Stables plan blocked by Sunderland City Council over noise and disruption fears

Sunderland City Council’s Planning and Highways Committee, this week, made a decision to block plans from the Whitegates Equestrian Centre in Durham.

The proposed application site was located nearby in Sunderland’s Hetton ward to the rear of part of South Hetton Road.

Plans aimed to change the use of the land from agricultural to equestrian use, as well as building a three-bedroom dormer bungalow and a stable block with associated parking and a new access arrangement.

Similar plans were received by Sunderland City Council in early-2022, but were withdrawn by the applicant in November the same year.

New plans presented to councillors at a decision-making meeting on July 3, 2023, represented a resubmission of the scheme.

This included amendments to the development and the proposed stable block being “reduced in size”.

A planning statement submitted to Sunderland City Council said the plans would “form a new branch” of the equestrian centre and “support the economic growth of this existing business”.

The planning statement confirmed the stable block would be used mainly for the purposes of “breeding and caring for stallions” and that stallions “must be located separately from the current livery”.

Applicants added the proposed bungalow dwelling would be required to ensure a member of staff is in “close proximity” to the animals for “welfare, wellbeing and overall safety” purposes.

During council consultation on the plans representations were received, including six letters of objection and one letter of support.

Sunderland City Council’s planning department recommended the scheme for refusal citing several reasons, including the lack of a “substantial business case” for the “rural diversification of the site”.

It was also noted that the stable block would be “overly dominant in regard to scale, massing, appearance and setting” and “out of character and incongruent with the locality”.

Other refusal reasons included the applicant “failing to demonstrate” that there would be no amenity impacts from “noise nuisance” and failing to demonstrate “safe and adequate means of access, egress and internal circulation/ turning arrangements for all modes of transport and users”.

According to a report presented to councillors further information was requested from the applicant around noise, highway safety and ecology but “this information was not forthcoming”.

After being put to the vote at the City Hall meeting, the Planning and Highways Committee agreed to refuse the scheme in line with recommendations from council planning officers.

Councillor Iain Scott, who supported the refusal, said: “If we’re going to change a rural setting there must be robust reasons for doing so.

“It’s very clear and it’s being highlighted in the [report’s] conclusion here that there has not been a robust case put forward by the applicant.

“For that reason I would be minded to refuse the application.”

Councillor Melanie Thornton, chair of the Planning and Highways Committee, also raised concerns about the application.

Cllr Thornton added:“A number of instances have been given where information has been required and not provided by the applicant.

“A business plan in relation to the paddock, noise nuisance, odour and litter, highway safety concerns, so I would have to agree that it’s a refusal.”

Whitegates Equestrian Centre, which sits between Easington Lane and South Hetton, has been operating for years and offers horse-riding lessons and other equine facilities.

The applicant has the right to challenge the council’s refusal decision by lodging an appeal with the Secretary of State.