Apartments bid for historic city building
Plans for new apartments at a listed building in Sunderland city centre have been submitted to council development chiefs.
Sunderland City Council’s planning department has received an application for a building at 110-112 High Street West on the corner of Bedford Street.
The Grade II-listed building, which sits adjacent to the city’s listed ‘Hutchinson’s Buildings’, dates back to around 1876 and was once a bank.
Over the years the building has been expanded, with a two-storey flat roof extension to the rear.
According to a design, access and heritage statement submitted to council officials, the building has been used as offices and the current occupier, a law firm, is looking to relocate.
New plans from X8 Properties Ltd aim to convert the building’s upper floors into 14 self-contained apartments, as wellascreatinganewcommercial unit on the ground floor.
Theapartmentschemeproposes a mix of two-bedroom, one-bedroom,studioandmezzanineapartments,withsome internalworksneededtobring forwardtheresidentialaccommodation.
Developers have stressed thattheimpactoftheproposed internal alterations would be “outweighed [sic] by the safeguarding of the building”.
The design, access and heritagestatementadds:“Demand forcommercialuseinthisarea with this type of building has fallen over the last number of years with businesses relocating to new buildings more suited to their needs and with reduced maintenance costs and with the general contraction of the high street focusing on the Bridges Shopping Centre.
“There are a number of buildings in the area currently vacantandfallingintoastateof disrepair”.
Those behind the scheme said the apartment use would be in keeping with neighbouring properties and would “make full use of the normally empty upper floors to provide much-needed residential accommodation”.
Otherbenefitssuggestedby applicants included “helping with general security in the area”, supporting local businesses and “helping to rejuvenate the city centre and safeguard the building’s future”.
For more information on the application, visit Sunderland City Council’s online planningportalandsearchreference: 23/00153/FUL