Sunniside Frederick Street terrace faces swap from offices and shops to housing with 20 bedrooms

Sunderland City Council’s planning department has received an application for 22, 23 and 24 Frederick Street, which are part of a terrace of listed buildings in the city’s Sunniside area.

Plans from applicant Vnoutchkov Group are seeking permission to change the use of “three adjoining terraced properties from predominantly vacant office and retail floorspace (Class E) to three separate HMOs (Sui Generis)”.

The planning listing states the development would “comprise of six, six and eight bedrooms respectively, with associated internal and external alterations.”

HMOs are a property type offering shared living, with multiple households living together in separate bedrooms often with communal living and/or kitchen facilities.

A ‘residential management plan’ submitted on behalf of Vnoutchkov Group said the company has “historically sourced young professionals as their tenant demographic profile and intend to cater for the same tenant profile with these [HMO] properties.”

A planning and heritage statement submitted with plans for the three Frederick Street properties states the proposed layout of the HMOs would “ensure that all bedrooms comfortably exceed sizes outlined within the National Described Space Standards and will be served by a window to maximise outlook and sunlight/daylight”.

It was noted that the internal layout had been “carefully designed to integrate large communal kitchen/dining/living areas for each property at lower ground floor level ranging between 39 sqm and 45 sqm”.

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Plans for the buildings included some “minor” internal alterations and external alterations which aim to “result in a positive impact upon the listed terrace by removing non-original features which currently detract from its external appearance (to the rear of the properties) and introducing new landscaped amenity space and provision for screened refuse and cycle stores”.

Developers added that occupiers would benefit from access to the revamped enclosed rear courtyards and that there would be “no unacceptable impacts in terms of parking pressure”.

The planning and heritage statement said the application site is “almost completely vacant with the majority of previous tenants having vacated the building over recent years due to a reduction in demand for office and commercial floorspace of this nature”.

It was also noted that other properties in the area had won planning permission to convert from office uses to HMO uses, which was “reflective of the changing nature of the area and the return of the terrace to its original residential character”.

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The supporting statement adds: “The principle of creating new residential accommodation (in the form of an HMO) through conversion of existing buildings and re-use of previously developed sites is supported by policy at a national and local level, particularly at such accessible locations such as Frederick Street.

“The NPPF (National Planning Policy Framework) recognises the need for the planning system to promote an effective use of land in meeting the need for homes and other uses.

“The HMOs will make a positive contribution toward the council’s housing requirements and provide choice for the local community.

“The proposed works are largely limited to the existing internal room arrangements and not to any historic element of the internal fabric of the building […] the internal spaces can be restored to their original form should the proposed use cease in future.

“Accordingly, there will be no harmful impact upon its historic value.”

Developers added the proposal would “provide a high quality living environment for residents” and that provision would be made for “accessible and usable refuse and cycle storage” at ground floor level.

The residential management plan submitted with the planning application notes all prospective tenants would undergo screening and referencing, and that tenancy agreements are “typically for a duration of one year”.

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All tenants would also be presented with a copy of the “house rules” which would be “enforced through their tenure”, developers said, with rules including “the limit of social gatherings permitted past certain times as well as the protocols in place to deal with any anti-social behaviour”.

It was noted that the applicant has “never encountered any serious issues or problems whilst renting to this demographic [young professionals] and fully expect Frederick Street to also be largely uneventful.”

In addition, it was noted that communal areas in the HMOs would be “professionally cleaned once a week” and that the sites would be inspected on a monthly basis.

A decision on plans for the three HMOs will be made once a period of council consultation has concluded.

Sunderland City Council’s planning portal website lists a decision deadline of August 1, 2025.

A listed building consent application (25/01174/LBC) has also been submitted for works to the Frederick Street site to “allow provision of HMO accommodation” and this will be decided separately by the local authority,

For more information on the HMO change of use plan, or to track its progress, visit the council’s planning portal website and search reference: 25/01187/FUL