Plans approved for 76 affordable homes on 'eyesore' former football ground

Karbon Homes has won permission to build 76 affordable homes on land east of Albany Park including a mix of bungalows, two-bedroom, three-bedroom and four-bedroom properties.

According to a report prepared for councillors, 21 homes will offer ‘affordable rent’ and 55 homes will be classed as ‘rent to buy’.

The plans won unanimous support from Sunderland City Council’s Planning and Highways (West) Committee on Tuesday (September 1).

And Washington councillors on the committee praised the development, which will see several structures removed from the former home of Washington FC.

This includes a dilapidated clubhouse, spectator stands and perimeter fencing.

Cllr Dom Armstrong said redeveloping the site would help “raise morale” in the area.

He told the meeting: “It has been a bit of an eyesore and is quite a focal point in Washington and to see it dilapidated where the football team used to play and everything, it’s going to raise morale I think if we’ve got more affordable housing for our residents.

“That’s what we’re screaming and shouting for, redevelopment of brownfield sites with affordable housing. I couldn’t be more supportive.”

Cllr Len Lauchlan added: “As [Washington Area Committee] chair I fully support this application.

“It will be nice to see that area resurrected a little bit from what it is now.”

The football ground has been vacant for several years and was last used for some informal youth games just under five years ago.

New homes planned for the site will offer private gardens and dedicated car parking spaces, with two spaces for the majority of homes and at least one car parking space for some of the smaller properties.

The housing mix includes 17 two-bed houses and six two-bed bungalows, 42 three-bed houses and 11 four-bed houses.

As part of a Section 106 legal agreement to reduce the impact of the development, applicant Karbon Homes is expected to pay a six-figure sum to the council.

This includes £148,000 toward education and £100,000 towards enhancing “ecological and recreational opportunities” at Albany Park.

Around £100,000 will also be directed towards "the replacement of a football ground that is, at least, of equivalence” within the Washington area.

The development is the latest in a string of new housing schemes taking shape across Sunderland, as part of council-driven plans to boost housing numbers over the next ten years.

Assistant director of development delivery at Karbon Homes, Zoey Hawthorne, welcomed the planning decision.

“We’re excited to be working in partnership with Sunderland City Council to regenerate this area and to deliver more and better homes for the city,” she said.

“These new homes will provide more choice for local people and will meet the demand for affordable homes in this area.

“The development will provide a good mix of property types that will appeal to many people and the majority of homes will be available through rent to buy, providing longer term opportunities for home ownership.”

Leader of Sunderland City Council, Cllr Graeme Miller, added: “Sunderland is growing a reputation as a place that offers families of all kinds a fantastic lifestyle, with a range of attractive communities rising from the ground to complement the existing homes we have.

“As we build a more dynamic city, with more and better job opportunities driven by projects like our Riverside Sunderland and International Advanced Manufacturing Park developments, we know that more people will want to make Sunderland their home, and by delivering high-quality schemes with partners like Karbon Homes, we can ensure more people live, work and play in the city, which will retain wealth and create a more vibrant city.”

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