Apartments plan approved for former Sunderland bar and Indian restaurant which city planners claim will boost Sunniside Conservation Area

Last year, Sunderland City Council’s (SCC) planning department received a planning application for John Street.

Applicant Sundridge Properties Ltd requested permission to convert the building from a bar and restaurant use to five self-contained apartments.

According to plans, the building was previously used as a bar, then an Indian restaurant which closed in late 2012.

The latest proposals hope to “meet demand for apartments within the city centre”, providing single and two-bedroom apartments with en-suite bathrooms.

SCC’s planning department approved the scheme earlier this month.

A report on the decision called the scheme “acceptable in principle and is unlikely to have any unacceptable adverse impacts”.

It added: “The proposed accommodation would see each flat having habitable rooms of a reasonable size and most are afforded good levels of outlook and daylight.

“Whilst the kitchen to the basement flat will receive indirect light, and the bedrooms of one flat on the ground floor will receive light from a light well, the latter windows will be floor length and the windows should still offer a sufficient level of natural light; the Public Health team have offered no objection to the proposed layout.”

Proposals submitted to the council in 2021 said the scheme would “improve the existing building and safeguard its future” and have a “positive impact on the feel of the [Sunniside] Conservation Area and would have no detrimental impact to the surrounding listed buildings or wider conservation area.”

For more information, visit the council’s planning portal and search reference: 21/01651/FUL

Support your Echo and become a subscriber today.

Enjoy unlimited access to all of our news and sport, see fewer ads, experience faster load times, test your brain with daily puzzles and get access to exclusive newsletters.

Your support for our journalism means we can continue telling Sunderland’s stories for generations to come. Click here to subscribe - and click here to get a snapshot of the Echo’s news and sport to your inbox through our email newsletters.