Plans submitted for holiday apartments at historic riverside location

Sunderland City Council’s planning department has received an application for Manor House Farm, which sits at the southern tip of Ferryboat Lane in the North Hylton area.

The plans, described in a planning listing as ‘part retrospective’, are linked to a former ‘workers/housekeepers quarters’ at the site.

According to planning documents submitted to council officials, new plans for the building aim to “deliver a more appropriate internal arrangement to facilitate a holiday let occupation”.

The planning listing states this would create six self-contained holiday let units and associated parking.

A planning and heritage statement submitted on behalf of applicant North Hylton Developments provides more details on the application and the site’s history.

It states the building has been locally listed by the city council as a ‘non-designated heritage asset’ and is understood to have existed as the ‘North Hylton Pottery’ which once formed part of industrial uses along the riverbank.

The applicant’s vision for the future of the building, referred to as “Manor House Mews” in planning documents, includes a holiday letting use.

This includes two two-bed flats at upper floor level, two one-bed flats at ground floor level, one ‘studio’ unit and one four-bedroom ‘house’ referred to as unit six.

Those behind the scheme stated the development would “formalise arrangements for additional loft spaces” and other “make good works” to “enable the safe and functional occupation of the building as holiday lettings”.

It was noted that the works represented a “sustained and committed investment from the [applicant] into a vacant building of perceived historic merit”.

The planning and heritage statement added: “The development does not change the established operation of the site as C3 [dwellinghouse], re-utilising the existing openings and structure and supplementing the existing internal layout with new loft spaces.

“The works will secure a suitable internal arrangement, enabling the safe and comfortable occupation of the subject building, which will enable the sustainable and viable usage of the property for the long term”.

Applicants added that the proposals would “present a viable development opportunity in a sustainable location, which will have a positive impact on the hospitality and tourism offer in Sunderland”.

This included the plans “supporting the economic viability and enjoyment” of nearby listed venue The Shipwrights and “enabling the opportunity for visitors to enjoy the character and original form of the Manor House Farm site”.

The planning and heritage statement continues: “The works proposed in retrospect will ensure that the property is physically brought back up to an appropriate standard, following long-standing vacancy and absence of sustained occupation.

“The make good works will respect the existing arrangements of external openings and the material palette, and will breathe a new lease of life into the non-designated heritage asset, which has been long void of active occupation”.

A decision on the planning application will be made once a period of council consultation has concluded.

Information on Sunderland City Council’s planning portal website lists a decision deadline of January 26, 2024.

For more information on the planning application or to track its progress, visit the council’s planning portal website and search reference: 23/01599/FUL