Major update on future of dramatic and unique Sunderland building that has a 'sense of grandeur'

Sunderland City Council’s planning department has approved an application for Wheeler House in Newbottle Street in the Houghton ward.

The large building sits adjacent to The Britannia pub and has been used as shop units on the ground floor with a gym above, planning documents state.

The building is also recognised in council conservation area documents as a “dramatic Victorian red-brick building contrasting vividly with the older sandstone properties of the area” and a “unique” property in the local conservation area.

Plans submitted earlier this year (2025) sought permission to change the use of the building’s upper floors to residential flats, with a total of 10 flats proposed.

Supporting planning documents and designs noted the proposed ground floor of the building would remain as commercial units and that the first and second floor spaces had been earmarked for residential use.

Proposals for the building’s first floor included five one-bedroom flats, each with an open plan kitchen / living area and bathroom, while plans for the second floor included four one-bedroom flats and one two-bedroom flat, each with an open plan kitchen / living area and bathroom.

It was also noted that the site was “located in [a town] centre close to local amenities and bus stops” and that there was “a lot of parking to the rear of the site too.”

During the planning process amended plans for the flats scheme were submitted in November, 2025, and plans were approved the same month on November 28, 2025.

Council planners, in a decision report, noted the plans included the “retention of the existing access and the rear yard providing space for bin storage, cycle parking and vehicle parking” and that the council’s highways department had no objections.

In terms of noise impacts from nearby commercial premises on the future occupants of the flats, it was noted that an acoustic assessment had “recommended amendments to the initially submitted floorplans”.

This included “ensuring that certain bedrooms do not face onto Newbottle Street”, which saw the applicant relocate bedrooms in a number of units, along with recommendations around secondary glazing and “mechanical ventilation.”

The council’s environmental health department recommended conditions around noise to “safeguard the acoustic environment of future occupants of the site”, including a “sound insulation scheme” in line with the “recommendations of the submitted noise assessment”.

It was also noted that there would be “provision of adequate natural light in all habitable rooms” and that the “proposed development only relates tothe upper floors of the building”.

The council decision report adds: “The amount of development (10 units) and the distance of the site from the nearest trunk road (more than 2.5km from the A19) means the local planning authority does not consider that the proposed development would be likely to result in a material increase or amaterial change in the character of traffic in the vicinity of the site onto the trunk road.”

A Houghton conservation area character appraisal document, published on Sunderland City Council’s website, notes Wheeler House “retains its sense of grandeur” despite alterations over the years.

It was noted this was “partly due to its scale and interesting decoration, such as its shaped gables and sandstone strings and dressings”.

The gables of Wheeler House and the nearby Britannia pub were also said to “add significantly to the character of the roofscape of Newbottle Street.”

Wheeler House was previously marketed for sale by commercial property surveyors Lofthouse as a “redevelopment opportunity” and the listing noted “vacant upper floors” were “suitable for residential conversion.”

For more information on the flats plan and council decision, visit Sunderland City Council’s planning portal website and search reference: 25/01374/PA9

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