End of an era as University of Sunderland's North Shore student union and nightclub to be demolished

The local authority’s planning department has approved plans from the University of Sunderland to bulldoze the long-vacant North Shore building at Charles Street, which sits within the university’s St Peter’s Campus.

The building was once a thriving hub of university life as a students’ union and nightclub, and also hosted major music acts over the years, however it has sat empty for almost a decade.

In recent months, university bosses applied for planning permission to level the site to help “enable future development opportunities”, with “partial demolition” proposed.

Submitted plans showed the main North Shore building, which includes a theatre space, stage, bar, games room and diner, proposed for demolition, with the adjacent Wearbank House building to the west set to be retained.

A planning statement submitted with the demolition bid noted the University of Sunderland’s Student Union held a lease on the building until 2016, and the building has “remained vacant since” and has been “occasionally used for storage”.

Those behind plans for the site said that following demolition, the land would be “graded to seamlessly blend with the existing levels and will be grassed over”.

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Applicants added the demolition of the North Shore building would not have any “significant impact on the heritage assets in the vicinity”, including the Grade I-listed Church of St Peter.

After considering the demolition application, Sunderland City Council’s planning department approved it on June 6, 2025.

Council planners, in a decision report, said the demolition was acceptable in principle and that “the proposal would not have a detrimental impact on the character and setting of the adjacent listed buildings or on archaeological heritage assets”.

It was noted that “the potential for any archaeological remains is likely to be low […] on the basis that there has been extensive development and demolition on the site prior to the construction of the North Shore building”.

The council decision report added: “The principle of utilising the site for the development is considered to be acceptable.

“The proposed design and associated landscaping of the commercial development is considered to be good quality, the size, scale, and massing is considered acceptable and would not have a detrimental impact on the character of the site or the locality.

“The proposal would not have a detrimental impact on the character and setting of the adjacent listed buildings, on archaeological heritage assets or on highway and pedestrian safety.”

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A planning statement submitted by the University of Sunderland earlier this year (2025) said the building “no longer serves its original function” and that demolition would “help enable future development opportunities that contribute to the long-term regeneration of this location.”

The university also published an article and pictures on its website of Wearside’s thriving nightclub scene of the 1990s and early noughties and noted the building was initially home to Manor Quay Club, before becoming Campus and finally North Shore.

In a previous statement in April, 2025, a spokesman for the University of Sunderland said the building “has not been required by staff or students for nine years”.

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He added: “There are no plans for a replacement building on the site at the present time.”

The plan for the North Shore building follows several recent applications from the University of Sunderland to demolish ageing buildings across its campuses.

This included the Design Centre at Hind Street in the city centre and more recently, the Forster Building off Chester Road, with demolition works completed at both sites.

A council decision notice linked to the North Shore building states demolition must take place within three years.

For more information on the North Shore demolition plan, visit Sunderland City Council’s planning portal website and search reference: 25/00581/FUL