New plans submitted for The Botanist at Sunderland's Keel Square as chain prepares for Autumn 2023 opening

Sunderland City Council’s planning department has received an application for one of the four units below the Holiday Inn hotel at Keel Square.

Last year popular chain The Botanist, which has sites in Newcastle, York, Manchester and more, announced it was planning to open a Sunderland base.

Several planning applications have been approved since to make the Holiday Inn unit ready for The Botanist, including an outdoor seating area and “modest PA system playing background music at low levels”.

A separate planning application also saw permission granted for the venue to open until 2am on all days, including Bank Holidays.

According to its website, The Botanist restaurant and bar is expected to open in Sunderland in Autumn, 2023, with works currently under way at the site.

A new planning application submitted to council officials this month is now seeking permission for further physical changes to the hotel unit.

Proposed plans include replacing one set of French doors with a “full length bi-folding door surmounted by glazing panels”.

A cover letter submitted to council officials states the site is “currently in the middle of its fit out” with new plans aiming to “better accommodate The Botanist’s operational needs”.

Applicants added the plans would “enhance the curb appeal for pedestrians passing” and provide “improved views” for customers, as well as making it “easier for staff to serve patrons both inside and outside the unit”.

The covering letter states: “The proposed bi-folding doors would be a small change to the frontage and provide benefits to The Botanist’s operations, including improved interface with Keel Square, better experience for the patrons and improved ventilation.

“The Botanist is an important tenant to help bring in footfall to Keel Square and the wider city centre.

“The proposals would accord with the development and therefore should be approved without delay”.

Confirmed occupiers for the Holiday Inn business units so far include New World Trading Company, which will bring The Botanist to Keel Square.

The Vaulkhard Group, the group behind Barluga and The Bridge Tavern, is linked to another unit which will be called the Keel Tavern.

It is also understood that a third unit will be a bar, although a trader has not been announced yet, and that the fourth unit will be retail.

A decision on the new planning application for The Botanist is expected to be made once a period of council consultation has concluded.

Information on Sunderland City Council’s planning portal website suggests a decision will be made by the end of September, 2023.

For more information on the planning application or to track its progress, visit the council’s planning portal website and search reference: 23/01748/FU4