D-Day nears in bid to transform 'eyesore' former Sunderland social club site into apartments

Sunderland City Council’s planning and highways committee will discuss plans for the derelict Ivy Leaf Social Club, in Suffolk Street, Hendon.

Councillors originally approved plans to revive the building as apartments back in 2021, and decision-makers at the time said the flats were welcome after years of trouble at the site ranging from deliberate fire-setting to fly-tipping.

A scheme for 20 apartments was originally proposed but later scaled back to 13 apartments before being approved.

Yet the conversion never happened and planning permission has expired.

New plans submitted last year proposed the conversion of the social club site to 21 apartments, including the construction of a second floor extension and new windows and render to external walls.

A “community use statement” also submitted to the council said the social club site had been vacant since 2016 and was “falling into disrepair after a fire engulfed the property in September 2019”.

It added that the site had been marketed for its current use or an “alternative community use” and that there had been opportunities for local community groups to “take ownership of the site.”

A design and access statement also noted the apartments scheme would “remove a derelict unused building which is becoming an eyesore to the community.”

During the planning process, the applicant reduced the number of proposed apartments from 21 to 16 and a decision was due at a Planning and Highways Committee in February, 2026.

However, councillors agreed by a majority to defer the decision following a proposal from councillor Martin Haswell to “secure some improvements” to the internal layout to address “access to natural light concerns.”

Council planners, in a report published ahead of a decision-making meeting next week, have recommended the scheme for approval.

The committee report notes the applicant has “submitted amended plans, which show that each main room would receive natural light.”

The council’s planning and highways committee will vote on the plans at a meeting at City Hall on March 30.

The meeting starts at 4.30pm and will be open to the public.

For more information on the plan, visit Sunderland City Council’s planning portal website and search reference: 25/00444/FUL