Sunderland's Durham Road MyDentist can expand surgery despite concerns over lack of parking

Sunderland City Council’s planning department has approved a new application for the ‘MyDentist’ centre based at Oliver’s House off Durham Road.

Earlier this year, plans were approved for a ground floor rear extension to facilitate surgery rooms, an office and a storeroom as part of wider plans to “reorient” the dental practice.

A previous planning statement from applicants confirmed the extension would increase the number of surgery rooms from 10 to 11, with one existing surgery room being converted into an office.

Despite the plans sparking public objections during a council consultation exercise, including concerns about traffic and parking, the extension was approved by council planning officers on March 22, 2024.

However, this was on the condition that “no more than 10 surgery rooms within the application premises shall be in use at any one time, in the interests of ensuring the intensity of the use of the premises is appropriate in relation to parking availability”.

New plans submitted to Sunderland City Council for the same site in October, 2024, cited issues with constructing the previously approved extension, namely the “rear (southern elevation) extension”.

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Applicants confirmed this element had been “removed” under the new planning application.

A planning statement submitted to council officials said the new planning application proposed a “ground floor rear extension to facilitate two new surgery rooms, an office, a storeroom, the reorientation of five existing surgery rooms, and other associated internal and external works”.

It added that the extension would “bring the total number of surgery rooms from ten to eleven”, with one surgery room being “converted into an office (TCO room)”, along with a proposed “external staff seating area” in place of the removed rear extension.

Those behind the scheme added the plans would “help contribute to My Dentist’s nationwide operational requirements”.

While it was noted that “adequate parking is currently provided on site”, applicants said “one additional designated car parking space has been provided in the rear car park as part of the development”.

During the planning application process however, the proposed external staff seating area was removed following concerns from the council that it “could generate nuisance given that it would be backing onto the boundary wall of the neighbouring residential property”.

A council planning consultation exercise on the plans also sparked two objections, including an objection from St Chad’s ward councillor Dominic McDonough.

The councillor, in a consultation statement, raised “serious concerns around the amount of parking already provided for the business” and said parking was “already inadequate for both staff and customers”.

Cllr McDonough added that the wider area also sees parking problems and that “an extension to the business will only make the matter worse.”

After considering the planning application and assessing it against planning policies, Sunderland City Council’s planning department approved it on December 20, 2024.

Council planners, in a decision report, said the plans did not “constitute an overdevelopment of the site” and aimed to “improve and expand the range of services on offer at the existing dental practice”.

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However, a number of conditions were added by the council to help address concerns around parking.

This included a condition “that the proposed additional car parking space prior to the proposed extension being brought into use should be kept available for staff or customer parking”.

Alongside “car reduction and monitoring measures” in a travel plan for the dental practice, including initiatives to promote public transport use, cycling, walking or “car sharing”, another condition limited the “number of surgeries able to operate at any one time”.

This included “no more than 10 surgery rooms within the application premises being in use at any one time, in the interests of ensuring the intensity of the use of the premises is appropriate in relation to parking availability”.

The council decision report added: “Subject to these conditions, it is considered that the proposal would not lead to any unacceptable impacts on the residential or visual amenity of the area or lead to unacceptable and severe impacts on highway safety and the road network.”

For more information on the planning application or council decision, visit Sunderland City Council’s planning portal website and search reference: 24/02021/FUL