Developers pull plans for new Sunderland city centre flats as objectors hit out for obvious reasons

Sunderland City Council’s planning department has been considering an application for space above a vacant commercial unit at 11 Vine Place after plans were submitted over the summer.

The large building sits adjacent to the late-night venue Ttonic and opposite a number of other bars in a busy area of the city’s night-time economy.

An application submitted to council officials earlier this year (2025) sought “prior approval” to convert the building’s upper floors into two residential flats which could house up to seven people.

This included a one-bed, two-person flat on the first floor with a living and dining area, kitchen and bathroom and a three-bedroom, five-person duplex flat proposed across the building’s second and third floors with a kitchen, bathroom and guest bathroom.

A design and access statement submitted on behalf of applicant Rock Property Developments Ltd maintained the development would be a “very suitable change in the long term” and said there was a “strong demand for housing in this location due to easy access to transport, amenities and a vibrant town centre location”.

It was also noted that the proposed change of use to residential “can be a good change in the long term as it not only prevents a vacant building from deteriorating further but also establishes a new use that is compatible with the wider context.”

A decision notice published on Sunderland City Council’s planning portal website this week confirms the plans were officially withdrawn on September 24, 2025, following a request from the applicant’s agent.

Although a delegated decision report from the council makes no reference to the developer’s reasons for withdrawing the plan, information on the council’s planning portal website confirms the scheme was opposed by council officers and adjacent bar Ttonic.

A consultation statement from the council’s environmental health department said council officers had “considered the submitted documentation and the potential impact from the existing environment to the proposed development”.

It was concluded that the “application site appears to be incompatible with residential use, and it is recommended that the application is refused”.

The consultation statement cited several reasons for this “incompatibility”, including the site being adjacent to licensed premises Ttonic, which “operates Monday to Sunday from noon until 03:00”.

It was noted that “it is typical for loud amplified music to be played within the venue [with] noise from loud music, including low level bass tones played each night until 3am [which] will detrimentally impact the future occupiers of the proposed flats”.

The “terrace nature of the application site and adjoined bar” was raised as a concern with the consultation statement noting “loud music and low bass tone will pass through the party wall and into the proposed flats”, along with “amplified music and revelry noise” impacts from Ttonic’s “large external beer garden area”.

The consultation statement added: “Loud music will be present seven nights a week, residents will have no respite from this noise.

“Noise from the other nearby licensed premises on Vine Place and the street will impact potential occupiers.

“Such street noise will include taxis/vehicles drop offs/collections, queueing customers, smoking or congregating outside of the adjoined bar, almost immediately below the application site’s front facing windows.

“During a visit to the site 16 large commercial waste receptacles were noted to be present in the rear lane close to the site.

“The filling of these bins by bar staff late at night, and the emptying of such bins (including glass bottle bins) during early morning hours would generate loud noise events which would be readily audible within the proposed flats.

“A significant amount of mechanical plant (condensing units and HVAC) was noted to be affixed to the rear of the adjoining properties, and directly to the rear of the application site.

“Fan noise associated from this plant during quieter nighttime hours would also impact any residential occupiers of the application site.”

During a council public consultation exercise on the plans, one objection was submitted by the director of Ttonic Limited raising concerns that “introducing new residential (including potential HMO use) right next to an established late-night venue risks reverse-sensitivity complaints about music and late-night dispersal noise”.

It was noted that “under the agent of change principle, where new homes are proposed beside an existing venue, it is for the applicant to design and mitigate so that our lawful operation is not unreasonably restricted”.

The objector from Ttonic also requested that the council refuse the plans “unless a venue-specific acoustic assessment (including music/low-frequency bass) demonstrates that internal noise targets […] can be achieved with windows closed and mechanical ventilation provided.”

The council’s environmental health team, in a consultation statement, said that should noise complaints be made by future residents to the local authority, the council “would have a duty to investigate such complaints and would expect the relevant businesses (likely Ttonic bar) to take action to address the issues”.

The council consultation statement agreed with Ttonic bosses that the ‘agent of change’ principle applies and that “allowing residential use at the application site would restrict the activities of the existing surrounding businesses”.

Council environmental health officers added that “a visit to the area confirmed that there appears to be no other residential dwellings in proximity to the application site.”

A number of applications for flats in upper floor city centre spaces have come forward in recent years, including at nearby locations in Derwent Street, Olive Street and Stockton Road, with the majority of applications approved by council planning chiefs.

However, there have also been planning refusals for similar residential schemes, including a bid for flats above a hot food takeaway in Holmeside, near music venue Independent, which was refused by the council then dismissed at appeal by a Government-appointed planning inspector.

For more information on the withdrawal decision for 11 Vine Place, visit Sunderland City Council’s planning portal website and search reference: 25/01142/PMC

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