Plans refused for 'overdominant' shop extension over design and highway safety fears

A convenience store’s bid to extend its premises has been refused, after being labelled “overdominant” by council development chiefs.

Sunderland City Council’s planning department has rejected an application for the Fulwell News and Off-Licence.

The business sits on a corner plot on the junction of Fulwell Road and Atkinson Road, within the city’s Fulwell ward.

Back in December, 2023, plans were submitted seeking permission for a two-storey rear extension and to change the use of the building’s first floor to a flat.

The proposals aimed to extend the current off-licence convenience shop at ground floor level, while also facilitating a two-bedroom first-floor dwelling with a bathroom and an open-plan kitchen and living area.

During the application process, amended plans were submitted to make provision for a one off-street parking space to serve the proposed first-floor accommodation.

Ancillary works also included demolishing an existing adjoining outbuilding at the site, as well as relocating a staircase to the rear of the building and changes to windows.

During a council consultation exercise on the plans, no objections were made by members of the public.

After considering the application and assessing it against planning policies, however, Sunderland City Council planning officers refused it on February 12, 2024.

The main reasons for refusal included the development’s design, scale, massing and position being “detrimental to the visual amenities of the locality and host property”.

It was argued that the development would be an “unsympathetic addition to the subject property and a highly conspicuous and overdominant form of development within the context of the street scene”.

Other reasons for refusal included “overdominance and overshadowing” impacts on a neighbouring property, as a result of a “domineering two-storey wall”, and the development being “unable to demonstrate that it can preserve highway safety”.

This included concerns that there was “not sufficient in-curtilage turning space to permit vehicles to exit the site in a forward gear”.

A council decision report also concluded that there were “discrepancies” with the plans around elevations and other details.

The council decision report added: “Notwithstanding these discrepancies and the absence of amended plans to reflect the true proportions, there has been sufficient scope and information by which to assess and, ultimately, determine the application.

“To that end, for the reasons set out above, it is considered that the proposed development would have a harmful visual impact on the application dwelling and the immediate and wider street scene; have a harmful impact on the residential amenities of the occupiers of 3 Atkinson Road; and be unable to achieve an acceptability in terms of highway safety, in not satisfactorily demonstrating that there is sufficient in-curtilage turning space to permit egress in a forward gear”.

The applicant has the right to challenge the council’s refusal decision by lodging an appeal with the Secretary of State.

For more information on the plan or council decision, visit Sunderland City Council’s planning portal website and search reference: 23/02504/FUL