Banana Moon Day Nursery unveils plans to bolster capacity as planning saga takes new twist

Sunderland City Council’s planning department has received a new planning application for Rowlandson House at 1-2 Rowlandson Terrace in the Hendon ward.

The property, which sits on the signalised junction of Ryhope Road and Villette Road, was previously used as a care home but sat vacant for a number of years.

Sunderland City Council’s Planning and Highways Committee at a meeting on August 1, 2022, voted unanimously to approve plans for Rowlandson House, marking the end of a three-year planning saga.

Applicants had previously faced opposition from councillors and members of the public over noise and parking issues at the site.

On separate occasions, in 2019 and 2021, councillors on relevant planning committees voted against the recommendations of council officers and refused planning applications for the site.

In both cases, the plans were taken to appeal and Government-appointed planning inspectors upheld the council’s refusal decisions.

However, when the application returned to Sunderland City Council’s Planning and Highways Committee on August 1, 2022, councillors voted unanimously to approve plans for the children’s day nursery at the site.

Councillors heard the applicant had amended the scheme following a previous appeal judgement and discussions with council officers.

A key condition included extending pedestrian barriers at the signalised junction of Ryhope Road and Villette Road to prevent customers dropping off and picking up “in the vicinity of this junction”.

In addition, it was ruled that the facility would be “limited to 50 children at any time in the interest of highway safety.”

The site has been operating for some time as the Banana Moon Day Nursery since plans were approved back in 2022.

A new planning application submitted to council officials is now seeking to “vary” conditions to increase the limit of children at the nursery “at any time” from 50 to 75 and to remove a previous condition around “pedestrian barriers” as applicants deemed it “no longer necessary.”

An application form submitted to council officials sets out the reasons for the request.

It notes that the “property is plenty large enough in itself to accommodate more children and a survey of transport modes show that the vast majority of children are walked to and from the nursery”.

The applicant argued that the “condition was only attached due to purported fears regarding car parking and highways safety” and that “it is understood that there have been no recorded conflicts, accidents or issues with car parking around the site since it became operational”.

The planning application adds: “In light of the fact that c25 per cent of parents use a car at present, the requested extension of 25 more children can be predicted to create only 10 more vehicle trips per day […] which the existing situation can more than accommodate with regards road capacity and car parking availability – especially as this is not a school, so there is a much wider window with regards to times of arrival when attending the premises.

“The expansion of this operation is a good thing as it provides more space for existing and new families at this site and will support employment, economic activity and associated servicing businesses.

“The proposal should be regarded as sustainable, as within settlement, and proximate to many bus routes […] all within a residential area which is exactly where this sort of facility should be located.”

A decision on the planning application is expected later this year following a council consultation exercise.

For more information on the plan, or to track its progress, visit Sunderland City Council’s planning portal website and search reference: 25/02142/VAR

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