New life for empty Sunderland job centre as 84 student studio flats with gym and lounge approved

Sunderland City Council’s Planning and Highways Committee, at a meeting this week, ruled on an application for 60-66 John Street in the city centre, opposite the former Joplings building.

Estate agent and property developer Ashbrookes recently opened a branch in part of the building’s ground floor and last year (2024), plans were submitted to develop the rest of the site. A sign on the building is currently advertising the luxury flats the developer is creating.

Proposals included re-purposing the existing building and extending it by a further two floors to offer 78 “single-occupancy student accommodation studios”.

Amended plans have since been submitted to the council increasing the number of single-occupancy student accommodation studios from 78 to 84, with plans also including “ancillary communal accommodation, cycle and refuse storage and servicing/parking.”

Planning documents noted changes to the development included increases in residential studios across the majority of floors and confirmed a communal gymnasium, lounge, bike store, and laundry area were still being proposed.

Sunderland City Council planning officers, in a report published ahead of a decision-making Planning and Highways Committee this week, recommended the plan for approval.

After being put to the vote at the Planning and Highways Committee at City Hall on Tuesday, April 29, 2025, the plans won unanimous approval.

Council planners noted the amended scheme had been welcomed by the council’s conservation team and would “offer high quality accommodation, including a communal lounge and gym”.

The council’s conservation officer said the proposed design would “sit comfortably” within the Sunniside Conservation Area and “within the setting of surrounding listed buildings”.

Council planners added the plans would meet a council policy which “wishes to encourage a greater concentration of living opportunities associated with a mixed-use development ethos for Sunniside”.

Although the council’s planning policy team noted the applicant’s agent had “not entirely demonstrated a need for the proposed student accommodation”, council planners said the general principle of development was acceptable.

Council planners also said the layout of the development would “appear capable of being reconfigured through internal alterations to meet general needs housing in the future”, subject to separate planning permission.

Several city councillors spoke on the plans at Tuesday’s decision-making Planning and Highways Committee at City Hall.

Councillor Michael Dixon noted concerns from the council’s planning policy team, referenced similar student housing uses near the John Street site and asked whether there were concerns that the plans represented a “slight overdevelopment for that use.”

Council planners, responding, said the council planning policy team’s comments had been noted but that other benefits had also been considered, including bringing the building back into use and the design having the support of the council’s conservation officer and Historic England.

They added that when considering all factors, the planning balance was in favour of approval.

Councillor Martyn Herron, welcoming the scheme, said: “This appears to be a very high quality proposal, it’s going to bring life back into a disused building in the very centre of the city and is going to bring more residents into the city centre.

“I think when you have a good residential offer for students, it puts pressure on other student rental providers to up their game and improve what they offer, so I don’t see any drawbacks with approving this.”

Cllr Michael Dixon, while questioning council officers on the need for the development and the level of consultation with the University of Sunderland, ultimately voted for the application.

“I’m very much in favour of this application,” he said.

“I think it’s another example of things happening in Sunniside, including bringing in houses mainly at the moment and hopefully businesses will follow, so it’s a positive move for the city I believe.”

The applicant was previously listed as Ashbrookes Design and Build Ltd and developers said the firm has “experience of large schemes and considers that the group living concept […] promotes a sense of community, shared ownership and successful bonding between the students”.

Those behind the scheme also confirmed the main pedestrian access to the student accommodation would be taken via John Street and that service vehicles, including refuse and new arrivals and departures, would gain entry via a service yard off St Thomas Street.

It was noted that the use of this area would be “strictly managed via a time-sensitive appointment”, especially at the start and end of academic years.

For more information on the plan and council decision, visit Sunderland City Council’s planning portal website and search reference: 23/02584/FUL