Plans for housing at former barbershop in Sunderland rejected over design and parking concerns

Sunderland City Council’s planning department has refused an application for a building at 1 Oswald Terrace West in the city’s Castle ward.

It is understood that the site was previously a barbers shop and that the retail premises have been vacant for a number of months.

Plans submitted to council officials earlier this year sought permission for a change of use from retail to residential accommodation offering five bedrooms.

Floor plans showed an open plan kitchen/lounge area, bathroom facilities and one bedroom on the ground floor, and four bedrooms on the first floor.

As part of the plans the existing shop front and roller shutter were proposed to be removed and replaced with a ‘domestic frontage’.

This included infilling work, external render and a new uPVC window on the ground floor, as well as works to split the first floor bay window in the centre to create two internal rooms.

During a council consultation exercise on the plans, around 14 representations were received from members of the public raising a range of concerns.

This included the property potentially being used as a house in multiple occupation (HMO), as well as concerns about access, increased traffic, litter and proposed room sizes.

Council planners, in a council decision report, said the description of the development did not refer to an HMO but that such a use for five people would not require planning permission.

According to the council report, this is because planning permission for an HMO use is only required for six or more people.

Council planners stated that if the retail property was given consent to change to a residential use, it “may at some point become an HMO”.

Northumbria Police, in a consultation statement, said they would not object to the building being used as a single family home but were “uncomfortable with HMO development by incremental stages”.

The police consultation statement added: “In any event we would prefer, that to be fair to any people affected by a development, planning applications should have clarity as to intention”.

After considering the planning application and assessing it against planning policies, Sunderland City Council’s planning department refused it on September 11, 2023.

The main reasons for refusal included the proposal failing to comply with national standards due to the “lack of amenity space and inadequate room widths”.

It was concluded that the proposal would offer a “substandard level of amenity to the future occupiers and is considered unacceptable in this instance.”

Another reason for refusal included the development needing to provide two in-curtilage parking spaces, but failing to do so.

The planning decision report adds: “For the reasons set out above, it is considered that the proposal is unacceptable in respect of provision of adequate amenity for the future occupiers and proposes a risk in respect of transport and highways and fails to comply with the nationally described space standard”.

For more information on the planning application and council refusal decision, visit Sunderland City Council’s planning portal website and search reference: 23/01581/PCG