Doxford International Business Park
Coordinates: 54°51′50″N 1°26′06″W / 54.864°N 1.435°W
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 award-winning sculpture Quintisection by the sculptor Robert Erskine FRBS. 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, Quintisection was awarded by the Royal British Society of Sculptors the Sir Otto Beit Award for the most outstanding public sculpture, worldwide, for the year 1993/94.Quintesection is the first landmark sculpture to mark the shipbuilding industry of the North East, a region whose communities are famous for 700 years of shipbuilding.
The availability of telecommunications and a skilled workforce has been instrumental in the success of Doxford International, which is now one of the UK's main locations 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.
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