Sunderland City Council approves plans for new 82 home development

Sunderland City Council’s Planning and Highways Committee, at a meeting this week, approved plans for land at Coal Bank Farm in the Low Moorsley area.

The land, which forms part of the wider farm site, is understood to be covered by scrap farm vehicles, machinery and equipment associated with the applicant’s long-standing ‘plant and machinery dealership’ business.

The outline planning permission establishes the principle of up to 82 homes on the site, however a ‘reserved matters’ application needs to be approved before work can start.

Indicative plans show a mix of two, three and four-bedroom houses, as well as areas of public open space and vehicular access from the north of the site.

However the final details of housing development on the site, including scale, design, access and appearance, would be set out in a reserved matters plan in the future.

A decision on outline plans for the Hetton development was previously deferred by the Planning and Highways Committee to allow councillors to visit the application site.

The planning application, which has been with the local authority for years without a decision, has also seen several rounds of consultation.

During the most recent round of consultation, public objections raised concerns about impacts on local infrastructure, the “overdevelopment” of the area and the plans potentially “exacerbating” existing traffic issues.

One objector said the plans were “another unsympathetic scheme which is out of character with the area”.

At a meeting of the Planning and Highways Committee on October 30, 2023, the plans were recommended for approval by council planning officers.

A public objector speaking at the City Hall meeting raised concerns about the development clashing with other house-building projects in the area, as well as fears about flooding, increased traffic and ecological impacts.

Criticism was also directed at the applicant for failing to provide any financial contributions to the council as part of the Section 106 process.

This legal process, which is a standard part of planning applications, allows councils to secure funds from developers to offset the impact of developments on local infrastructure and to deliver community improvements.

Councillors heard that the Coal Bank Farm development could not provide any contributions towards key areas, such as affordable housing, off-site play provision and education, due to viability issues.

Council planners said this position was backed up by a financial viability appraisal, which had been independently reviewed on behalf of the council, and that developers had agreed to revisit the viability of the scheme in future.

This included a commitment to ‘re-test’ viability when a reserved matters application is submitted to Sunderland City Council.

Following a suggestion from councillor Martin Haswell, it was agreed that the development’s viability would be tested again later in the construction process.

Cllr Haswell said this condition would assess whether sales values could be increased, therefore boosting the scheme’s viability, with an aim of “securing some funds for the local community”.

Council planners also said the city council had powers to monitor the site and ensure that a construction management plan is followed.

After being put to the vote the housing plan, plus the additional condition around viability, won unanimous support from city councillors.

A report prepared by council planning officers said the site had been identified as available for housing in strategic plans and was “envisaged as supporting the city’s housing needs”.

Council planners argued that the “significant positive aspects” of the development “outweigh the absence of planning obligations and the conflict with the open countryside policy”, which was said to be “minor”.

The council committee report added: “Significant positive weight should also be given to the fact the proposals would see the development of a site which, in its current condition, has a significant negative effect on the visual amenity, due to the extensive range of scrap machinery, equipment, containers and other paraphernalia which is present there.

“The development therefore has the capacity to bring about substantive visual improvements to the area.”

For more information on the planning application, visit Sunderland City Council’s planning portal website and search reference: 14/01371/OUT