Relocation bid for car and van hire firm to clear way for Riverside Sunderland regeneration work

Sunderland City Council’s planning department has received an application for a parcel of land off Pallion Way at Pallion Trading Estate.

It includes a bid to change the use of a car park to a ‘car and van hire’ use, including the siting of two modular buildings for customer and staff facilities, as well as a storage container, wash bay facility and CCTV pole.

The plans also include the provision of a pedestrian access gate and increasing the height of existing fencing and a vehicular access gate to 2.4 metres.

Proposals have been submitted by Parkers North East Limited, which is based at Sunderland’s Sheepfolds Industrial Estate, along with a planning statement providing details of the proposed relocation.

According to planning documents, the business was established in 1992 and has operated in the Sunderland area under several brands over the years, with the most recent being Europcar.

Those behind the relocation plans say the business has a fleet of around 225 vehicles (cars and light vans), of which approximately 85% are on rent, with an average turnaround of 15-20 vehicles per day.

The planning statement reads: “The business is currently located on Sheepfolds Industrial Estate.

“As a result of the city council’s residential led development proposals for [the] Riverside Sunderland site, the business needs to relocate.

“The applicant has worked with the city council’s strategic asset management team and the application site has been identified as an appropriate site to allow the relocation of the business.”

The Pallion site earmarked for development is understood to be council-owned and has been used as a car park, and more recently, as a site compound for the city’s new household and recycling centre nearby.

If plans are approved, around a dozen people employed by Parkers North East Limited would transfer to the new site.

The planning statement added that the relocation would allow new homes to be built on the key regeneration site.

It reads: “The development would enable a longstanding business to relocate from its existing location which would facilitate the residential-led development proposals for the Riverside Sunderland site.

“Whilst the development falls within the sui generis use class, the business employs 12 members of staff and would be an appropriate use within an employment area.

“There are clear material considerations which strongly weigh in favour of the acceptability of the principle of the development.

“The proposed modular buildings, storage container, associated signage and fencing would not appear out of place [in] an employment area, nor would they be inappropriate in terms of their scale or layout.”

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

Information on Sunderland City Council’s website suggests a decision is expected by September 11, 2023.

For more information on the planning application or to track its progress, visit the council’s planning portal website and search reference: 23/01538/FU4