Housing plans submitted for former Legends club in Washington

Plans to bulldoze a former Washington social club and bar to make way for housing have been submitted to city development chiefs.

Sunderland City Council’s planning department has received an application for the former ‘Legends Club’ building and car park in the Concord area.

The site sits off Tyne Gardens and is understood to have been vacant for several years.

New plans aim to demolish the building and redevelop the site and associated car park to provide around seven homes.

This includes ‘two sets of two semi-detached properties’ with attached single garages on the former club site, and a “terrace of three residential properties” with garages on the car park opposite.

Plans have been submitted by Quotient Developments Ltd along with a range of documents providing details of the building’s past and plans for its future.

A supporting applicant statement notes the building was originally linked to the Royal British Legion with a Washington branch operating from the site from the 1970s until the mid-2000s.

In subsequent years, a number of companies were linked to the site before current owners acquired the site’s freehold in 2017, planning documents state.

Despite a number of tenants being involved with the building since, applicants said the site has sat empty since 2020, as well as suffering from storm and water damage leading to most fixtures and fittings being stripped out.

Those behind housing plans said there had been “four failed attempts to operate the business successfully as a leisure facility” and referenced “fierce competition” between pubs in the area.

A supporting statement added the building is in a semi-derelict state and would need a “substantial amount of investment” to “maintain it as a bar, let alone as a profitable bar”.

Developers confirmed they were aiming to “make the best use of the site in a way that would least impact the nearby residents and best improve the local aesthetics”.

It was also noted that the building had been blighted by trespassers, vandalism and graffiti and that housing for the site would be “the most likely for longevity, success, and local support”.

The supporting statement added: “It is our view that the ‘legends’ building is beyond reasonable repair and stands only as an eyesore that blights the adjacent homes in this built-up area.

“It is dated in its structure and is not fit for its current purpose.

“Demolishing the building and replacing it with modern more affordable housing is in our opinion the best option for the future”.

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 January 19, 2024.

For more information on the planning application or to track its progress, visit the council’s planning portal website and search reference: 23/01473/FUL