Next phase of Gentoo's major new Chester Gate housing estate in Pennywell edges closer

Sunderland City Council’s Planning and Highways Committee will discuss an application for land between Chester Road and Presthope Road in the Pennywell area.

Plans from Gentoo Group, submitted earlier this year (2025), are seeking permission for 294 affordable homes as part of the Chester Gate housing development.

A design and access statement from Gentoo states that ‘phase one’ of the development, at the south of the site, is under construction and that the remainder of land bounded by Portslade Road, Presthope Road, Prestbury Road and Chester Road, falls under the new planning application.

Proposals are expected to deliver a mix of two-bedroom, three-bedroom and four-bedroom homes, two-bedroom bungalows and two-bedroom apartments, to help “deliver economic growth” for the city.

Gentoo, in a previous statement, said the development would be fully affordable and low carbon, with homes available for rent and shared ownership, to help households get a foot on the property ladder.

New house types were also planned to incorporate energy efficient features such as air source heat pumps, solar PV panels, electric vehicle charging points and enhanced insulation.

During a council public consultation exercise on the plan, there was one objection on the grounds of “disturbance during the construction phase.”

Sunderland City Council’s planning department, in a report published ahead of a decision-making meeting next week, has recommended the housing plans for approval.

Council planners, in a committee report, said the plans were in a “sustainable accessible location” and would “contribute towards the policy for south Sunderland by providing regeneration and renewal at Pennywell”.

As part of the plans, noise mitigation measures were also proposed including “extract ventilation and acoustic window vents for the proposed dwelling houses to the south west of the site”.

Council planners added the plans would “integrate successfully with the dwelling houses currently under construction to the south east of the site and the surrounding context of two storey residential development”.

It was also noted that the development did “not accord” with some council planning policies over several issues, including the final proposed figure from applicants for an “off-site financial contribution towards education” and the “loss of category B and category C trees”.

However, council planners said the principle of the proposed development “would accord with the relevant policies within the development plan and the relevant material considerations (i.e. the City Plan and Low Carbon Framework)”.

The council committee report adds: “The detailed impacts of the proposed development (in terms of design, drainage, energy efficiency, green space, groundworks, health, highways and landscape) would also accord with the relevant policies within the development plan and there are not any material considerations which indicate a decision should be made otherwise”.

Updates on “detailed impacts for amenity and ecology” are expected to be presented to councillors on the Planning and Highways Committee next week, along with an update on the off-site education contribution linked to a Section 106 agreement, a legal process in planning which secures funds from developers to help mitigate the impacts of developments.

Joanne Gordon, homes and development director at Gentoo Group, previously said the firm is “committed to increasing the supply and accessibility of affordable housing by delivering high quality affordable homes in a range of tenures”.

The housing chief, speaking in January, 2025, also highlighted the national housing shortage and said there was a clear local need for affordable housing, with 30,000 people on Gentoo’s waiting list in Sunderland.

Gentoo said it aims to deliver more than 700 additional homes to the city by 2029 through its Affordable Homes Programme which, it said, would help tackle the shortage of affordable housing and help meet Sunderland City Council’s housing targets.

The submitted housing proposal for Pennywell includes a large area of open space within the centre of the site and footpaths have been incorporated to provide pedestrian access connecting to existing footpath links to residential areas and local amenities.

If approved, Gentoo said the plans would support job creation and spend in local shops and services, along with rental income which can be invested back into existing housing stock and support services for Gentoo customers and new council tax revenue which would be spent in Sunderland.

A decision on the housing scheme will be made by councillors on the Planning and Highways Committee at a meeting on Tuesday, April 29, at City Hall.

The meeting is scheduled to start at 5.30pm and will be open to the public.

For more information on the planning application, visit Sunderland City Council’s planning portal website and search reference: 25/00057/FUL