Chris Binding

Plans have been submitted to remove the full set of eight bells from Grade II-listed St Mary’s Church in South Hylton, Sunderland. The church has closed as a place of worship because of declining attendance and repair costs, while proposals have considered converting it into an arts hub. The bells may be repaired and moved to another church or used for bell-ringing training, as leaving them in place could allow them to deteriorate without being used. A planning decision is expected after consultation.

A Government planning inspector has dismissed an appeal against Sunderland City Council’s refusal of plans to convert an industrial unit at Stephenson Industrial Estate in Washington into a seven-court indoor padel centre. The proposed facility would have included a café, social lounge, changing rooms and up to 15 jobs. The council rejected the scheme because it would remove safeguarded industrial and storage-distribution land, while the inspector concluded that the claimed economic, social and environmental benefits did not amount to exceptional circumstances or outweigh the conflict with Sunderland’s development plan.

A Government-appointed planning inspector has dismissed an appeal against Sunderland City Council’s refusal of plans to convert the upper floors of 15 Waterloo Place into six student flats. The council rejected the proposal in October 2025 because of concerns about noise from a nearby late-night music venue, while the appeal also considered odour and potential effects on neighbouring businesses. The inspector said the developers were responsible for ensuring adequate mitigation to protect future residents and existing businesses.

Plans to convert the former job centre at 60–66 John Street in Sunderland into student accommodation have been resubmitted after an earlier approval lapsed when a required legal agreement was not completed by the council deadline. Ashbrookes Design and Build is proposing an extended building with 84 studios, communal lounges, a gym, laundry, cycle storage and other facilities, while retaining the existing ground-floor commercial unit. The new application could revive a scheme that had been in development for several years.

Sunderland City Council has approved plans to convert part of the ground-floor Bed and Furniture Store premises on Blandford Street into a three-bedroom, five-person apartment. The site’s upper floors had previously been approved for five apartments, while the ground floor remained retail space. A noise assessment found the proposed home suitable for residential use subject to façade sound insulation, and the council’s environmental health officer raised no objection provided an acceptable noise reduction scheme is implemented.

Plans submitted to convert Sunderland’s derelict Hylton Castle Arms pub into Hylton Bar Restaurant, including a single-storey extension, new openings, external alterations, a terrace, expanded function room, lighting and signage. The proposed venue would operate daily from noon to 10 p.m., create around four full-time and two part-time jobs, and include freshly prepared food, energy-efficiency measures and CCTV. Sunderland City Council is expected to decide the application after consultation.

Gentoo Group has submitted plans to replace the windows at the Church Street North and Dock Street tower blocks in Roker, Sunderland, after residents reported increasing repair problems and poor thermal performance. The wider maintenance project would also include replacing external panels, improving roofs, and repairing external decoration and render. Gentoo says the work could make homes warmer, more comfortable and cheaper to heat while extending the buildings’ lifespan. Progress depends on planning permission, the tender outcome and approval from the Building Safety Regulator.

John Davidson (Pipes) has applied for permission to change the use of premises at 11 Walton Road in Washington’s Pattinson North industrial area to storage and distribution. The proposal includes minor alterations to provide a trade counter and staff facilities, with no new permanent structures. The site would support eight jobs, including three HGV driver roles, and establish a new operational base for the civils and drainage products distributor. Sunderland City Council is consulting on the application, with a decision expected afterward.

Sunderland City Council rejected Sunderland Accommodation Services’ proposal to convert former offices at 184 Roker Avenue into six apartments, citing poor living conditions, inadequate design and outlook, the absence of required parking, nearby noise sources and insufficient information about management and occupancy. Planners also raised concerns that some units might fail national space standards and that no contribution had been offered to address recreational pressure on protected coastal sites. The partly retrospective scheme, intended for social, affordable or intermediate rent, attracted four objections, including from Roker councillors and Northumbria Police. The applicant can appeal the decision.

Sunderland City Council has approved plans to convert Victoria House near Mowbray Park into a 24-bed apart-hotel operated by Comfy Nooks. Guests are expected to stay between two and 28 nights, with digital identity checks, logged access and dedicated guest support. Design amendments followed consultation with Northumbria Police, while council officers concluded the scheme would not harm local amenity, ecology, highway or pedestrian safety, or the setting of the nearby listed building and park.

Sunderland City Council has approved a multi-million-pound redevelopment of Thornhill Academy under the Government’s School Rebuilding Programme. The scheme will replace parts of the ageing school with a three-storey teaching block and swimming pool, refurbish the sports hall, add football and athletics facilities, improve parking and cycle provision, and provide community access to the pool. Flooding concerns led developers to relocate the leisure block and include compensatory flood storage, while planners concluded that impacts on nearby Belle Vue Park residents would remain acceptable. Construction is expected to proceed in phases, beginning with the new school before demolition of existing buildings and creation of new playing fields.

Plans have been submitted to convert Sunderland’s Grade II-listed Quayside Exchange, a building dating from 1812–1814 with a history as a town hall, courthouse, post office and market, into a 29-room apart-hotel. The proposal includes 24 rooms in the historic building and five in a modern annexe, along with internal partitions, en-suite facilities and mezzanine levels. Developers say the scheme would preserve the building’s largely unchanged exterior, bring a partly derelict site back into use and stimulate riverside regeneration, tourism and local spending. Sunderland City Council is expected to decide on the change-of-use and listed-building applications after consultation.

Sunderland City Council has rejected claims that it needs to substantially increase its response to nurdle pollution following the spill of about 25 tonnes of plastic pellets into the River Tyne near South Shields. The council says Sunderland’s beaches have received fewer than 10 kilograms of scattered nurdles, compared with hundreds of kilograms collected in concentrated areas across North and South Tyneside. It will continue monitoring and patrolling the shoreline, collecting pellets, updating public guidance and adjusting its response if pollution levels increase. Councils and agencies are coordinating clean-up and salvage operations, including the temporary closure of part of the River Tyne.

Sunderland Central MP Lewis Atkinson has urged authorities to significantly increase efforts to remove nurdles that have washed up along North East beaches after an estimated 25-tonne spill in the River Tyne caused by a collision between two ships at the Port of Tyne. Although public-health risks are considered very low, the scale of the pollution is viewed as a serious threat to marine life. Atkinson said pellets should be removed promptly, called for consistent public messaging, and backed the principle that the ship owners should pay rather than local taxpayers. Sunderland City Council and partner agencies are coordinating clean-up and salvage operations, while residents are being asked to report sightings.

Sunderland City Council has approved £1.75 million to expand the Links for Life programme until 2029, targeting loneliness and social isolation across the city. The funding will support voluntary and community organisations, neighbourhood projects and community hubs, with the programme having already assisted nearly 15,000 residents. It will be financed through council funding, a Healthy City Grant and NHS contributions.

Sunderland councillors approved plans by Telefónica UK (O2) and Cornerstone to upgrade the rooftop telecommunications site at Sunderland Telephone Exchange on St Thomas Street. New antennas, radio equipment and fibre cables will increase 5G capacity and coverage across Wearside while using an existing facility. Council officers deemed the proposal acceptable, and the conservation team said it would have negligible visual impact and no effect on the Sunniside Conservation Area.

Sunderland City Council has approved a four-year strategy to improve adult skills, increase employment and address economic inactivity, skills shortages and in-work poverty. The plan will coordinate education, employment, business and public-service partners through annual delivery plans and a new skills, progression and employment board. It aims to align training with job opportunities, particularly in health and social care, construction and logistics, while helping residents overcome barriers to entering and remaining in well-paid work.