New plans approved to transform former Sunderland social club
A former social club building which is said to have “deteriorated significantly” in Sunderland is to be turned into a combination of new shops and flats.
Sunderland City Council’s planning department has approved an application for the former Ryhope Working Men’s Club premises, in Ryhope Street, known locally as Ryhope Top Club.
The club had been open for more than a century but closed in summer last year following dwindling numbers.
The plot was therefore put on the market and plans were submitted by BJL Property Services to convert the site into four ground floor retail units with five residential apartments above.
Those behind the scheme noted the building had “deteriorated significantly” and that the application represented a “sustainable reuse” of the vacant site, with new retail units having a traditional shopfront design.
During the planning process, the application was amended following concerns about the impact in a “former stewards’ premises” to the rear.
The final scheme approved by planners on April 30 is for four ground floor retail units, four two-bed apartments and one studio apartment.
A supporting statement from the applicant said the cost of refurbishing the property so that it could reopen as a public house, club, or community venue were “economically prohibitive” and that Ryhope was already served by pubs, social venues and community meeting spaces.
Council planners deemed the residential use acceptable and raised no concerns about ecology or highway and pedestrian safety.
They heard that five parking spaces are planned to serve the new development.