Pub and 'brew bar' plans submitted for Sunderland's Grade II-listed former Bridge Hotel, which has links to Charles Dickens

Sunderland City Council’s planning department has received an application for The Bridge Hotel on the corner of High Street West and Sunderland Street.

Built in 1797 as a house for the Lambton family, the building then became a pub in 1820, according to English Heritage, and continued as a bar until the late 1990s.

The pub is believed to have been used by author Charles Dickens when he was appearing at the Lyceum Theatre in Sunderland.

In recent years the building has been called ‘Lambton House’ and used as offices and meeting rooms for the city’s youth offending service.

New plans from applicant Arrow Commercial PPS aim to change the use of the ground floor from offices back to a public house and to add a brew bar/tap room at the rear of the building.

Plans also include internal and external building alterations and the use of a forecourt as a beer garden, as well as retained offices on upper floors which would be available to rent on the open market.

Under the plans the ground floor would essentially serve as two units with shared washroom facilities.

The public house would operate as a standard ‘wet sales’ pub with seating areas and standing room at the bar.

Meanwhile, the proposed brew bar at the rear of the ground floor would be an “ancillary use” to the main pub and would benefit from the new beer garden.

The development would “allow patrons to observe the brewery process and equipment on-site, as well as operating as a tap room”.

A planning statement submitted to council officials names Vaux Brewery, a company which relaunched the iconic brand in 2019, as the future occupier of the brew bar.

Those behind the scheme said the bar would offer “flexibility as a venue/event space expanding on the success of [Vaux’s] Monk Street taproom”.

The planning statement adds: “The proposed combination of conventional public house and brew bar is considered to contribute to the vitality of the city centre, diversifying its leisure and tourism offer.

“Moreover, the proposals at The Bridge Hotel will add to the burgeoning independent cluster of businesses locally, including an independent grocer (Sunshine Co-Operative) and a coffee and record shop/community hub/small concert venue (Pop Recs Ltd) opposite the Bridge Hotel between 170 and 176 High Street West.

“Working in tandem with what is already in place nearby, the proposals will contribute towards making this end of High Street West a destination venue.

“Additionally, The Bridge Hotel is a Grade II-listed building, which is currently in sole use as offices. the proposals will therefore diversify the use of the building, which is considered to give the heritage asset a sustainable and long term use as well as returning the building to its former historic use as a public house.

“Heritage led regeneration has been successful in other parts of Sunderland, including directly opposite in the case of Pop Recs and the Sunshine Co-Operative, with that terrace having recently been restored and conserved as part of the Heritage Action Zone regeneration of Sunderland”.

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 October 27, 2023.

For more information on the plan or to track its progress, visit the council’s planning portal website and search reference: 23/01904/LBC