Plans approved for Sunderland city centre apartments in Fawcett Street

This week, Sunderland City Council’s Planning and Highways Committee discussed plans for a property on 59 Fawcett Street.

The scheme aimed to convert the upper floors and roof space to create residential apartments as well as a rear extension.

During the planning process, the proposals were revised resulting in the removal of a single unit and amendments to the physical appearance of the rear roof.

The final scheme proposing 13 apartments won unanimous support from councillors at a planning meeting at City Hall on Monday, June 13.

This will see 10 apartments accommodated within the confines of the existing upper floors, with a further three apartments proposed within a new third-floor extension.

According to planning documents, the housing mix will be 11 one-bedroom apartments and two two-bedroom apartments with integrated living rooms and kitchens.

The ground floor, formerly occupied by company PerfectHome, will also be “substantially retained for retail purposes”, a planning report confirms.

But the report also adds that a “limited section [of the ground floor] will be lost to facilitate the new independent entry/corridor access to the apartments”.

Council planning officers recommended the planning application for approval, subject to a section 106 legal agreement.

This is expected to secure financial contributions from the developer towards mitigation measures to help reduce impacts on nature sites from the new apartments.

A report prepared for councillors added the development would “contribute positively to the vibrancy of the city centre and towards housing delivery by bringing empty upper floor space back into a viable use within a highly sustainable locality”.

During discussion on the application, councillor James Doyle praised the applicant for engaging with Northumbria Police’s ‘designing out crime’ officer, to help improve the safety and security of the development.

In response to a question from Cllr Doyle, planning officers also confirmed that the applicant was willing to work with the council to bring forward plans for cycle storage facilities.

Under planning conditions, the work on the apartment development must start on site within three years.