Big changes planned at Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens
Plans for “energy efficiency” works to help “decarbonise” Sunderland’s Museum and Winter Gardens have been submitted to city development chiefs.
Sunderland City Council has submitted an application to its own planning department for the Grade II-listed site near Mowbray Park.
Earlier this year (2025), major plans were revealed to “transform and rejuvenate the museum” with planned improvements to the electrical and mechanical systems and gallery spaces, as well as turning the main entrance of the museum into Mowbray Park, subject to a major funding bid.
The much-loved Winter Gardens houses more than 2,000 species of plants below its glazed dome, with a curving staircase leading up to its treetop walkway. It also features a pond with Koi Carp and an impressive water sculpture.
Council officers also confirmed that “public sector decarbonisation funding” had been “secured” to support the council in “some of the decarbonisation work that we have programmed in 2025”.
A new planning application for the Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens sets out what is planned, with the installation of 10 air source heat pumps and associated pipework on the roof, along with “associated thermal upgrades to the roof”.
Other proposed works, set out in a planning listing, include converting the existing café store into a “plant room” with a replacement fire door and to house air source heat pump controls within the existing staff kitchen with a “new partition and doors to segregate”.
Plans also include replacing light fittings and installing “wireless passive infrared sensors”, with the works aiming to provide energy efficient upgrades.
Sunderland City Council has submitted the listed building consent application to its own planning department with a range of supporting documents.
A design, access and heritage statement notes the works follow the council being “awarded a grant through the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme (PSDS) for Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens to fund heat decarbonisation and energy efficiency measures”.
The air source heat pumps are proposed to be located towards the centre of the museum’s flat roof, also referred to as the “1964 extension”, and the location aims to “minimise the impact on key views of the listed museum from Mowbray Park and to ensure they are safe to access for maintenance”.
It was also noted that the number of air source heat pumps had been “determined […] to provide the maximum decarbonisation to the heating system within the capacity of the existing electrical substation”.
Planning documents state that the energy efficiency and decarbonsiation improvements to the building will take place during 2025 and that the scheme has been designed to be delivered as a “standalone project”.
Those behind the scheme added the “area of roof where the new air source heat pumps are to be located will be insulated and the waterproofing system renewed as part of this project” and that the scheme has been “designed in such a way that the roof upgrades will not prevent the roof insulation and waterproofing of the wider roof from taking place as part of the later project”.
This includes future plans for the “wider refurbishment and redevelopment of the building”, which will be subject to a separate planning application, with plans for the “refurbishment of the internal areas, improvements to access and external areas, fabric repairs, creation of new gallery spaces and insulation of the roof to the 1960s building”.
The design, access and heritage statement adds: “There are clear benefits associated with the [air source heat pump] scheme, such as the wider environmental and public benefits of reducing CO2 emissions and retaining the comfort of users of the building.
“The proposal will allow the building to be better managed and maintained and continue in its use as a civic amenity within the city.
“Overall, it is considered that the proposed works will have a neutral impact on the significance of Sunderland Museum and Winter Garden and its setting.
“Adverse impact relates to views of the 1964 elevation from within Mowbray Park, which will be slightly altered with the installation of the air source heat pump units.
“However, negative impacts identified above have been partially mitigated by a thoughtful design process, and the substantial public benefits which will be derived from the project.”
A decision on the planning application is expected to be made once a period of council consultation has concluded.
Sunderland City Council’s planning portal website lists a decision deadline of April 7, 2025.
For more information on the planning application, or to track its progress, visit the council’s planning portal website and search reference: 25/00302/LB3