communities.

He is committed to leading a significant change programme within the City Council to make Sunderland a great place for residents to live, business to thrive and for visitors to enjoy, and understands that strong partnerships across the public, business and voluntary and community sectors, with everyone working to a common goal, are fundamental to this.

Patrick’s priorities for Sunderland include the major physical regeneration of the City Centre, with plans well underway including the Riverside Sunderland development. To date, over £100m of investment by L&G in new office accommodation has been secured, with the employment zone set to create 10,000 jobs. Plans also include the creation of over 1,000 state of the art homes in new communities and the development of a vibrant, City Centre leisure offer.

He is also leading a significant, multi-million pound seafront regeneration programme comprising hotel, leisure and housing developments with the creation of 400 new homes. And he is driving the International Advanced Manufacturing Park and Hillthorn Park developments next to the Nissan UK plant, well on course to secure a combined £500m of private sector investment, creating 8,500 jobs.

Under Patrick’s leadership, Sunderland is establishing itself as a renowned Smart City at the forefront of the global, digital revolution. He recognises this as being fundamental to the city’s continued social and economic regeneration and competitiveness and having introduced the UK’s first 5G ready wi-fi network in 2019, 2020 saw Sunderland named the Smart City of the Year in the Digital Leaders 100 List.

With the North East region and its people facing challenges in the context of Brexit and recovery from Covid-19, Patrick is co-chair of the Regional Coordination Group, leading on ambitious plans to contribute to the Government’s levelling-up agenda, creating skills and employment opportunities for residents.

Patrick is currently Head of Paid Service for the North East Combined Authority. Formerly the Chief Executive of North Tyneside Council, he led the transformation of Enterprise Zone land at Swans into a hub for the offshore, renewable energy and advanced engineering sectors, and the North Tyneside Seafront Master Plan, including significant investment to the coastal area, ultimately bringing the much loved, iconic Spanish City back to life.

Patrick, who secured a Masters in Business Administration at Durham University’s Business School has previously held roles at Board-level in Police, Probation and the Health Sector and contributes to a range of national-level initiatives and partnerships.