Homeless accommodation plans for former Sunderland club will 'not proceed'

Proposals to convert the former Thorney Close Working Men's Club will not go ahead.

Last July the Echo reported Sunderland City Council could, subject to approval, have converted the derelict Thorndale Road building into 22 apartments for people who are “homeless or threatened with homelessness and have complex needs”.

Nearby residents feared it might become a half-way house; although a council notice there also stated: “This is supported accommodation and will not be used as approved premises (i.e. this will not be a bail hostel).”

Documents for the January 18 council cabinet meeting now reveal the proposals “will no longer proceed.”

The council says new ownership has "been secured for the site". It has not yet been revealed who the owners are.

Cllr Kevin Johnston, dynamic city cabinet member at Sunderland City Council, said: “As with any public house, planning protections are in place to ensure that - should there be investors willing to take community assets like this forward – there is a window of opportunity to do so.

"With a new owner having been secured for the site, the building is no longer being considered for conversion.

"However, supported accommodation remains a vital and under-supplied element of the city’s housing mix, and we will continue to look at suitable options to ensure our most vulnerable residents are able to access good quality accommodation with support that meets their specific needs.”

Lib Dem Cllr Paul Edgeworth represents the Sandhill area and the building is in his ward. He hopes it will become a pub once more.

He said: “People in Thorney Close will be breathing a sigh of relief to see that the council aren’t going ahead with their plans to convert the last pub on the estate into hostel accommodation.

“This community asset has been at the heart of the estate for decades and local people were determined to see it kept as a pub or as another community use.

“Hopefully a new owner keeping the site a pub will be an end to this saga. A big thank you to everyone in our community who worked so hard to oppose council bosses going behind the backs of local people to impose an unwanted development on the estate.

"I look forward to sharing a pint with residents in the near future to celebrate the re-opening of a pub in Thorney Close.”