Plans to demolish a derelict building near to Wearmouth Bridge and build student apartments in its place have been refused.
Last November, plans were submitted to Sunderland City Council that aimed to demolish a derelict building on North Bridge Street in Sunderland and construct a three-storey building consisting of eight student apartments in its place. The building, which is a mile from the city centre and has stood empty for around a decade, is said to be in "a derelict state" and has "major structural damage internally".
But the plans were refused by the council this week, with a number of reasons given for the decision. A decision statement, published on March 29, stated the plans did not demonstrate that there is a defined need for student accommodation and no evidence had been supplied to confirm whether there are more suitable and available sites "within the city's Urban Core".
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Another reason for the refusal was that the plans "would result in the introduction of an uncharacteristic feature into the locality which fails to respect the built form of its surroundings and the historic street scene". The current building sits between two listed buildings, Barclay Lodge and Hebron Church.
The decision notice adds: "The proposal fails to provide satisfactory living conditions to the bedrooms which would be contained in the northern section of the building due to inadequate outlook and limited natural light and provides insufficient communal space, in respect of the living/kitchen areas, to accommodate the number of occupants in each apartment."
Northumbria Police also provided comments on the plans, saying they had concerns over the "vulnerability of students" as the property sits near Barclay Lodge which the force said "hasn’t been without problems over the years". The force added: "We have some concerns regarding the vulnerability of the student population and the location of this development.
"In consideration of the design of the provision we don’t think it would be suitable for any other use than students, and unless conditioned for Student Only use then there are questions as to the viability of the proposal and the site could simply replicate the provision that is already in the immediate proximity."
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