North View Terrace wine shop gets green light to become home

Sunderland City Council’s planning department has approved an application for 5 North View Terrace in the Houghton ward.

Plans submitted earlier this year sought permission for the change of use of a “ground floor shop unit and storage into a self-contained two-bedroom flat”.

The planning listing described the proposed site as ‘Chilton Wine Stores’ and supporting planning documents set out proposed works to the building.

Floor plans for the converted ground floor included a lounge area, kitchen/ dining area, a bathroom, and two bedrooms at the rear of the property.

A planning application submitted to council officials earlier this year added the site was not vacant and that no “work or change of use [had] already started”.

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Council planning documents also confirmed works would include “replacing the existing shopfront with domestic style double glazed windows and a domestic entrance door (alongside an existing which serves the upper floors) to facilitate exclusive access to the proposed flat”.

After considering the planning application and assessing it against planning policies, Sunderland City Council’s planning department approved it last month (November, 2024).

Council planners, in a published decision report, said the change of use was acceptable and that the site was in a “sustainable location” and would “make a minor contribution to the delivery of residential accommodation”.

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It was also noted that the “addition of the front door, smaller windows and render” would not appear as an “incongruous addition to the property or wider street scene of this section of North View Terrace”.

The council decision report adds: “It is considered the principle of changing the ground floor to a flat is acceptable.

“The proposal would cause no harm to the visual amenity of the street scene or host property and is unlikely to cause significant harm to the amenity of existing residential occupiers in the locality, given the prevailing mix of residential and commercial accommodation in the area.

“The prospective occupiers are also considered to be afforded an adequate level of amenity, whilst the proposal would not be considered to impact negatively on highway or pedestrian safety, ecology, or in relation to contaminated land.”

For more information on the planning application or council decision, visit Sunderland City Council’s planning portal website and search reference: 24/01718/FUL