Plans submitted for repairs and conservation work at Sunderland's Museum and Art Gallery

Sunderland City Council has submitted an application to its own planning department for the Grade II-listed building on the corner of Burdon Road and Borough Road.

Plans are seeking permission for listed building consent for works to safeguard the original 1879 structure for future generations.

This includes repairs to the roofing, structural timber, external joinery and glazing, as well as “addressing damage to internal areas caused by active water ingress to the building”.

Proposed external works include alterations to the roof, with new materials, the replacement of the flat roof of the central tower and the removal of a flagpole.

Other works include two roof lights being replaced with slate roofing, as well as new stainless steel gutters, the removal of “redundant and defected pipework” and a new security door to the central tower.

A design and access statement submitted to council officials notes the building has been developed several times since its original construction.

This included expansion in the 1960s with a “large modernist extension on the site of the former winter gardens” and a new entrance building and winter gardens being built in the early 2000s.

New proposals for repairs follow Sunderland City Council gaining funding from the Arts Council’s MEND (Museum Estates and Development Fund) to “undertake repairs to the building fabric”.

The council has previously said the oldest part of the building is a priority for investment in advance of larger lottery-funded refurbishment plans.

If plans for the initial repair scheme are approved, it is expected that a scaffold will be erected around the building’s north, east and west elevations and central tower to carry out work.

The council stressed the museum would remain open for the duration of the works with the visitor entrance on Burdon Road remaining in use.

The design and access statement adds: “The works mainly involve appropriate fabric and conservation repairs on a like-for-like basis.

“The general approach is to preserve the historic fabric wherever possible and to strengthen the existing structure, in situ, wherever this is necessary for the overall integrity of the structure.

“The intention is to leave the fabric wind and watertight and to affect a design life expectancy minimum of 50 years, subject to regular inspection and routine maintenance”.

Sunderland Museum has its origins in the Sunderland Subscription Library, formed in 1794, and Subscription Museum, established in 1810, which were private collections predominantly for wealthy residents.

In the early 19th century the Museums Act (1845) allowed corporations to establish tax-funded municipal museums for the education of the whole population.

According to supporting documents submitted with the repair scheme, the formerly private museum was taken over by the Sunderland Corporation to become “the first municipal museum outside of London”.

In the 1870s a new museum and library building was commissioned to accommodate growing collections and was built on Borough Road, which still survives today.

The building was designed by local architects the Tillman brothers with a large winter garden, however, the original winter garden was destroyed during a Second World War air raid.

Applicants state the museum is of “national significance as the earliest municipal museum outside of London, and a reflection of widespread social reform – particularly relating to education of the working class – during the 19th century”.

Although it was noted that the loss of a flagpole “reduces the building’s impact as a local landmark in [a] small way” the council said “this is balanced by the need to provide a long-term solution for the weathertightness of the building”.

A submitted heritage impact assessment adds: “At present, water ingress through the hole in the roof for the flagpole is causing damage to the building fabric and museum collections.

“The need for this intervention is outlined above and even having undertaken repairs, the flagpole would likely be an ongoing maintenance issue, requiring access via roof areas.

“If waterproofing measures were retrofitted to the existing flagpole such as an apron detail, this will result in a less robust waterproofing detail”.

It was also noted that the flagpole does not form part of the original construction of the building and would be stored within the attic space.

A decision on the planning application will be made once a period of council consultation has concluded.

Information on Sunderland City Council’s planning portal website lists a decision deadline of December 25, 2023.

For more information on the planning application or to track its progress, visit the council’s planning portal website and search reference: 23/02281/LB3