Roof changes refused over heritage concerns at property in Newbottle

Earlier this year, Sunderland City Council’s planning department received an application for a property off North Street in the Newbottle area.

This included plans to raise the ridge line of the roof by one metre to give “sufficient head height to provide rooms in the roof space”.

Plans also included dormer windows and a juliet balcony to the first floor rear elevation, with the wider scheme allowing for the “reconfiguration” of the property.

This included a “family bathroom and three bedrooms, two with en-suite, within the roof space”.

A heritage statement submitted on behalf of the applicant noted the building was an “outlier in form, bulk, style and vernacular” and that there was “limited scope to seek conservation gain” through the proposed works.

The heritage statement added proposed works would have a “continued neutral impact” on the local conservation area.

During the planning application process, the plans were also amended to make both dormers the same size.

After considering the plan and assessing it against planning policies, Sunderland City Council’s planning department refused it on November 9, 2022.

The main issues included the visual impact of the development and heritage impacts, given the property’s location within the Newbottle Conservation Area near the Grade II-listed St Matthew’s Church.

Council planners, in a decision report, said the roof works would “disturb the symmetry” with a neighbouring property and “draw attention” in long-distance views, “making the property even more out of sync with its historic surroundings”.

It was also argued that enlarging the property with a “more dominant, top heavy, roof form so close to the historic church” would harm the conservation area and the setting of the church.

Council planners concluded that there were no “public benefits which would outweigh the less than substantial harm to the significance of a designated heritage asset”.

The council decision report adds: “The proposal is not considered likely to result in any serious detriment to the residential amenities of neighbouring properties.

“However, by reason of its design and scale, it will be detrimental [sic] to the visual amenities of the host property and its surroundings.

“It will result in less than significant harm to the appearance of the conservation area, and to the setting of the Grade II-listed church, contrary to the provisions of the National Planning Policy Framework and policies […] of the Core Strategy and Development Plan.

“The proposal is unacceptable”.

More information about the planning application can be found on Sunderland City Council’s online planning portal.